{"id":47174,"date":"2024-10-04T06:01:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T06:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/?p=47174"},"modified":"2024-10-04T06:01:56","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T06:01:56","slug":"github-actions-terminology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/github-actions-terminology\/","title":{"rendered":"GitHub Actions: Terminology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s a table that summarizes key GitHub Actions terminology, providing a clear and concise explanation of each term:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Term<\/strong><\/th>Definition<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Workflow<\/strong><\/td>A configurable automated process made up of one or more jobs. Defined in YAML files in .github\/workflows\/<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
Job<\/strong><\/td>A set of steps executed sequentially. Multiple jobs can run in parallel or sequentially.<\/td><\/tr>
Step<\/strong><\/td>A single task that runs as part of a job. It can be a shell command or an action.<\/td><\/tr>
Action<\/strong><\/td>A reusable command or script that can be shared and used in workflows. Defined in public repositories or locally.<\/td><\/tr>
Runner<\/strong><\/td>A server that runs jobs. It can be GitHub-hosted (runs on GitHub servers) or self-hosted (runs on your own infrastructure).<\/td><\/tr>
Event<\/strong><\/td>Triggers that start a workflow, such as push<\/code>, pull_request<\/code>, schedule<\/code>, or workflow_dispatch<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
Trigger<\/strong><\/td>The event or condition that initiates a workflow run.<\/td><\/tr>
Job Matrix<\/strong><\/td>A way to run a job in multiple configurations (e.g., different OS, environments, or parameters) in parallel.<\/td><\/tr>
Environment<\/strong><\/td>A collection of settings and resources (like secrets) that control how a workflow interacts with environments such as production, development, or staging.<\/td><\/tr>
Artifact<\/strong><\/td>Files generated by jobs, such as build outputs or test results, that can be shared across jobs.<\/td><\/tr>
Secret<\/strong><\/td>Encrypted variables used in workflows to store sensitive data like API keys, tokens, or passwords.<\/td><\/tr>
Context<\/strong><\/td>Information available to workflows during runtime, such as GitHub metadata, environment variables, or the repository.<\/td><\/tr>
Service Container<\/strong><\/td>Containers that can run alongside a job, typically used for databases or other services needed for the job.<\/td><\/tr>
Workflow Run<\/strong><\/td>An instance of a workflow being executed as a result of a trigger or manual dispatch.<\/td><\/tr>
Expression Syntax<\/strong><\/td>Special syntax (${{ }}<\/code>) used in workflows to evaluate conditions, access context variables, or make decisions.<\/td><\/tr>
Cache<\/strong><\/td>Mechanism to store dependencies or build outputs that can be reused in future workflow runs to improve performance.<\/td><\/tr>
Permissions<\/strong><\/td>The level of access given to the GitHub Actions runner for a job, such as read<\/code> or write<\/code> permissions for repositories or secrets.<\/td><\/tr>
Status Badge<\/strong><\/td>A badge that shows the current status of a workflow (e.g., success, failure) that can be embedded in a README.<\/td><\/tr>
Timeout<\/strong><\/td>The maximum duration a job or workflow is allowed to run before it is automatically stopped.<\/td><\/tr>
Checkout<\/strong><\/td>An action (actions\/checkout<\/code>) that fetches the repository\u2019s code in a workflow so that subsequent steps can work with it.<\/td><\/tr>
Cache Action<\/strong><\/td>An action (actions\/cache<\/code>) used to cache dependencies or output between workflow runs.<\/td><\/tr>
Matrix Strategy<\/strong><\/td>A feature allowing you to run the same job multiple times with different inputs (e.g., various operating systems, programming languages).<\/td><\/tr>
Approval Workflow<\/strong><\/td>A manual action that requires approval from a human (typically used in deployment workflows).<\/td><\/tr>
Filter<\/strong><\/td>Mechanism used to conditionally run workflows or jobs based on file changes, branches, or other criteria (e.g., paths<\/code>, branches<\/code>, tags<\/code>).<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Example<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n
name: CI Pipeline\n\n# Define the triggers (events) for this workflow<\/span>\non:\n  push:\n    branches:\n      - main\n  pull_request:\n    branches:\n      - main\n  workflow_dispatch: # Allows manually triggering the workflow<\/span>\n\n# Define the jobs in the workflow<\/span>\njobs:\n  # A job for building the project using a matrix strategy<\/span>\n  build:\n    runs-on: ubuntu-latest\n    strategy:\n      matrix:\n        node-version: [12.<\/span>x, 14.<\/span>x, 16.<\/span>x] # Run the job for different versions of Node.js<\/span>\n        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest] # Run on different operating systems<\/span>\n    steps:\n      - name: Checkout code\n        uses: actions\/checkout@v3 # Action to checkout the code<\/span>\n\n      - name: Set up Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}\n        uses: actions\/setup-node@v3\n        with:\n          node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}\n\n      - name: Cache node modules\n        uses: actions\/cache@v3 # Cache dependencies<\/span>\n        with:\n          path: ~\/.npm\n          key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json'<\/span>) }}\n          restore-keys: |\n            ${{ runner.os }}-node-\n\n      - name: Install Dependencies\n        run: npm install\n\n      - name: Run Unit Tests\n        run: npm test\n\n      - name: Upload Test Results as<\/span> Artifacts\n        if<\/span>: always() # Upload artifacts even if the tests fail<\/span>\n        uses: actions\/upload-artifact@v3\n        with:\n          name: test-results\n          path: test-results.xml\n\n  # A job for deploying the application, running only when building on main<\/span>\n  deploy:\n    runs-on: ubuntu-latest\n    needs: build # This job will only run if the build job succeeds<\/span>\n    environment: production # Specifies the environment (can be 'production', 'staging', etc.)