Add GitHub Actions workflow to build self-contained release archives by knofte · Pull Request #999 · postfixadmin/postfixadmin

knofte · 2026-03-30T19:21:33Z

Summary

Closes #973

Adds a GitHub Actions workflow that automatically builds a self-contained .tar.gz release archive (with vendor/ included) whenever a release is published. This means admins can download and install PostfixAdmin without needing composer on the server.

How it works

Triggers on release: published events
Uses PHP 8.2 (minimum supported version) to run composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
Packages everything into a .tar.gz, excluding development files (.git, .github, tests, etc.)
Uploads the archive as a release asset using gh release upload

Why PHP 8.2?

Building on the minimum supported PHP version ensures the resolved dependencies work on all supported versions (8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5+). Composer resolves packages compatible with the running PHP version, and newer PHP versions are backwards compatible.

Test plan

Create a test release/tag to verify the workflow runs
Download the resulting .tar.gz and verify it contains vendor/ with all dependencies
Extract and run on PHP 8.2 and 8.4 to confirm it works without composer install

Adds an update-check page that queries the GitHub Releases API to show available updates with changelogs, and allows global admins to download and apply updates directly from the web UI. Depends on postfixadmin#999 for self-contained release tarballs.

knofte · 2026-03-30T20:27:41Z

Will rebase after PR #1001 is merged, and CI should pass nicely.

jmontesse · 2026-03-30T21:03:50Z

Is this written to effectively require PHP 8.2 and sqlite?

DavidGoodwin · 2026-03-31T04:01:20Z

Is this written to effectively require PHP 8.2 and sqlite?

No, it'd be database independent. You'd need to configure config.local.php or whatever as usual.

It's just to save someone the hassle (?) of running composer to install libraries.

Adds an update-check page that queries the GitHub Releases API to show available updates with changelogs, and allows global admins to download and apply updates directly from the web UI. Depends on postfixadmin#999 for self-contained release tarballs.

jmontesse · 2026-03-31T06:55:16Z

Is this written to effectively require PHP 8.2 and sqlite?

No, it'd be database independent. You'd need to configure config.local.php or whatever as usual.

It's just to save someone the hassle (?) of running composer to install libraries.

No I get that. But in the release.yml file in the PR, there is "extensions: sqlite3, gd" (line 21) in the release.yml file. If the workflow is only to have composer roll a vendor dir for the release asset, I'm puzzled why the build env needs those extensions installed?

knofte · 2026-03-31T07:06:05Z

Good catch - removed the unnecessary extensions earlier from the workflow actually.

They're only "suggest" in composer.json and "composer install --no-dev" doesn't need them.

DavidGoodwin · 2026-03-31T09:49:55Z

Is this written to effectively require PHP 8.2 and sqlite?

No, it'd be database independent. You'd need to configure config.local.php or whatever as usual.
It's just to save someone the hassle (?) of running composer to install libraries.

No I get that. But in the release.yml file in the PR, there is "extensions: sqlite3, gd" (line 21) in the release.yml file. If the workflow is only to have composer roll a vendor dir for the release asset, I'm puzzled why the build env needs those extensions installed?

The extensions in the github action ....

sqlite - so unit tests could run against an sqlite database.
gd is there for the TOTP stuff

…ostfixadmin#973) Automatically builds a .tar.gz with vendor/ included when a release is published, so admins can install without needing composer.

knofte · 2026-03-31T10:12:13Z

Restored the extensions and added a comment explaining their purpose. Thanks for clarifying David!

knofte · 2026-03-31T10:12:33Z

@DavidGoodwin I've added a comment about that in the file, as it will help in the future. (documentation for the win) :)

DavidGoodwin · 2026-03-31T17:52:36Z

@DavidGoodwin I've added a comment about that in the file, as it will help in the future. (documentation for the win) :)

@knofte The comment you added in the github actions doesn't really add much.

The php extensions, that are listed within the github actions file, are there so the github actions initiated unit tests can run (SQLite was the easiest database to setup/use).

Yes, obviously this means there's a chance there is a bug in the MySQL or PostgreSQL support, but when I added the unit test/github action build, I thought getting something tested was better than nothing.

If I had time/motivation, I might instead have a docker-compose.yml file with PostgreSQL and MySQL services, and test against them "properly".

FWIW, It'd be easier to review your changes if you'd stop squashing and force pushing everything into one commit. Then (with the above comment, for example) anyone reviewing it can just look at the specific change you'd made.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a GitHub Actions workflow to build and upload a self-contained PostfixAdmin release .tar.gz (including vendor/) whenever a GitHub Release is published, enabling installations without needing Composer on the target server.

Changes:

New release: published workflow that installs production dependencies on PHP 8.2.
Creates a release tarball with exclusions for development-only files/directories.
Uploads the generated archive to the GitHub Release as an asset via gh release upload.

