Restore the branch-suffix input

README.md

@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ All inputs are **optional**. If not set, sensible defaults will be used.
 | `committer` | The committer name and email address in the format `Display Name <email@address.com>`. Defaults to the GitHub Actions bot user. | `GitHub <noreply@github.com>` |
 | `author` | The author name and email address in the format `Display Name <email@address.com>`. Defaults to the user who triggered the workflow run. | `${{ github.actor }} <${{ github.actor }}@users.noreply.github.com>` |
 | `branch` | The pull request branch name. | `create-pull-request/patch` |
+| `branch-suffix` | The branch suffix type when using the alternative branching strategy. Valid values are `random`, `timestamp` and `short-commit-hash`. See [Alternative strategy](#alternative-strategy---always-create-a-new-pull-request-branch) for details. | |
 | `base` | Sets the pull request base branch. | Defaults to the branch checked out in the workflow. |
 | `push-to-fork` | A fork of the checked out parent repository to which the pull request branch will be pushed. e.g. `owner/repo-fork`. The pull request will be created to merge the fork's branch into the parent's base. See [push pull request branches to a fork](https://github.com/peter-evans/create-pull-request/blob/master/docs/concepts-guidelines.md#push-pull-request-branches-to-a-fork) for details. | |
 | `title` | The title of the pull request. | `Changes by create-pull-request action` |
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ If there is some reason you need to use `actions/checkout@v1` the following step
 
 ### Action behaviour
 
-The action creates a pull request that will be continually updated with new changes until it is merged or closed.
+The default behaviour of the action is to create a pull request that will be continually updated with new changes until it is merged or closed.
 Changes are committed and pushed to a fixed-name branch, the name of which can be configured with the `branch` input.
 Any subsequent changes will be committed to the *same* branch and reflected in the open pull request.
 
@@ -97,6 +98,19 @@ How the action behaves:
 
 For further details about how the action works and usage guidelines, see [Concepts, guidelines and advanced usage](docs/concepts-guidelines.md).
 
+#### Alternative strategy - Always create a new pull request branch
+
+For some use cases it may be desirable to always create a new unique branch each time there are changes to be committed.
+This strategy is *not recommended* because if not used carefully it could result in multiple pull requests being created unnecessarily. If in doubt, use the [default strategy](#action-behaviour) of creating an updating a fixed-name branch.
+
+To use this strategy, set input `branch-suffix` with one of the following options.
+
+- `random` - Commits will be made to a branch suffixed with a random alpha-numeric string. e.g. `create-pull-request/patch-6qj97jr`, `create-pull-request/patch-5jrjhvd`
+
+- `timestamp` - Commits will be made to a branch suffixed by a timestamp. e.g. `create-pull-request/patch-1569322532`, `create-pull-request/patch-1569322552`
+
+- `short-commit-hash` - Commits will be made to a branch suffixed with the short SHA1 commit hash. e.g. `create-pull-request/patch-fcdfb59`, `create-pull-request/patch-394710b`
+
 ### Controlling commits
 
 As well as relying on the action to handle uncommitted changes, you can additionally make your own commits before the action runs.

action.yml

@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ inputs:
   branch:
     description: 'The pull request branch name.'
     default: 'create-pull-request/patch'
+  branch-suffix:
+    description: 'The branch suffix type when using the alternative branching strategy.'
   base:
     description: >
       The pull request base branch.

dist/index.js

@@ -1297,6 +1297,7 @@ function run() {
                 committer: core.getInput('committer'),
                 author: core.getInput('author'),
                 branch: core.getInput('branch'),
+                branchSuffix: core.getInput('branch-suffix'),
                 base: core.getInput('base'),
                 pushToFork: core.getInput('push-to-fork'),
                 title: core.getInput('title'),
@@ -10535,6 +10536,27 @@ function createPullRequest(inputs) {
                 throw new Error(`Working base branch '${workingBase}' was created by this action. Unable to continue.`);
             }
             core.endGroup();
+            // Apply the branch suffix if set
+            if (inputs.branchSuffix) {
+                switch (inputs.branchSuffix) {
+                    case 'short-commit-hash':
+                        // Suffix with the short SHA1 hash
+                        inputs.branch = `${inputs.branch}-${yield git.revParse('HEAD', [
+                            '--short'
+                        ])}`;
+                        break;
+                    case 'timestamp':
+                        // Suffix with the current timestamp
+                        inputs.branch = `${inputs.branch}-${utils.secondsSinceEpoch()}`;
+                        break;
+                    case 'random':
+                        // Suffix with a 7 character random string
+                        inputs.branch = `${inputs.branch}-${utils.randomString()}`;
+                        break;
+                    default:
+                        throw new Error(`Branch suffix '${inputs.branchSuffix}' is not a valid value. Unable to continue.`);
+                }
+            }
             // Output head branch
             core.info(`Pull request branch to create or update set to '${inputs.branch}'`);
             // Configure the committer and author

docs/updating.md

@@ -31,22 +31,6 @@
           push-to-fork: machine-user/fork-of-repository
   ```
 
-- Input `branch-suffix` has been removed to simplify the action and make it easier to understand its behaviour. The same functionality can be achieved by modifying the `branch` name before the action runs. See the following example. If you were using `branch-suffix` and need help to update to `v3`, please create an issue.
-
-  e.g.
-  ```yaml
-      - name: Return a 7 character random string
-        uses: actions/github-script@v2
-        id: random-string
-        with:
-          result-encoding: string
-          script: return Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 7)
-
-      - uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v3
-        with:
-          branch: my-branch-${{ steps.random-string.outputs.result }}
-  ```
-
 ### New features
 
 - The action has been converted to Typescript and is much faster than `v2`.

src/create-pull-request.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ export interface Inputs {
   committer: string
   author: string
   branch: string
+  branchSuffix: string
   base: string
   pushToFork: string
   title: string
@@ -107,6 +108,30 @@ export async function createPullRequest(inputs: Inputs): Promise<void> {
     }
     core.endGroup()
 
+    // Apply the branch suffix if set
+    if (inputs.branchSuffix) {
+      switch (inputs.branchSuffix) {
+        case 'short-commit-hash':
+          // Suffix with the short SHA1 hash
+          inputs.branch = `${inputs.branch}-${await git.revParse('HEAD', [
+            '--short'
+          ])}`
+          break
+        case 'timestamp':
+          // Suffix with the current timestamp
+          inputs.branch = `${inputs.branch}-${utils.secondsSinceEpoch()}`
+          break
+        case 'random':
+          // Suffix with a 7 character random string
+          inputs.branch = `${inputs.branch}-${utils.randomString()}`
+          break
+        default:
+          throw new Error(
+            `Branch suffix '${inputs.branchSuffix}' is not a valid value. Unable to continue.`
+          )
+      }
+    }
+
     // Output head branch
     core.info(
       `Pull request branch to create or update set to '${inputs.branch}'`

src/main.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ async function run(): Promise<void> {
       committer: core.getInput('committer'),
       author: core.getInput('author'),
       branch: core.getInput('branch'),
+      branchSuffix: core.getInput('branch-suffix'),
       base: core.getInput('base'),
       pushToFork: core.getInput('push-to-fork'),
       title: core.getInput('title'),