GitHub Actions reusable workflow "with:" input type mismatch

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

A reusable workflow declares each input with a type (string, boolean, number). Passing a value of the wrong type via with - most often a quoted string where a boolean is expected - fails validation.

What this error means

The caller fails to start the reusable workflow, reporting that a with input does not match the declared type.

##[error]Invalid value. Input 'deploy' expects type 'boolean' but was provided 'true' as a string.

Common causes

Boolean passed as a quoted string

A with value like "true" (quoted) is a string, but the input is typed boolean, so validation rejects it.

Expression result type differs from declared type

An interpolated value resolves to a string while the input expects number or boolean.

How to fix it

Match the value type to the input type

1. Pass booleans unquoted and numbers as numeric literals.
2. When using an expression, ensure it yields the declared type (wrap with fromJSON or a comparison if needed).
3. Re-run.

jobs:
  call:
    uses: ./.github/workflows/deploy.yml
    with:
      deploy: true        # boolean, unquoted
      replicas: 3         # number

How to prevent it

• Pass with values in the declared input type; do not quote booleans or numbers.
• Declare explicit input types in workflow_call so mismatches fail early.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions