GitHub Actions – Command - snir1551/DevOps-Linux GitHub Wiki

name

What it does: Defines the name of the workflow, job, or step.
Example:

name: CI Pipeline

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on

What it does: Defines when the workflow will run.
Example:

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
  workflow_dispatch:

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jobs

What it does: Defines a list of jobs that will run as part of the workflow.
Example:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Build started"

---

runs-on

What it does: Specifies the OS/environment the job should run on.
Example:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

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steps

What it does: A list of steps to execute within a job.
Example:

steps:
  - name: Hello step
    run: echo "Hello World!"

---

uses

What it does: Uses an external GitHub Action from the marketplace.
Example:

- name: Checkout repository
  uses: actions/checkout@v4

---

run

What it does: Executes shell commands.
Example:

- name: Install packages
  run: npm install

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with

What it does: Passes input parameters to an action.
Example:

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

---

env

What it does: Declares environment variables.
Example:

env:
  NODE_ENV: production

---

strategy.matrix

What it does: Runs the job multiple times with different values (e.g., Node versions).
Example:

strategy:
  matrix:
    node-version: [18, 20]

Used like this in steps:

with:
  node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}

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needs

What it does: Makes one job depend on another.
Example:

jobs:
  test:
    ...
  build:
    needs: test
    ...

---

if

What it does: Adds conditional logic to steps or jobs.
Example:

- name: Upload only if tests pass
  if: ${{ success() }}
  run: echo "Tests passed"

---

timeout-minutes

What it does: Limits the job execution time.
Example:

timeout-minutes: 10

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continue-on-error

What it does: Allows the workflow to continue even if a step fails.
Example:

- name: Try something risky
  run: ./maybe-fail.sh
  continue-on-error: true

---

outputs

What it does: Defines output values from jobs or steps.
Example:

jobs:
  compute:
    outputs:
      result: ${{ steps.calc.outputs.value }}
    steps:
      - id: calc
        run: echo "value=42" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

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permissions

What it does: Controls what the workflow is allowed to do.
Example:

permissions:
  contents: write

---

concurrency

What it does: Prevents concurrent runs of the same workflow.
Example:

concurrency:
  group: deploy
  cancel-in-progress: true

---

container

What it does: Runs the job in a Docker container.
Example:

container:
  image: node:20

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services

What it does: Starts additional services like databases for testing.
Example:

services:
  redis:
    image: redis
    ports:
      - 6379:6379

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defaults

What it does: Sets default values for all steps.
Example:

defaults:
  run:
    shell: bash

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