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: Notify Nerve
  if: always()
  env:
    NERVE_DSN: ${{ secrets.NERVE_DSN }}
  run: |
    go install github.com/nerve-ink/nerve-cli/cmd/nerve@latest
    echo "backend deploy ${{ job.status }}" | nerve send --severity standard

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: Notify Nerve on failure
  if: failure()
  env:
    NERVE_DSN: ${{ secrets.NERVE_DSN }}
  run: |
    go install github.com/nerve-ink/nerve-cli/cmd/nerve@latest
    echo "FAILED: ${{ github.repository }} / ${{ github.ref_name }}
run: ${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}" \
      | nerve send --severity critical

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.
• Check that go env GOPATH is on PATH after install.
• Send a tiny test message before piping long logs.
• Never print the DSN in workflow logs.

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.