GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions is a CI/CD platform built into GitHub. It automates workflows triggered by repository events like pushes, pull requests, and releases.

Workflow Structure

  .github/workflows/ci.yml
  ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ name: CI Pipeline                    │
  │ on: [push, pull_request]            │
  │                                      │
  │ jobs:                                │
  │   build-and-test:                    │
  │     runs-on: ubuntu-latest          │
  │     steps:                           │
  │       - uses: actions/checkout@v4   │
  │       - uses: actions/setup-node@v4 │
  │       - run: npm install            │
  │       - run: npm test               │
  └──────────────────────────────────────┘

Complete Workflow Example

  name: Deploy Application

  on:
    push:
      branches: [main]

  jobs:
    build:
      runs-on: ubuntu-latest
      steps:
        - uses: actions/checkout@v4

        - name: Setup Node.js
          uses: actions/setup-node@v4
          with:
            node-version: '20'

        - name: Install dependencies
          run: npm ci

        - name: Run tests
          run: npm test

        - name: Build
          run: npm run build

        - name: Deploy to AWS
          if: success()
          env:
            AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
            AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
          run: |
            aws s3 sync ./dist s3://my-bucket
            aws cloudfront create-invalidation \
              --distribution-id ${{ secrets.CF_DIST_ID }} --paths "/*"

Key Features

• Marketplace — Thousands of reusable actions (setup-node, deploy-to-aws, etc.)
• Secrets management — Securely store API keys and tokens
• Matrix builds — Test across multiple OS/versions simultaneously
• Reusable workflows — Share pipeline logic across repositories
• Self-hosted runners — Run on your own infrastructure