What are GitHub Actions?
GitHub actions are building blocks that form a continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) platform that is built right into GitHub. You can create a workflow that trigger actions based on changes in your code repo or other defined triggers.
GitHub actions a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform that allows you to automate your build, test, and deployment pipeline.
https://docs.github.com/en/actions/learn-github-actions/understanding-github-actions
In this post I will be answering the question “What are GitHub Actions?” mainly for the purpose of network automation, which is not the most common use of GitHub actions but is rapidly becoming a very popular use case.
GitHub Actions are created in the .github/workflows folder within your project and are written in YAML. You can have more than one workflow e.g. one to check for pull requests and another to deploy an application.
To get started you can try some done for you actions in the Github Marketplace.
What are GitHub actions Steps ?
A GitHub action consists of three main parts or steps.
- Events
- Workflows
- Actions
An event e.g. a change in a code repository, or if someone pulls a repository triggers a workflow which then triggers an action.
Events can be run on a schedule which runs the workflow on a regular basis. Or you can trigger is manually.
All of the triggers can be combined e.g. a scheduled action can be run manually and also fire on an event.
GitHub actions events that trigger workflows
There are many events that can trigger an event, the most common being a change in a code repository but they can also be configured to trigger when any event happens in GitHub.
Create, Delete, Pull Request etc. The full list can be found here:
https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/events-that-trigger-workflows
GitHub actions workflow examples
A workflow is a YAML file which defines the trigger event, then the action to perform when that event happens. In each workflow there are jobs which run.
For example this simple workflow is listening for a change in a code repository, specifically if someone makes a push and then will print out a message.
For examples that show some more advanced features of Github Actions – check out – https://docs.github.com/en/actions/examples
What is the Github Action Workflow?
GitHub Actions is a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform that allows you to automate your build, test, and deployment pipeline. You can create workflows that build and test every pull request to your repository, or deploy merged pull requests to production.
https://docs.github.com/actions/learn-github-actions/understanding-github-actions
Sometimes referred to as Gitops
More Git Tutorials
GitHub Actions Related Posts
GitHub Actions are a continuous integration and continuous delivery CI/CD platform that allows you to automate your build test and deployment pipeline
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between GitHub and GitHub actions?
GitHub is a code repository hosting website and GitHub Actions are the CI/CD functionality build into the platform.
Do GitHub actions cost money?
Using GitHub Actions is free for standard GitHub-hosted runners in public repositories. Self-hosted runners are also free. For private repositories you will receive an amount of free minutes for runners.
https://docs.github.com/en/billing/managing-billing-for-github-actions/about-billing-for-github-actions
What is the difference between GitHub actions and Gitlab?
GitHub actions are the CI/CD pipeline functionality built into GitHub, GitLab is a separate code hosting platform platform entirely that also has CI/CD functionality.
More Information
What are GitHub Actions?
GitHub Actions is a powerful automation and workflow tool provided by GitHub, a popular platform for version control and collaboration on software development projects. GitHub Actions allows developers to automate various aspects of their software development workflows, making it easier to build, test, and deploy code efficiently. Here are some key features and components of GitHub Actions:
- Workflows: Workflows are sets of automated steps that can be defined in YAML files within your GitHub repository. These steps can encompass a wide range of actions, such as building code, running tests, deploying applications, or any other custom task related to your project.
- Events: GitHub Actions can be triggered by various events, such as code pushes, pull requests, issues, and repository activity. You can configure workflows to execute in response to specific events, ensuring that automation occurs at the right times.
- Actions: Actions are individual tasks or jobs that make up a workflow. They are defined as reusable, customizable components and can be created by GitHub or the community. Actions can perform various tasks, like setting up environments, running scripts, sending notifications, and more.
- Runners: GitHub Actions uses runners, which are virtual machines or physical servers, to execute workflows. You can use GitHub-hosted runners or set up self-hosted runners on your own infrastructure, providing flexibility in where your workflows run.
- Workflow Visualizations: GitHub provides visualizations of your workflow runs, showing the status of each step, making it easy to identify issues or bottlenecks in your automation pipeline.
- Secrets: GitHub Actions allows you to store sensitive information, such as API keys or access tokens, securely as secrets. These secrets can be used within your workflows without exposing them in your code.
- Matrix Builds: You can define matrix builds in your workflows to test your code against multiple versions of dependencies or operating systems, making it easier to ensure compatibility.
- Scheduled Jobs: GitHub Actions supports scheduled workflows, allowing you to automate routine tasks like periodic backups or data synchronization.
- Community Contributions: GitHub has a marketplace for Actions where you can find a wide range of pre-built actions contributed by the community. You can use these actions to enhance your workflows without reinventing the wheel.
GitHub Actions is valuable for continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD), and general automation in software development. It helps teams streamline their development processes, improve code quality, and accelerate the delivery of software by automating repetitive and error-prone tasks.
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