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Contexts

You can access context information in workflows and actions.

Note: GitHub Actions was available for GitHub Enterprise Server 2.22 as a limited beta. The beta has ended. GitHub Actions is now generally available in GitHub Enterprise Server 3.0 or later. For more information, see the GitHub Enterprise Server 3.0 release notes.


Note: GitHub-hosted runners are not currently supported on GitHub Enterprise Server. You can see more information about planned future support on the GitHub public roadmap.

About contexts

Warning: When creating workflows and actions, you should always consider whether your code might execute untrusted input from possible attackers. Certain contexts should be treated as untrusted input, as an attacker could insert their own malicious content. For more information, see "Understanding the risk of script injections."

Contexts are a way to access information about workflow runs, runner environments, jobs, and steps. Contexts use the expression syntax. For more information, see "Expressions."

${{ <context> }}

Context nameTypeDescription
githubobjectInformation about the workflow run. For more information, see github context.
envobjectContains environment variables set in a workflow, job, or step. For more information, see env context.
jobobjectInformation about the currently executing job. For more information, see job context.
stepsobjectInformation about the steps that have been run in this job. For more information, see steps context.
runnerobjectInformation about the runner that is running the current job. For more information, see runner context.
secretsobjectEnables access to secrets. For more information about secrets, see "Creating and using encrypted secrets."
strategyobjectEnables access to the configured strategy parameters and information about the current job. Strategy parameters include fail-fast, job-index, job-total, and max-parallel.
matrixobjectEnables access to the matrix parameters you configured for the current job. For example, if you configure a matrix build with the os and node versions, the matrix context object includes the os and node versions of the current job.
needsobjectEnables access to the outputs of all jobs that are defined as a dependency of the current job. For more information, see needs context.

As part of an expression, you may access context information using one of two syntaxes.

  • Index syntax: github['sha']
  • Property dereference syntax: github.sha

In order to use property dereference syntax, the property name must:

  • start with a-Z or _.
  • be followed by a-Z 0-9 - or _.

Determining when to use contexts

GitHub Actions includes a collection of variables called contexts and a similar collection of variables called default environment variables. These variables are intended for use at different points in the workflow:

  • Default environment variables: These variables exist only on the runner that is executing your job. For more information, see "Default environment variables."
  • Contexts: You can use most contexts at any point in your workflow, including when default environment variables would be unavailable. For example, you can use contexts with expressions to perform initial processing before the job is routed to a runner for execution; this allows you to use a context with the conditional if keyword to determine whether a step should run. Once the job is running, you can also retrieve context variables from the runner that is executing the job, such as runner.os. For details of where you can use various contexts within a workflow, see "Context availability."

The following example demonstrates how these different types of environment variables can be used together in a job:

name: CI
on: push
jobs:
  prod-check:
    if: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Deploying to production server on branch $GITHUB_REF"

In this example, the if statement checks the github.ref context to determine the current branch name; if the name is refs/heads/main, then the subsequent steps are executed. The if check is processed by GitHub Actions, and the job is only sent to the runner if the result is true. Once the job is sent to the runner, the step is executed and refers to the $GITHUB_REF environment variable from the runner.

github context

The github context contains information about the workflow run and the event that triggered the run. You can read most of the github context data in environment variables. For more information about environment variables, see "Using environment variables."

Warning: When using the whole github context, be mindful that it includes sensitive information such as github.token. GitHub masks secrets when they are printed to the console, but you should be cautious when exporting or printing the context.

Warning: When creating workflows and actions, you should always consider whether your code might execute untrusted input from possible attackers. Certain contexts should be treated as untrusted input, as an attacker could insert their own malicious content. For more information, see "Understanding the risk of script injections."

