Reference for GitHub Actions

A workflow is a configurable automated process made up of one or more jobs. You must create a YAML file to define your workflow configuration.

You can configure your workflows to run when specific activity on GitHub happens, at a scheduled time, or when an event outside of GitHub occurs.

You can use workflow commands when running shell commands in a workflow or in an action's code.

Find information for supported variables, naming conventions, limits, and contexts in GitHub Actions workflows.

Find technical information about secrets in GitHub Actions.

Find information for expressions in GitHub Actions.

Find information about contexts available in GitHub Actions workflows, including available properties, access methods, and usage examples.

Find information about deployment protection rules, environment secrets, and environment variables.

Find information on the functionality of dependency caching in workflows.

You can create actions to perform tasks in your repository. Actions require a metadata file that uses YAML syntax.

There are limits in GitHub Actions which you may hit as you scale up, some may be increased by contacting support.

Learn how to avoid duplication when creating a workflow by reusing existing workflows.

Find information about using OpenID Connect (OIDC) to authenticate GitHub Actions workflows with cloud providers.

Find information about the properties, permissions, and behavior of the GITHUB_TOKEN used in GitHub Actions workflows.

When creating a Dockerfile for a Docker container action, you should be aware of how some Docker instructions interact with GitHub Actions and an action's metadata file.

Find information about GitHub-hosted runners, including their specifications and customization options.

Find information about requirements and supported actions for self-hosted runners.

There are some limits on GitHub Actions usage when using self-hosted runners. These limits are subject to change.

GitHub Actions Importer has several supplemental arguments and settings to tailor the migration process to your needs.

GitHub Actions Importer offers the ability to extend its built-in mapping.