GitHub Actions

This file covers GitHub Actions for CI/CD automation and workflow management.

What are GitHub Actions?

GitHub Actions is a CI/CD platform that allows you to automate your build, test, and deployment pipeline directly in your GitHub repository.

Basic Workflow

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
name: CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Set up Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: "18"
          cache: "npm"

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test

      - name: Run linter
        run: npm run lint

Common Workflows

Node.js Application

name: Node.js CI

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [16.x, 18.x, 20.x]

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test

Python Application

name: Python CI

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    strategy:
      matrix:
        python-version: [3.8, 3.9, 3.10]

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
        with:
          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
          pip install -r requirements.txt
      - name: Run tests
        run: pytest

Deployment Workflow

name: Deploy

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Deploy to staging
        run: |
          # Deployment commands here
          echo "Deploying to staging..."

      - name: Run smoke tests
        run: |
          # Smoke test commands
          echo "Running smoke tests..."

Best Practices

• Use official actions when available
• Cache dependencies for faster builds
• Use matrix builds for multiple environments
• Store secrets securely
• Use environment protection rules
• Implement proper error handling
• Monitor workflow performance