Property nameTypeDescription
githubobjectThe top-level context available during any job or step in a workflow.
github.actionstringThe name of the action currently running. GitHub removes special characters or uses the name __run when the current step runs a script. If you use the same action more than once in the same job, the name will include a suffix with the sequence number with underscore before it. For example, the first script you run will have the name __run, and the second script will be named __run_2. Similarly, the second invocation of actions/checkout will be actionscheckout2.
github.action_pathstringThe path where your action is located. You can use this path to easily access files located in the same repository as your action. This attribute is only supported in composite actions.
github.actorstringThe login of the user that initiated the workflow run.
github.base_refstringThe base_ref or target branch of the pull request in a workflow run. This property is only available when the event that triggers a workflow run is either pull_request or pull_request_target.
github.eventobjectThe full event webhook payload. For more information, see "Events that trigger workflows." You can access individual properties of the event using this context.
github.event_namestringThe name of the event that triggered the workflow run.
github.event_pathstringThe path to the full event webhook payload on the runner.
github.head_refstringThe head_ref or source branch of the pull request in a workflow run. This property is only available when the event that triggers a workflow run is either pull_request or pull_request_target.
github.jobstringThe job_id of the current job.
github.refstringThe branch or tag ref that triggered the workflow run. For branches this is the format refs/heads/<branch_name>, and for tags it is refs/tags/<tag_name>.
github.repositorystringThe owner and repository name. For example, Codertocat/Hello-World.
github.repository_ownerstringThe repository owner's name. For example, Codertocat.
github.run_idstringA unique number for each run within a repository. This number does not change if you re-run the workflow run.
github.run_numberstringA unique number for each run of a particular workflow in a repository. This number begins at 1 for the workflow's first run, and increments with each new run. This number does not change if you re-run the workflow run.
github.run_attemptstringA unique number for each attempt of a particular workflow run in a repository. This number begins at 1 for the workflow run's first attempt, and increments with each re-run.
github.server_urlstringReturns the URL of the GitHub server. For example: https://github.com.
github.shastringThe commit SHA that triggered the workflow run.
github.tokenstringA token to authenticate on behalf of the GitHub App installed on your repository. This is functionally equivalent to the GITHUB_TOKEN secret. For more information, see "Authenticating with the GITHUB_TOKEN."
github.workflowstringThe name of the workflow. If the workflow file doesn't specify a name, the value of this property is the full path of the workflow file in the repository.
github.workspacestringThe default working directory for steps and the default location of your repository when using the checkout action.

env context

The env context contains environment variables that have been set in a workflow, job, or step. For more information about setting environment variables in your workflow, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

The env context syntax allows you to use the value of an environment variable in your workflow file. You can use the env context in the value of any key in a step except for the id and uses keys. For more information on the step syntax, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

If you want to use the value of an environment variable inside a runner, use the runner operating system's normal method for reading environment variables.

Property nameTypeDescription
envobjectThis context changes for each step in a job. You can access this context from any step in a job.
env.<env_name>stringThe value of a specific environment variable.

job context

The job context contains information about the currently running job.

Property nameTypeDescription
jobobjectThis context changes for each job in a workflow run. You can access this context from any step in a job.
job.containerobjectInformation about the job's container. For more information about containers, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."
job.container.idstringThe id of the container.
job.container.networkstringThe id of the container network. The runner creates the network used by all containers in a job.
job.servicesobjectThe service containers created for a job. For more information about service containers, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."
job.services.<service id>.idstringThe id of the service container.
job.services.<service id>.networkstringThe id of the service container network. The runner creates the network used by all containers in a job.
job.services.<service id>.portsobjectThe exposed ports of the service container.
job.statusstringThe current status of the job. Possible values are success, failure, or cancelled.

steps context

The steps context contains information about the steps in the current job that have already run.

Property nameTypeDescription
stepsobjectThis context changes for each step in a job. You can access this context from any step in a job.
steps.<step id>.outputsobjectThe set of outputs defined for the step. For more information, see "Metadata syntax for GitHub Actions."
steps.<step id>.conclusionstringThe result of a completed step after continue-on-error is applied. Possible values are success, failure, cancelled, or skipped. When a continue-on-error step fails, the outcome is failure, but the final conclusion is success.
steps.<step id>.outcomestringThe result of a completed step before continue-on-error is applied. Possible values are success, failure, cancelled, or skipped. When a continue-on-error step fails, the outcome is failure, but the final conclusion is success.
steps.<step id>.outputs.<output name>stringThe value of a specific output.

runner context

The runner context contains information about the runner that is executing the current job.