<\/span>\n    if<\/span>: github.ref == 'refs\/heads\/main'<\/span> # Deploy only on pushes to main<\/span>\n    steps:\n      - name: Checkout code\n        uses: actions\/checkout@v3\n\n      - name: Set up Node.js 16.<\/span>x\n        uses: actions\/setup-node@v3\n        with:\n          node-version: 16.<\/span>x\n\n      - name: Install Dependencies\n        run: npm install\n\n      - name: Deploy to Production Server\n        env:\n          SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }} # Using a secret for authentication<\/span>\n        run: |\n          ssh -i $SSH_PRIVATE_KEY user@yourserver.com \"cd \/var\/www\/app && git pull && npm install && pm2 restart app\"<\/span>\n        \n      - name: Notify on Success\n        if<\/span>: success()\n        run: echo<\/span> \"Deployment successful!\"<\/span>\n\n      - name: Notify on Failure\n        if<\/span>: failure()\n        run: echo<\/span> \"Deployment failed!\"<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Explanation of Key Terminology in the Workflow<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Term<\/strong><\/th>Explanation<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Workflow<\/strong><\/td>The entire .yml<\/code> file defines a workflow. This example has two jobs: build<\/code> and deploy<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
Job<\/strong><\/td>A collection of steps, running in a virtual machine environment. The jobs are build<\/code> and deploy<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
Step<\/strong><\/td>Individual tasks within a job. For example, checking out the code, installing dependencies, and running tests.<\/td><\/tr>
Action<\/strong><\/td>Reusable commands from the GitHub Marketplace. In this example, actions\/checkout@v3<\/code>, actions\/setup-node@v3<\/code>, etc.<\/td><\/tr>
Matrix<\/strong><\/td>Allows running the build<\/code> job in parallel for different versions of Node.js and operating systems.<\/td><\/tr>
Runner<\/strong><\/td>The server that runs the jobs (ubuntu-latest<\/code> or windows-latest<\/code>).<\/td><\/tr>
Event\/Trigger<\/strong><\/td>The workflow is triggered by events like push<\/code>, pull_request<\/code>, and workflow_dispatch<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
Environment<\/strong><\/td>Specifies the environment (in this case, production<\/code>) for deployment.<\/td><\/tr>
Artifact<\/strong><\/td>The test results are uploaded as artifacts using actions\/upload-artifact@v3<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
Cache<\/strong><\/td>Dependencies are cached to speed up future builds (actions\/cache@v3<\/code> caches the ~\/.npm<\/code> directory).<\/td><\/tr>
Secret<\/strong><\/td>A secure environment variable (SSH_PRIVATE_KEY<\/code>) is used to authenticate the deployment server.<\/td><\/tr>
if<\/strong><\/td>Conditional logic to control when certain steps or jobs are executed (e.g., if: success()<\/code> or if: github.ref == 'refs\/heads\/main'<\/code>).<\/td><\/tr>
Context<\/strong><\/td>The expression syntax ${{ }}<\/code> allows accessing GitHub contexts such as matrix<\/code>, secrets<\/code>, and github.ref<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
needs<\/strong><\/td>Specifies that the deploy<\/code> job depends on the build<\/code> job, meaning it will only run if build<\/code> is successful.<\/td><\/tr>
Artifact<\/strong><\/td>Test results are stored using artifacts, which can be used in later jobs or downloaded after the workflow finishes.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Main Features Demonstrated<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Triggers<\/strong>: The workflow triggers on push<\/code> and pull_request<\/code> to the main<\/code> branch, and can also be manually triggered via workflow_dispatch<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Matrix<\/strong>: The build<\/code> job uses a matrix to run multiple combinations of Node.js versions (12.x<\/code>, 14.x<\/code>, 16.x<\/code>) and operating systems (ubuntu-latest<\/code>, windows-latest<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Secrets<\/strong>: The deploy<\/code> job uses a secret (SSH_PRIVATE_KEY<\/code>) to securely authenticate the deployment process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Conditional Execution<\/strong>:\n
      \n
    • The deploy<\/code> job only runs on the main<\/code> branch.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The steps Notify on Success<\/code> and Notify on Failure<\/code> use if: success()<\/code> and if: failure()<\/code> to conditionally run based on the outcome of previous steps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Artifacts<\/strong>: Test results are uploaded as an artifact so that they can be accessed after the workflow completes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Caching<\/strong>: Caching is used for npm<\/code> dependencies to improve performance on subsequent runs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      Conclusion:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      Here\u2019s a table that summarizes key GitHub Actions terminology, providing a clear and concise explanation of each term: Term Definition Workflow A configurable automated process made up of one or more jobs. Defined in YAML files in .github\/workflows\/. Job A set of steps executed sequentially. Multiple jobs can run in parallel or sequentially. Step A…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47182,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47174\/revisions\/47182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}