What are the workflow structure in GitHub Actions?

name: CI — Workflow display name; on: push — Trigger on push events; jobs: — Define one or more jobs; runs-on: ubuntu-latest — Runner environment; steps: — Sequence of steps in a job; .github/workflows/*.yml — Workflow files location

What are the triggers (on:) in GitHub Actions?

on: push — Every push to any branch; on: push: branches: [main] — Push to specific branch; on: pull_request — PR opened, updated, or reopened; on: schedule: - cron: "0 0 * * *" — Scheduled (daily at midnight UTC); on: workflow_dispatch — Manual trigger (Run workflow button); on: release: types: [published] — When a release is published; on: push: paths: ["src/**"] — Only when specific paths change; on: push: tags: ["v*"] — Push tags matching pattern

What are the jobs & steps in GitHub Actions?

jobs: build: runs-on: ubuntu-latest — Define a job with runner; needs: [build, test] — Job depends on other jobs; if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' — Conditional execution; uses: actions/checkout@v4 — Use a marketplace action; run: npm install — Run a shell command; run: | npm install npm test — Multi-line shell commands; name: Install deps — Step display name; continue-on-error: true — Don't fail job if step fails

GitHub Actions Cheat Sheet

Quick reference for GitHub Actions workflow syntax, triggers, job configuration, common actions, and secrets. Build CI/CD pipelines with this one-page guide.

Workflow Structure Triggers (on:) Jobs & Steps Common Actions Variables & Secrets Matrix Strategy Caching & Artifacts

Workflow Structure

name: CI	Workflow display name
on: push	Trigger on push events
jobs:	Define one or more jobs
runs-on: ubuntu-latest	Runner environment
steps:	Sequence of steps in a job
.github/workflows/*.yml	Workflow files location

Triggers (on:)

on: push	Every push to any branch
on: push: branches: [main]	Push to specific branch
on: pull_request	PR opened, updated, or reopened
on: schedule: - cron: "0 0 * * *"	Scheduled (daily at midnight UTC)
on: workflow_dispatch	Manual trigger (Run workflow button)
on: release: types: [published]	When a release is published
on: push: paths: ["src/**"]	Only when specific paths change
on: push: tags: ["v*"]	Push tags matching pattern

Jobs & Steps

jobs: build: runs-on: ubuntu-latest	Define a job with runner
needs: [build, test]	Job depends on other jobs
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'	Conditional execution
uses: actions/checkout@v4	Use a marketplace action
run: npm install	Run a shell command
run: \|\n npm install\n npm test	Multi-line shell commands
name: Install deps	Step display name
continue-on-error: true	Don't fail job if step fails

Common Actions

actions/checkout@v4	Checkout repository code
actions/setup-node@v4	Install Node.js version
actions/setup-python@v5	Install Python version
actions/cache@v4	Cache dependencies for speed
actions/upload-artifact@v4	Save build artifacts
actions/download-artifact@v4	Download artifacts from other jobs
github/codeql-action/analyze@v3	Security code scanning

Variables & Secrets

${{ secrets.MY_SECRET }}	Access repository secret
${{ github.sha }}	Current commit SHA
${{ github.ref }}	Branch or tag ref (refs/heads/main)
${{ github.actor }}	User who triggered the workflow
${{ github.event_name }}	Event that triggered (push, pull_request)
${{ env.MY_VAR }}	Access environment variable
env: NODE_ENV: production	Set environment variable for step
${{ vars.MY_VAR }}	Access repository variable (non-secret)

Matrix Strategy

strategy: matrix: node: [18, 20, 22]	Test across Node versions
strategy: matrix: os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]	Test across OS
${{ matrix.node }}	Access current matrix value
strategy: fail-fast: false	Continue other matrix jobs on failure
strategy: max-parallel: 2	Limit concurrent matrix jobs
exclude: - os: windows-latest\n node: 18	Exclude specific combinations

Caching & Artifacts

uses: actions/cache@v4\nwith:\n path: ~/.npm\n key: ${{ runner.os }}-npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}	Cache npm packages
uses: actions/cache@v4\nwith:\n path: node_modules\n key: nm-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}	Cache node_modules directly
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4\nwith:\n name: build\n path: dist/	Upload build output
retention-days: 5	Artifact retention period

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