GitHub Actions workflow_dispatch inputs not showing in Actions tab

I’m trying to create a GitHub Actions workflow that manages AWS Secrets Manager (create/read/update/delete). The workflow should only run manually using workflow_dispatch, because it requires user inputs.

However, I am facing two issues:

1. workflow_dispatch inputs do NOT appear in the Actions tab

Here is the beginning of my workflow file:

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      action:
        description: "create | read | update | delete"
        type: choice
        required: true
        options:
          - create
          - read
          - update
          - delete
      secret_name:
        description: "AWS secret name"
        required: true
        type: string
      key:
        description: "JSON key"
        required: true
        type: string
      value:
        description: "Value (required only for create/update)"
        required: false
        type: string

When this YAML file exists only in a feature branch, the workflow does not appear in the Actions tab, so I cannot run it manually.

2. If I add push or PR triggers, the workflow runs automatically and fails

If I add:

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  push:

Then the workflow finally appears in the Actions UI — but as soon as I push, the workflow auto-runs with empty inputs:

ACTION=""
SECRET=""
KEY=""
VALUE=""
Invalid action!!
Error: Process completed with exit code 1.

This happens because github.event.inputs.* are empty during a push event.

My Questions

1. Does workflow_dispatch only work from the default branch?

2. Why does the “Run workflow” button not appear when the workflow is in a feature branch?

3. How can I make this workflow available for manual execution only, without running automatically on push?

4. Is there a recommended way to avoid workflows failing because inputs are empty during push events?

Additional Details

• The shell script inside the job expects non-empty inputs.

• I want the workflow to be visible in the Actions tab even before merging to main.

• The workflow should never auto-run on push or PR.