Contradictory info on `$GITHUB_OUTPUT`

[95-martin-orion]

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Code of Conduct

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What article on docs.github.com is affected?

Defining outputs for jobs (source) and Default environment variables (source).

What part(s) of the article would you like to see updated?

The note in this line: https://github.com/github/docs/blob/66af710ebd377e0fa0bfb7f6e8acf8747231e4aa/data/reusables/actions/jobs/section-defining-outputs-for-jobs.md?plain=1#L11

appears to contradict this entry in the table: https://github.com/github/docs/blob/66af710ebd377e0fa0bfb7f6e8acf8747231e4aa/content/actions/learn-github-actions/variables.md?plain=1#L316

Is the value of $GITHUB_OUTPUT shared between all steps, or unique to each step?

Docs Plan

Outlined in this comment.

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[nguyenalex836]

@95-martin-orion Thank you for opening this issue! I'll get this triaged for review ✨

[RSS1102]

i want to konw, in:

jobs:
  check:
     steps:
      - name: Check for new commits
        run: |
             echo "new_commits=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
  build:
    needs: check
    if: ${{ needs.check.outputs.new_commits}}

I cannot correctly determine new_commits is true.

but:

    outputs:
      new_commits: ${{ steps.check.outputs.new_commits }}

  build:
    needs: check
    if: ${{ needs.check.outputs.new_commits}}

it do.

https://github.com/github/docs/blob/66af710ebd377e0fa0bfb7f6e8acf8747231e4aa/data/reusables/actions/jobs/section-defining-outputs-for-jobs.md?plain=1#L11

Is it necessary to clarify that $GITHUB_OUTPUTcannot access different jobs here? (I don't know if he can access different jobs)

[SiaraMist]

Hey @95-martin-orion, thank you for opening this issue!

I definitely see where your confusion is coming from. While the contents of the output file are shared between all steps in a job, the path to the output file changes in each step. For example, on the first step the path to the output file could be /home/runner/work/_temp/_runner_file_commands/set_output_9bfa0a1d-ab75-4c96-b61f-bfccd45eeb08, and in the next step the path could be /home/runner/work/_temp/_runner_file_commands/set_output_330f510f-d204-409d-9657-49261468a340.

To make this clearer in the docs, I think we could update this line to say:

The path on the runner to the file that sets the current step's outputs from workflow commands. The path to this file is unique to the current step and changes for each step in a job. For example, /home/runner/work/_temp/_runner_file_commands/set_output_a50ef383-b063-46d9-9157-57953fc9f3f0. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

Instead of saying the file is unique to the current step, we'll say that the path to the file is unique to the current step.

You or anyone else is welcome to open a pull request to make these changes!