Create and push branch in one step

Author: sarahchen6

.github/workflows/pin-system-tests.yaml

@@ -39,18 +39,12 @@ jobs:
           BRANCH=${{ steps.define-branch.outputs.branch }}
           if git ls-remote --heads origin "$BRANCH" | grep -q "$BRANCH"; then
             echo "creating_new_branch=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-            echo "Branch $BRANCH already exists - skipping creation"
+            echo "Branch $BRANCH already exists - please delete it and re-run the workflow."
+            exit 0
           else
             echo "creating_new_branch=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
             echo "Branch $BRANCH does not exist - creating it now"
           fi
-
-      - name: Create and push branch
-        if: steps.check-branch.outputs.creating_new_branch == 'true'
-        id: create-branch
-        run: |
-          git checkout -b "${{ steps.define-branch.outputs.branch }}"
-          git push -u origin "${{ steps.define-branch.outputs.branch }}"
       
       - name: Update system-tests references to latest commit SHA on main
         run: ./tooling/update_system_test_reference.sh
@@ -79,15 +73,17 @@ jobs:
       
       - name: Push changes
         uses: DataDog/commit-headless@5a0f3876e0fbdd3a86b3e008acf4ec562db59eee # action/v2.0.1
-        if: steps.check-changes.outputs.commit_changes == 'true'
+        if: steps.check-changes.outputs.commit_changes == 'true' && steps.check-branch.outputs.creating_new_branch == 'true'
         with:
           token: "${{ steps.octo-sts.outputs.token }}"
           branch: "${{ steps.define-branch.outputs.branch }}"
+          head-sha: "${{ github.sha }}"
+          create-branch: true
           command: push
           commits: "${{ steps.create-commit.outputs.commit }}"
 
       - name: Create pull request
-        if: steps.check-changes.outputs.commit_changes == 'true'
+        if: steps.check-changes.outputs.commit_changes == 'true' && steps.check-branch.outputs.creating_new_branch == 'true'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.octo-sts.outputs.token }}
         # base may need to be `release/v*`