GitHub CI
Write and maintain GitHub Actions CI workflows with confidence. This skill covers workflow design, runner configuration, testing patterns, and security best practices for continuous integration pipelines on GitHub.
Intent Router
Load reference files for depth on specific topics:
| Topic | File | Load when... |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow Basics | resources/workflow-basics.md |
Learning workflow YAML structure, triggers, jobs, and built-in actions |
| Runners & Caching | resources/runners-and-caching.md |
Configuring runners, setting up caching, or optimizing build performance |
| Testing Patterns | resources/testing-patterns.md |
Implementing test runs, reporting results, or integrating coverage tools |
| Security & Secrets | resources/security-and-secrets.md |
Managing secrets, permissions, and third-party action safety |
Quick Start
Basic GitHub Actions Workflow
- Create workflow file — Save as
.github/workflows/ci.ymlin repository root - Define triggers — Use
on:to specify when workflow runs (push, pull_request, schedule) - Configure job — Define jobs with name, runner type, and steps
- Add checkout — Use
actions/checkout@v4to access repository code - Run commands — Add steps with
run:or use community actions
Minimal Workflow
name: CI
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: echo "Running CI pipeline"
Workflow Anatomy
workflow
├── name: Display name
├── on: Trigger events (push, pull_request, schedule, workflow_dispatch)
├── env: Workflow-level environment variables
└── jobs:
└── <job-name>:
├── runs-on: Runner type (ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest)
├── env: Job-level environment variables
├── strategy: Matrix, fail-fast, max-parallel settings
└── steps:
├── uses: Pre-built action
└── run: Shell command or script
File Location
All workflows must be in .github/workflows/ directory with .yml or .yaml extension. Use kebab-case for filenames: build-and-test.yml, deploy-production.yml.
Quick Validation
Validate YAML syntax before pushing:
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/data" pipelinecomponents/yamllint yamllint /data/.github/workflows/