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Understanding GitHub Actions

Understand GitHub Actions

Learn the basics of core concepts and essential terminology in {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}.

/github/automating-your-workflow-with-github-actions/core-concepts-for-github-actions

/actions/automating-your-workflow-with-github-actions/core-concepts-for-github-actions

/actions/getting-started-with-github-actions/core-concepts-for-github-actions

/actions/learn-github-actions/introduction-to-github-actions

/actions/learn-github-actions/understanding-github-actions

/actions/learn-github-actions/essential-features-of-github-actions

/articles/getting-started-with-github-actions

/actions/about-github-actions/understanding-github-actions

/actions/get-started/understanding-github-actions

fpt	ghes	ghec
*	*	*

overview

Fundamentals

{% data reusables.actions.enterprise-github-hosted-runners %}

Overview

{% data reusables.actions.about-actions %} You can create workflows that build and test every pull request to your repository, or deploy merged pull requests to production.

{% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} goes beyond just DevOps and lets you run workflows when other events happen in your repository. For example, you can run a workflow to automatically add the appropriate labels whenever someone creates a new issue in your repository.

{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}

{% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} provides Linux, Windows, and macOS virtual machines to run your workflows, or you can host your own self-hosted runners in your own data center or cloud infrastructure.

{% elsif ghes %}

You must host your own Linux, Windows, or macOS virtual machines to run workflows for {% data variables.location.product_location %}.

{% endif %}

{% ifversion ghec or ghes %}

For more information about introducing {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} to your enterprise, see AUTOTITLE.

{% endif %}

The components of {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}

You can configure a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow to be triggered when an event occurs in your repository, such as a pull request being opened or an issue being created. Your workflow contains one or more jobs which can run in sequential order or in parallel. Each job will run inside its own virtual machine runner, or inside a container, and has one or more steps that either run a script that you define or run an action, which is a reusable extension that can simplify your workflow.

Workflows

{% data reusables.actions.about-workflows-long %}

You can reference a workflow within another workflow. For more information, see AUTOTITLE.

For more information, see AUTOTITLE.

Events

An event is a specific activity in a repository that triggers a workflow run. For example, an activity can originate from {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} when someone creates a pull request, opens an issue, or pushes a commit to a repository. You can also trigger a workflow to run on a schedule, by posting to a REST API, or manually.

For a complete list of events that can be used to trigger workflows, see Events that trigger workflows.

Jobs

A job is a set of steps in a workflow that is executed on the same runner. Each step is either a shell script that will be executed, or an action that will be run. Steps are executed in order and are dependent on each other. Since each step is executed on the same runner, you can share data from one step to another. For example, you can have a step that builds your application followed by a step that tests the application that was built.

You can configure a job's dependencies with other jobs; by default, jobs have no dependencies and run in parallel. When a job takes a dependency on another job, it waits for the dependent job to complete before running.

You can also use a matrix to run the same job multiple times, each with a different combination of variables—like operating systems or language versions.

For example, you might configure multiple build jobs for different architectures without any job dependencies and a packaging job that depends on those builds. The build jobs run in parallel, and once they complete successfully, the packaging job runs.

For more information, see AUTOTITLE.

Actions

An action is a pre-defined, reusable set of jobs or code that performs specific tasks within a workflow, reducing the amount of repetitive code you write in your workflow files. Actions can perform tasks such as:

Pulling your Git repository from {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}
Setting up the correct toolchain for your build environment
Setting up authentication to your cloud provider

You can write your own actions, or you can find actions to use in your workflows in the {% data variables.product.prodname_marketplace %}.

{% data reusables.actions.internal-actions-summary %}

For more information on actions, see AUTOTITLE.

Runners

A runner is a server that runs your workflows when they're triggered. Each runner can run a single job at a time. {% ifversion ghes %} You must host your own runners for {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %}. {% elsif fpt or ghec %}{% data variables.product.company_short %} provides Ubuntu Linux, Microsoft Windows, and macOS runners to run your workflows. Each workflow run executes in a fresh, newly-provisioned virtual machine.

{% ifversion actions-hosted-runners %} {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} also offers {% data variables.actions.hosted_runner %}s, which are available in larger configurations. For more information, see AUTOTITLE. {% endif %} If you need a different operating system or require a specific hardware configuration, you can host your own runners. {% endif %}

For more information{% ifversion fpt or ghec %} about self-hosted runners{% endif %}, see AUTOTITLE.

Next steps

{% data reusables.actions.onboarding-next-steps %}

{% ifversion ghec or ghes %}

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