How the GitHub Asana Request Review Action Handles Synchronize Events to Update Changed File Counts

When a pull request receives a synchronize event (new commits pushed), the action triggers shouldUpdateReviewerEvent, rebuilds the Asana comment text using createPullRequestCommentText with fresh GetChangedFiles() data, and pushes the update via UpdateTaskComment to keep file statistics current.

The keitap/github-asana-request-review-action integrates GitHub pull requests with Asana tasks by automatically posting PR details as comments. When developers push additional commits to an open PR, the action must refresh the Asana task description to reflect accurate changed file counts, additions, and deletions.

Detecting the Synchronize Event in handler.go

The workflow begins in handler.go where incoming webhooks are dispatched. The Handle method receives the pull_request event and forwards it to handlePullRequestEvent according to the source at lines 35-45.

Inside updateReviewers, the code evaluates shouldUpdateReviewerEvent by checking the action type. When pr.GetAction() equals prEventActionSynchronize, the system flags the event for an update refresh as implemented at lines 101-110:

// Detect a synchronize event
if pr.GetAction() == prEventActionSynchronize {
    // mark the event as needing an update
    shouldUpdateReviewerEvent = true
}

This boolean trigger forces the handler to proceed with refreshing both reviewer assignments and the PR description comment containing the file statistics.

Refreshing the Asana Comment

Once flagged for update, handlePullRequestEvent calls updateTask to manage the Asana story lifecycle. This function searches for an existing comment containing the unique signature #github-asana-request-review. If found, it prepares an update; otherwise, it creates a new story as shown at lines 82-93.

Generating Updated File Statistics

The comment text regeneration happens in createPullRequestCommentText within asana.go (lines 84-95). This function extracts current metrics using pr.PullRequest.GetChangedFiles(), GetAdditions(), and GetDeletions():

// Build the HTML comment that includes changed-file counts
func createPullRequestCommentText(requester *Account, pr *github.PullRequestEvent) string {
    return fmt.Sprintf(
        `<body>📋 <code>[<b>%s</b>] <a href="%s">Pull request #%d: %s</a> by %s

<b>%d</b> changed files (<b>+%d -%d</b>)
%s

%s
</code></body>`,
        pr.PullRequest.GetState(),
        pr.PullRequest.GetHTMLURL(),
        pr.PullRequest.GetNumber(),
        pr.PullRequest.GetTitle(),
        requester.GetUserPermalink(),
        pr.PullRequest.GetChangedFiles(),
        pr.PullRequest.GetAdditions(),
        pr.PullRequest.GetDeletions(),
        getLabelsText(pr),
        signature,
    )
}

Pushing Updates to Asana

The action determines whether to create or update based on the existence of the signature comment. If the story exists, UpdateTaskComment (lines 63-70) overwrites the HTML content with the freshly generated text:

// Push the updated comment back to Asana
func UpdateTaskComment(client *asana.Client, storyID string, requester *Account, pr *github.PullRequestEvent) (*asana.Story, error) {
    story := &asana.Story{ID: storyID}
    newStory := &asana.StoryBase{
        HTMLText: createPullRequestCommentText(requester, pr),
        IsPinned: true,
    }
    return story.UpdateStory(client, newStory)
}

If no existing comment is found, AddPullRequestCommentToTask (lines 34-42) creates a new pinned story with the same generated content.

Key Implementation Files

The synchronize event handling spans two primary files in the repository:

• handler.go: Contains the main webhook dispatcher at Handle, the synchronize detection logic in updateReviewers, and the updateTask orchestration function.
• asana.go: Houses createPullRequestCommentText for building HTML content and UpdateTaskComment for persisting changes to Asana stories.

Summary

• The synchronize webhook action triggers shouldUpdateReviewerEvent = true in handler.go, forcing a refresh of the Asana task data.
• The action calls updateTask, which locates existing comments via the #github-asana-request-review signature or creates new ones if absent.
• File statistics are regenerated using pr.PullRequest.GetChangedFiles(), GetAdditions(), and GetDeletions() in createPullRequestCommentText.
• Updated comments are pushed to Asana via UpdateTaskComment or AddPullRequestCommentToTask, ensuring the task reflects the latest PR metrics after every push.

Frequently Asked Questions

What triggers a changed file count update in the Asana task?

A changed file count update triggers when GitHub sends a pull_request webhook with the action type set to synchronize, which occurs whenever new commits are pushed to the pull request branch. The handler.go file detects this action type and sets shouldUpdateReviewerEvent to true, initiating the comment refresh workflow.

How does the action identify which Asana comment to update?

The action searches for a unique signature string (#github-asana-request-review) embedded in existing task stories. This signature is appended to every comment created by the action, allowing updateTask to distinguish between manually added comments and those managed by the automation.

What specific file statistics are included in the updated Asana comment?

The updated HTML comment includes three key metrics retrieved from the GitHub API: the total number of changed files (GetChangedFiles()), additions (GetAdditions()), and deletions (GetDeletions()). These values appear in the formatted output as <b>%d</b> changed files (<b>+%d -%d</b>).

Where is the synchronize event logic implemented in the codebase?

The synchronize event detection resides in handler.go within the updateReviewers function (lines 101-110), while the actual comment regeneration and Asana API calls are implemented in asana.go through the createPullRequestCommentText and UpdateTaskComment functions.

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