GitHub Actions CI/CD

Create and manage GitHub Actions workflows for continuous integration, testing, and deployment pipelines.

When to Use This Skill

• •Creating new workflow files in .github/workflows/
• •Setting up PR validation and automated testing
• •Configuring deployment pipelines (staging/production)
• •Managing GitHub secrets and environment variables
• •Debugging workflow failures
• •Setting up manual workflow triggers or deployment approvals

Prerequisites

Required: GitHub repository with Actions enabled

Tools: GitHub CLI (gh), act (optional, for local testing)

Workflow Basics

Location: .github/workflows/<name>.yaml

Structure:

name: Workflow Name
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  job-name:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: echo "Hello"

Common Patterns

PR Validation

on: pull_request
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm ci && npm test

Environment Deployments

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: production  # Requires approval
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: ./deploy.sh

Manual Triggers

on: workflow_dispatch  # Shows "Run workflow" button

Secrets Management

Add: Repository Settings → Secrets → New secret

Use:

env:
  API_KEY: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}

Debugging

gh run list            # List runs
gh run view <id>       # View details
gh run watch           # Watch real-time
gh run rerun <id>      # Retry failed run

Templates & References

• •PR Checks Template - Lint and test validation
• •Multi-Environment Deploy - Staging/production pipeline
• •Production with Approval - Manual approval workflow
• •Matrix Testing - Test across versions/platforms
• •Workflow Patterns - Advanced configurations
• •Triggers Reference - All trigger types and options
• •Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Best Practices

✅ Pin action versions (@v4), cache dependencies, use environments for production ❌ Never hardcode secrets, don't use pull_request_target without understanding risks

Quick Reference

# Workflows
gh workflow list
gh workflow run <name>

# Runs
gh run list
gh run view <id>
gh run cancel <id>

# Secrets
gh secret set NAME
gh secret list

Common Actions

• •actions/checkout@v4 - Clone repository
• •actions/setup-node@v4 - Setup Node.js
• •actions/cache@v4 - Cache dependencies
• •actions/upload-artifact@v4 - Save files