Workflow Notifications (Audio Alerts)

To improve productivity, you can configure a local Git alias that pushes your code and automatically alerts you (via voice or sound) as soon as the GitHub Actions workflow is finished. This prevents “GitHub-watching fatigue” and lets you focus on other tasks.

Prerequisites

You need the GitHub CLI and a text-to-speech engine or sound player installed on your system.

For Manjaro / Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S github-cli espeak-ng
gh auth login

Setup

Run the following command in your terminal to create a global Git alias called pushsound:

git config --global alias.pushsound '!git push && sleep 3 && gh run watch $(gh run list --limit 1 --json databaseId --jq ".[0].databaseId") && espeak-ng "all github workflow has finished"'

Usage

Instead of git push, simply run:

git pushsound

Your terminal will wait for the workflow to complete and then announce: “all github workflow has finished”.

Customization & Alternatives

Depending on your preference, you might want to use a different alias name or notification method.

2. Notification Styles

You can swap the espeak-ng part for other types of alerts:

  • Desktop Notification: ... && notify-send "GitHub Action" "Workflow Finished!"

  • System Sound (Bell): ... && paplay /usr/share/sounds/freedesktop/stereo/complete.oga

  • Combination (Sound + Voice): ... && paplay /usr/share/sounds/freedesktop/stereo/message.oga && espeak-ng "Done"

3. Advanced: Team-Safe Version

If multiple developers are pushing to the same repository simultaneously, the default command might track the wrong run. Use this “Branch-Safe” version to only watch your own current branch:

checks the first worklow only:

git config --global alias.pw '!git push && sleep 3 && gh run watch $(gh run list --branch $(git branch --show-current) --limit 1 --json databaseId --jq ".[0].databaseId") && espeak-ng "Workflow finished"'

git config --global alias.pushsound '!git push && sleep 3 && (gh run watch $(gh run list --limit 1 --json databaseId --jq ".[0].databaseId") --exit-status && espeak-ng "workflow successful" || espeak-ng "workflow failed")'

checks all GitHub registered workflows

git config –global alias.pushsound ‘!f() { git push && echo “Waiting for GitHub to register workflows…” && sleep 5 && SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD) && SUCCESS=0 && for id in $(gh run list –commit $SHA –json databaseId -q “.[].databaseId”); do echo “Watching workflow $id…” && gh run watch $id –exit-status || SUCCESS=1; done; [ $SUCCESS -eq 0 ] && espeak-ng “all workflows successful” || espeak-ng “at least one workflow failed”; }; f’

Troubleshooting

  • “No runs found”: We include a sleep 3 because GitHub takes a moment to register the push and start the workflow. If you have a very slow connection, you might need to increase this to sleep 5.

  • Terminal Beeps: If espeak-ng doesn’t work, ensure your audio is not muted and the package is correctly installed.