"sh: 1: !: not found" in GitHub Actions

Question

I have the following in my Github Actions YAML. It runs fine when the first check evaluates true,

    - name: Check version is up to date
      run: sh -c "
        (git diff --quiet HEAD^ VERSION && git diff --quiet HEAD^ src/**) || \
          ! git diff --quiet HEAD^ src/VERSION
        "

but when it evaluates false, the later sections gives me

sh: 1:  !: not found

only in GitHub Actions. The command starting (and including) sh -c doesn't error on my computer. I don't understand how that could be since I very explicitly mention the shell.

@Ferrybig thanks, I'm familiar with bash vs sh, but is ! bash? And if so, why does it work on my machine even with sh -c? — joel
– joel, Commented Nov 13, 2024 at 11:02
This question is similar to: How do I break a string in YAML over multiple lines?. If you believe it’s different, please edit the question, make it clear how it’s different and/or how the answers on that question are not helpful for your problem. Context: As explained in this answer you're using the plain style which doesn't preserve newlines, hence a backslash at the end of your line doesn't work as a line continuation character. — Abdul Aziz Barkat
– Abdul Aziz Barkat, Commented Nov 14, 2024 at 14:35
I understand the logic behind closing this as a duplicate, but I don't agree with it. stackoverflow.com/questions/3790454/… may offer many alternative syntaxes that work to achieve what the OP wanted, but without the explanation in @AbdulAzizBarkat's comment, a reader is going to be none the wiser about what was actually wrong with the syntax that the OP used - i.e. how the backslash gets interpreted and how that ultimately leads to the error the OP saw. That explanation belongs in an answer, IMO, not a dupe closure comment. — Mark Amery
– Mark Amery, Commented Nov 15, 2024 at 11:54
@philipxy That boilerplate comment gives no hint of what aspect of an MRE you think is missing (and includes some stuff that is nonsensical about variables; there are none here). For reasons I've remarked before (see my answer at meta.stackoverflow.com/q/367798/1709587), I find such boilerplate MRE comments unhelpful and obnoxious. If you think the code is non-minimal, say that; if not enough code is given to repro the error, say that; if the expected and actual behavior aren't clear, say that. But none of those things obviously applies, and you don't say which you mean. — Mark Amery
– Mark Amery, Commented Nov 15, 2024 at 12:06

joel · Accepted Answer · 2024-11-13 21:53:49Z

15

I think this is a formatting error/quirk. If I add a new line before the command, with the | syntax, as

      run: |
        sh -c "
        (git diff --quiet HEAD^ VERSION && git diff --quiet HEAD^ src/**) || \
          ! git diff --quiet HEAD^ src/VERSION
        "

it works.

edited Nov 13, 2024 at 21:53

answered Nov 13, 2024 at 11:22

joel

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1 Comment

Abdul Aziz Barkat Over a year ago

I see, the original YAML results in || \ ! git causing the backslash to escape the space causing the shell to look for an executable that has a space as the first character and ! as the second. The syntax used by the answer preserves the newline causing the backslash to be used for line continuation.

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