windows/.github/workflows/README.md

GitHub Actions Workflow for Windows Container

This workflow fully automates building Windows Server Core containers using GitHub Actions variables.

🤖 Fully Automated Setup

1. Set Variables (One-time setup)

Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → Variables tab → New repository variable

Add this variable:

• DOCKER_USERNAME - Your Docker Hub username (e.g., casjaysdevdocker)

Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → Secrets tab → New repository secret

Add this secret:

• DOCKER_PASSWORD - Your Docker Hub password or access token

2. That's It! 🎉

The workflow automatically:

• ✅ Builds on every push to main/master/develop
• ✅ Builds monthly (1st of month at 2 AM UTC)
• ✅ Auto-detects repo name from GitHub
• ✅ Auto-generates image name: <username>/<repo-name>
• ✅ Auto-creates tags: latest and YYMM format
• ✅ Auto-extracts metadata from git
• ✅ Auto-pushes to Docker Hub (if credentials set)
• ✅ Creates build summary in Actions tab

🏷️ Automatic Image Tags

Format: <DOCKER_USERNAME>/<repo-name>:<tag>

Examples for January 2026:

• casjaysdevdocker/windows:latest
• casjaysdevdocker/windows:2601

⚙️ Automatic Metadata

All OCI labels and annotations automatically include:

• Build date and time
• Git commit hash (short)
• Repository URL from GitHub
• Docker Hub URL
• Version (YYMM format)

🔄 When Builds Run

1. On Push - Any push to main/master/develop branches
2. On Pull Request - Tests build but doesn't push
3. Monthly - Automatic rebuild on 1st of each month at 2 AM UTC
4. Manual - Click "Run workflow" in Actions tab

📊 Build Summary

After each successful build, check the Actions tab for:

• Image name and tags
• Build date and commit
• Pull command
• Image size
• All metadata labels

🚫 No Variables? No Problem!

If DOCKER_USERNAME variable is not set:

• Falls back to repository owner name
• Example: owner/windows:latest

If DOCKER_PASSWORD secret is not set:

• Build and test still run
• Push step is automatically skipped
• Perfect for testing or forked repos

📝 Example Output

## 📦 Container Build Summary

**Image:** `casjaysdevdocker/windows`
**Tags:**
- `latest`
- `2601`

**Build Date:** 202601231800
**Commit:** `a1b2c3d`

### 🚀 Pull Command
```powershell
docker pull casjaysdevdocker/windows:latest

🔧 Advanced: Override Image Name

Want to use a different Docker Hub username? Just set the variable:

Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → Variables

• DOCKER_USERNAME = yourusername

Result: yourusername/windows:latest

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Build succeeds but doesn't push

• Check that DOCKER_PASSWORD secret is set
• Verify DOCKER_USERNAME variable or repo owner is correct
• Ensure you're not building from a pull request

Wrong image name

• Set DOCKER_USERNAME variable to your Docker Hub username
• Or it defaults to GitHub repo owner

Need different tags?

• Edit .github/workflows/build-windows.yml
• Modify the TAG_YYMM format in the metadata step

📅 Monthly Auto-Build

The workflow includes a cron schedule:

schedule:
  - cron: '0 2 1 * *'  # 1st of month at 2 AM UTC

This ensures:

• Fresh base image updates
• Latest security patches
• Regular image rebuilds

To disable: Remove the schedule: section from the workflow file.