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.yml in 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@v4 to 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/

github-ci