GitHub Actions
In depthTool
Also known as: GH Actions
CI/CD platform built into GitHub. Automates building, testing and deploying through YAML workflows.
GitHub Actions, explained
Written by EduVerseWhat it is
GitHub Actions is the automation system built into GitHub. You describe workflows in YAML files inside the .github/workflows folder of your repository, and GitHub runs them on its own machines (runners) when something happens, such as a push or a new pull request. A workflow usually builds the code, runs the tests and sometimes deploys.
Why teams use it
Running the tests by hand before every merge is easy to forget. Actions does it automatically for every change, right next to the code, so there’s no separate CI server to install and maintain, as there is with Jenkins. Ready-made steps from the marketplace, like actions/checkout, mean you rarely write everything from scratch.
An example from work
You open a pull request and a red cross appears next to the check called “build”. You click Details and scroll through the log until you see that npm test failed on a test you never touched. You fix it locally, push again, and the workflow runs again on its own.
Our own explanation, not a quote from the book.
Where it fits
CI/CD pipelines straight from your GitHub repository
Coverage in the book
Covered in depth: multiple pages with explanations, examples and simulations.
