require-workflow-call-output-value

Rule catalog ID: R039

Targeted pattern scope

GitHub Actions workflow YAML files that define reusable workflow outputs under on.workflow_call.outputs.

What this rule reports

This rule reports reusable workflow outputs that omit value or set it to an empty scalar.

Why this rule exists

Reusable workflow outputs are part of the public interface exposed to callers. GitHub documents each workflow_call output as having a value, and without that mapping the output cannot return anything meaningful to downstream jobs.

❌ Incorrect

on:
  workflow_call:
    outputs:
      deployment-url:
        description: Published deployment URL

✅ Correct

on:
  workflow_call:
    outputs:
      deployment-url:
        description: Published deployment URL
        value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.url }}

Additional examples

For larger repositories, this rule is often enabled together with one of the published presets so violations are caught in pull requests before workflow changes are merged.

ESLint flat config example

import githubActions from "eslint-plugin-github-actions-2";

export default [
  {
    files: ["**/*.{yml,yaml}"],
    plugins: {
      "github-actions": githubActions,
    },
    rules: {
      "github-actions/require-workflow-call-output-value": "error",
    },
  },
];

When not to use it

You can disable this rule when its policy does not match your repository standards, or when equivalent enforcement is already handled by another policy tool.

Targeted pattern scope​

What this rule reports​

Why this rule exists​

❌ Incorrect​

✅ Correct​

Additional examples​

ESLint flat config example​

When not to use it​

Further reading​