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knofte · 2026-03-31T18:24:36Z

Good point on the squashing, will keep separate commits going forward, sorry about that.

On the docker-compose/testing idea, happy to put together a PR for that. I'd suggest extending the existing php.yml with MySQL and PostgreSQL service containers rather than a separate workflow, since the test infrastructure is already there. I'll add phpstan too - only 5 errors at level 0 on the current codebase, so it's a clean starting point to build from.

knofte · 2026-03-31T18:49:55Z

Also put together PR #1005 which adds phpstan (level 0, 5 existing errors fixed) and MySQL + PostgreSQL test jobs to CI. The test bootstrap already had all three database backends wired up, just needed the CI service containers.

jmontesse · 2026-03-31T19:29:46Z

The php extensions, that are listed within the github actions file, are there so the github actions initiated unit tests can run (SQLite was the easiest database to setup/use).

Isn't that Action just to package the release tarball? Unit testing should have already been done at that point.

DavidGoodwin · 2026-03-31T19:58:11Z

The php extensions, that are listed within the github actions file, are there so the github actions initiated unit tests can run (SQLite was the easiest database to setup/use).

Isn't that Action just to package the release tarball? Unit testing should have already been done at that point.

Yes, good point. The extensions aren't needed in this context / yml file.

…packaging

DavidGoodwin · 2026-04-01T07:07:02Z

(yes, I see you've asked me to review it; visually it look sfine. I was wondering how to test it without doing it under postfixadmin/postfixadmin .... )

knofte · 2026-04-01T14:22:39Z

Updated the archive name to include the PHP version, e.g. postfixadmin-v4.0.2-php82.tar.gz.

Single tarball built on PHP 8.2 (minimum supported). As you say, if someone hits issues on a newer PHP they can run composer update to resolve.

knofte · 2026-04-01T14:55:22Z

Tested the workflow on our fork - works as expected:

https://github.com/knofte/postfixadmin/releases/tag/v4.0.2-test

Tarball: postfixadmin-v4.0.2-test-php82.tar.gz (26 MB)
vendor/ included (4,397 files)
Exclusions working: no .github, tests/, debian/, .php-cs-fixer*, phpunit.xml, psalm.xml
Files extract into postfixadmin-v4.0.2-test-php82/ directory

knofte · 2026-04-01T14:56:12Z

And the build-action here - https://github.com/knofte/postfixadmin/actions/runs/23854475761 :)

@knofte

…999) * Add GitHub Actions workflow to build self-contained release archives (#973) Automatically builds a .tar.gz with vendor/ included when a release is published, this saves users from needing to use composer etc. Currently a single file, built for a PHP 8.2 environment. Thanks @knofte

knofte mentioned this pull request Mar 30, 2026

Add in-app update check and upgrade for global admins #1000

Open

7 tasks

DavidGoodwin mentioned this pull request Mar 30, 2026

A few questions about packaging postfixadmin #997

Closed

knofte force-pushed the add-release-workflow branch from 0ea537e to 412dd3a Compare March 31, 2026 06:30

knofte force-pushed the add-release-workflow branch from 412dd3a to 4078689 Compare March 31, 2026 06:45

Add GitHub Actions workflow to build self-contained release archives (p…

922a473

…ostfixadmin#973) Automatically builds a .tar.gz with vendor/ included when a release is published, so admins can install without needing composer.

knofte force-pushed the add-release-workflow branch from 4078689 to 922a473 Compare March 31, 2026 10:12

DavidGoodwin requested a review from Copilot March 31, 2026 17:54

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of DavidGoodwin March 31, 2026 17:55 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 31, 2026

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Comment thread .github/workflows/release.yml

Comment thread .github/workflows/release.yml

Comment thread .github/workflows/release.yml Outdated

DavidGoodwin requested changes Mar 31, 2026

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Comment thread .github/workflows/release.yml Outdated

Fix exclude patterns per review: .php-cs-fixer* glob, add debian/

7b0facf

Remove extensions from release workflow - only needed for tests, not …

901f532

…packaging

knofte requested a review from DavidGoodwin March 31, 2026 20:36

Include php82 in release archive name per review

85d7827

knofte mentioned this pull request Apr 1, 2026

Add phpstan, MySQL and PostgreSQL test jobs to CI #1005

Merged

DavidGoodwin approved these changes Apr 3, 2026

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DavidGoodwin merged commit 225a55d into postfixadmin:master Apr 3, 2026

knofte mentioned this pull request Apr 6, 2026

Replace escape_string() concatenation with parameterized queries #1004

Merged

DavidGoodwin mentioned this pull request May 6, 2026

PostfixAdmin 4.0.1 requires composer #1026

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knofte commented Mar 30, 2026

Summary

How it works

Why PHP 8.2?

Test plan

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knofte commented Mar 30, 2026

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jmontesse commented Mar 30, 2026

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Pull request overview

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knofte commented Mar 31, 2026 •

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