GitHub Actions: Terminology

Here’s a table that summarizes key GitHub Actions terminology, providing a clear and concise explanation of each term:

Example

name: CI Pipeline

# Define the triggers (events) for this workflow
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - main
  workflow_dispatch: # Allows manually triggering the workflow

# Define the jobs in the workflow
jobs:
  # A job for building the project using a matrix strategy
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [12.x, 14.x, 16.x] # Run the job for different versions of Node.js
        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest] # Run on different operating systems
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3 # Action to checkout the code

      - name: Set up Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}

      - name: Cache node modules
        uses: actions/cache@v3 # Cache dependencies
        with:
          path: ~/.npm
          key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}
          restore-keys: |
            ${{ runner.os }}-node-

      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: npm install

      - name: Run Unit Tests
        run: npm test

      - name: Upload Test Results as Artifacts
        if: always() # Upload artifacts even if the tests fail
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: test-results
          path: test-results.xml

  # A job for deploying the application, running only when building on main
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: build # This job will only run if the build job succeeds
    environment: production # Specifies the environment (can be 'production', 'staging', etc.)
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' # Deploy only on pushes to main
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Set up Node.js 16.x
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: 16.x

      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: npm install

      - name: Deploy to Production Server
        env:
          SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }} # Using a secret for authentication
        run: |
          ssh -i $SSH_PRIVATE_KEY user@yourserver.com "cd /var/www/app && git pull && npm install && pm2 restart app"
        
      - name: Notify on Success
        if: success()
        run: echo "Deployment successful!"

      - name: Notify on Failure
        if: failure()
        run: echo "Deployment failed!"
Code language: PHP (php)

Explanation of Key Terminology in the Workflow

Main Features Demonstrated

1. Triggers: The workflow triggers on push and pull_request to the main branch, and can also be manually triggered via workflow_dispatch.
2. Matrix: The build job uses a matrix to run multiple combinations of Node.js versions (12.x, 14.x, 16.x) and operating systems (ubuntu-latest, windows-latest).
3. Secrets: The deploy job uses a secret (SSH_PRIVATE_KEY) to securely authenticate the deployment process.
4. Conditional Execution:
   • The deploy job only runs on the main branch.
   • The steps Notify on Success and Notify on Failure use if: success() and if: failure() to conditionally run based on the outcome of previous steps.
5. Artifacts: Test results are uploaded as an artifact so that they can be accessed after the workflow completes.
6. Caching: Caching is used for npm dependencies to improve performance on subsequent runs.

Conclusion:

This workflow showcases a wide variety of GitHub Actions terminologies, demonstrating how to set up a matrix build, conditionally run jobs, use secrets, cache dependencies, upload artifacts, and trigger workflows with various events.

Rajesh Kumar

I’m Rajesh Kumar, a DevOps, SRE, DevSecOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering expert passionate about sharing practical knowledge, real-world experiences, and industry best practices. I have worked at Cotocus and regularly write about technology, travel, investing, health, product reviews, and digital marketing through my various platforms.

I publish technical articles at DevOps School, travel stories at Holiday Landmark, stock market insights at Stocks Mantra, health and fitness guidance at My Medic Plus, product reviews at TrueReviewNow, and SEO and digital marketing strategies at Wizbrand.