GitHub Actions notifications to your phone

Minimal workflow step

Create a sender DSN in Nerve, store it as NERVE_DSN, then notify from a workflow step.

- name: Install Nerve
  run: curl -fsSL https://nerve.ink/install.sh | sh

- name: Notify Nerve on failure
  if: failure()
  env:
    NERVE_DSN: ${{ secrets.NERVE_DSN }}
  run: |
    printf 'FAILED: %s\nbranch: %s\nrun: %s\n' \
      "${{ github.repository }}" \
      "${{ github.ref_name }}" \
      "${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}" \
      | nerve send --severity critical --title "CI failed"

Go fallback / developer install:

curl -fsSL https://nerve.ink/install.sh | sh
export PATH="$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin"

Why this is safer than a generic webhook

The sender secret is scoped to one pipe and one capability: send encrypted signals. It cannot read old messages, decrypt history, connect as an agent, or execute commands.

Good messages

backend deploy success
sha: $GITHUB_SHA
run: $GITHUB_SERVER_URL/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/actions/runs/$GITHUB_RUN_ID

Failure-only workflow

Most teams should start with failure-only alerts. Successful builds are useful in logs, but they quickly make phone notifications noisy.

- name: Install Nerve
  run: curl -fsSL https://nerve.ink/install.sh | sh

- name: Notify Nerve on failure
  if: failure()
  env:
    NERVE_DSN: ${{ secrets.NERVE_DSN }}
  run: |
    printf 'FAILED: %s\nbranch: %s\nrun: %s\n' \
      "${{ github.repository }}" \
      "${{ github.ref_name }}" \
      "${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}" \
      | nerve send --severity critical --title "CI failed"

Where to store the DSN

Use repository or organization secrets. If a workflow can run from forks, keep the Nerve step out of untrusted pull request contexts and only notify from trusted branches or protected environments.

Debug checklist

Confirm NERVE_DSN is available to the job environment.
Confirm nerve --help works after the install step.
Send a tiny test message before piping long logs.
Never print the DSN in workflow logs.
If you see 415 Unsupported Media Type, make sure you are running the Go CLI, not an old shell function or generic webhook.

Reusable workflow pattern

If every repository repeats the same notification step, move it into a reusable workflow or composite action. That keeps the alert format consistent and makes sender rotation less painful.

A good shared format includes repository, branch, environment, run URL, and one short reason. Keep repo-specific troubleshooting in the linked run logs or runbook.

GitHub Actions notifications to your phone.