GitHub Actions Platform

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A GitHub Actions Platform is a software development workflow platform (e.g. continuous integration (CI) workflows and continuous delivery (CD) workflows) built into GitHub repositories.

  • Context:
    • It can (typically) integrate with secrets management to securely handle sensitive information, like API keys, ensuring these are not exposed in the workflow logs.
    • It can (often) automate CI/CD pipelines by setting up workflows triggered by events such as code pushes, pull requests, or scheduled intervals.
    • It can (often) run workflows defined in YAML files located in the `.github/workflows` directory of a repository, allowing for full control over build, test, and deployment processes.
    • It can (often) trigger workflows based on a wide range of GitHub events, including push events, pull request actions, issue creation, and more.
    • It can (often) handle matrix builds, enabling the testing of code across various environments, such as different operating systems or runtime versions.
    • It can (often) be executed on GitHub-hosted runners or self-hosted runners, giving developers the flexibility to use their own infrastructure for running workflows.
    • It can (often) generate and store artifacts, enabling the sharing of data across jobs and the collection of workflow outputs for future reference or analysis.
    • ...
    • It can support the use of pre-built or custom Actions to perform reusable tasks, which can be shared via the GitHub Marketplace or developed specifically for individual projects.
    • It can consist of multiple jobs and steps, allowing for complex workflows that execute tasks in parallel or sequentially based on defined conditions.
    • It can be integrated with third-party services like Docker, AWS, and Azure for enhanced deployment and testing scenarios.
    • ...
  • Example(s):
    • GitHub Actions, 2018, announced at the GitHub Universe conference and launched in limited public beta
    • GitHub Actions, 2019, became generally available in November.
    • ...
    • GitHub Actions, 2024, continuous evolution and expansion of features, including growth of the GitHub Actions Marketplace to over 10,000 pre-written actions.
    • ...
  • Counter-Example(s):
    • Jenkins, an open-source automation server that performs CI/CD tasks but is not tied directly to GitHub repositories.
    • CircleCI, a cloud-based CI/CD platform with similar capabilities to GitHub Actions but operates independently of GitHub’s repository ecosystem.
  • See: Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, CircleCI.


References

2023