Property nameTypeDescription
runner.namestringThe name of the runner executing the job.
runner.osstringThe operating system of the runner executing the job. Possible values are Linux, Windows, or macOS.
runner.tempstringThe path to a temporary directory on the runner. This directory is emptied at the beginning and end of each job. Note that files will not be removed if the runner's user account does not have permission to delete them.
runner.tool_cachestringThe path to the directory containing preinstalled tools for GitHub-hosted runners. For more information, see "Specifications for GitHub-hosted runners".

needs context

The needs context contains outputs from all jobs that are defined as a dependency of the current job. For more information on defining job dependencies, see "Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions."

Property nameTypeDescription
needs.<job id>objectA single job that the current job depends on.
needs.<job id>.outputsobjectThe set of outputs of a job that the current job depends on.
needs.<job id>.outputs.<output name>stringThe value of a specific output for a job that the current job depends on.
needs.<job id>.resultstringThe result of a job that the current job depends on. Possible values are success, failure, cancelled, or skipped.

Example printing context information to the log file

To inspect the information that is accessible in each context, you can use this workflow file example.

Warning: When using the whole github context, be mindful that it includes sensitive information such as github.token. GitHub masks secrets when they are printed to the console, but you should be cautious when exporting or printing the context.

.github/workflows/main.yml

on: push

jobs:
  one:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Dump GitHub context
        env:
          GITHUB_CONTEXT: ${{ toJSON(github) }}
        run: echo "$GITHUB_CONTEXT"
      - name: Dump job context
        env:
          JOB_CONTEXT: ${{ toJSON(job) }}
        run: echo "$JOB_CONTEXT"
      - name: Dump steps context
        env:
          STEPS_CONTEXT: ${{ toJSON(steps) }}
        run: echo "$STEPS_CONTEXT"
      - name: Dump runner context
        env:
          RUNNER_CONTEXT: ${{ toJSON(runner) }}
        run: echo "$RUNNER_CONTEXT"
      - name: Dump strategy context
        env:
          STRATEGY_CONTEXT: ${{ toJSON(strategy) }}
        run: echo "$STRATEGY_CONTEXT"
      - name: Dump matrix context
        env:
          MATRIX_CONTEXT: ${{ toJSON(matrix) }}
        run: echo "$MATRIX_CONTEXT"

Context availability

Different contexts are available throughout a workflow run. For example, the secrets context may only be used at certain places within a job.

In addition, some functions may only be used in certain places. For example, the hashFiles function is not available everywhere.

The following table indicates where each context and special function can be used within a workflow. Unless listed below, a function can be used anywhere.

PathContextSpecial functions
concurrencygithub
envgithub, secrets
jobs.<job_id>.concurrencygithub, needs, strategy, matrix
jobs.<job_id>.containergithub, needs, strategy, matrix
jobs.<job_id>.container.credentialsgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, env, secrets
jobs.<job_id>.container.env.<env_id>github, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets
jobs.<job_id>.continue-on-errorgithub, needs, strategy, matrix
jobs.<job_id>.defaults.rungithub, needs, strategy, matrix, env
jobs.<job_id>.envgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, secrets
jobs.<job_id>.environmentgithub, needs, strategy, matrix
jobs.<job_id>.environment.urlgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, steps
jobs.<job_id>.ifgithub, needsalways, cancelled, success, failure
jobs.<job_id>.namegithub, needs, strategy, matrix
jobs.<job_id>.outputs.<output_id>github, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets, steps
jobs.<job_id>.runs-ongithub, needs, strategy, matrix
jobs.<job_id>.servicesgithub, needs, strategy, matrix
jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.credentialsgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, env, secrets
jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.env.<env_id>github, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets
jobs.<job_id>.steps.continue-on-errorgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets, stepshashFiles
jobs.<job_id>.steps.envgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets, stepshashFiles
jobs.<job_id>.steps.ifgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, stepsalways, cancelled, success, failure, hashFiles
jobs.<job_id>.steps.namegithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets, stepshashFiles
jobs.<job_id>.steps.rungithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets, stepshashFiles
jobs.<job_id>.steps.timeout-minutesgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets, stepshashFiles
jobs.<job_id>.steps.withgithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets, stepshashFiles
jobs.<job_id>.steps.working-directorygithub, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, secrets, stepshashFiles
jobs.<job_id>.strategygithub, needs
jobs.<job_id>.timeout-minutesgithub, needs, strategy, matrix