GitHub Actions Keep-Alive Setup

This directory contains GitHub Actions workflows to keep your Render backend alive automatically.

Files Created:

1. keep-alive.yml - Full-featured workflow with detailed logging
2. simple-keep-alive.yml - Simple workflow (recommended)

How to Use:

Step 1: Commit and Push

git add .github/
git commit -m "Add GitHub Actions keep-alive workflows"
git push

Step 2: Enable GitHub Actions

1. Go to your GitHub repository
2. Click on "Actions" tab
3. You should see the workflows listed
4. GitHub Actions will automatically start running

Step 3: Monitor

• Go to Actions tab to see workflow runs
• Each run will ping your backend every 10 minutes
• Green checkmark = success, Red X = failure

Workflow Details:

Simple Version (simple-keep-alive.yml):

• Runs every 10 minutes
• Pings https://saco-ai-assistant.onrender.com/ping
• Minimal logging
• Easy to understand

Full Version (keep-alive.yml):

• Runs every 10 minutes
• Detailed logging with timestamps
• Manual trigger option
• Better error handling
• Status reporting

Manual Testing:

You can manually trigger a workflow:

1. Go to Actions tab
2. Click on "Keep Backend Alive"
3. Click "Run workflow" button
4. Click "Run workflow" to start

Troubleshooting:

• Workflow not running: Check if GitHub Actions is enabled for your repo
• Backend still sleeping: Try reducing the interval (change */10 to */5 for 5 minutes)
• Permission issues: Make sure the repository allows GitHub Actions

Benefits:

✅ Free - GitHub Actions has generous free tier ✅ 24/7 - Runs automatically without your computer ✅ Reliable - GitHub's infrastructure ✅ No setup - Just push the files and it works