GitHub Actions From Zero — Build Your First Pipeline

ssh prod
git pull
docker compose up -d --build

Workflow → A single automation process (defined in a YAML file)
  └── Job → A set of steps that run on the same runner
       └── Step → A single task (run a command or use an action)
            └── Action → A reusable unit of code (like a function)

name: CI

on:
    pull_request:
        branches: [main]
    push:
        branches: [main]

jobs:
    test:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest

        steps:
            - name: Checkout code
              uses: actions/checkout@v4

            - name: Setup Node.js
              uses: actions/setup-node@v4
              with:
                  node-version: 22
                  cache: "npm"

            - name: Install dependencies
              run: npm ci

            - name: Run linter
              run: npm run lint

            - name: Run type check
              run: npm run typecheck

            - name: Run tests
              run: npm test

on:
    # Run on push to specific branches
    push:
        branches: [main, develop]

    # Run on pull requests
    pull_request:
        branches: [main]

    # Run on a schedule (cron syntax)
    schedule:
        - cron: "0 6 * * 1" # Every Monday at 6 AM UTC

    # Run manually from the GitHub UI
    workflow_dispatch:

    # Run when another workflow completes
    workflow_run:
        workflows: ["Build"]
        types: [completed]

name: CI/CD

on:
    pull_request:
        branches: [main]
    push:
        branches: [main]

jobs:
    test:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
            - uses: actions/checkout@v4
            - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
              with:
                  node-version: 22
                  cache: "npm"
            - run: npm ci
            - run: npm run lint
            - run: npm run typecheck
            - run: npm test

    build:
        needs: [test]
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
        steps:
            - uses: actions/checkout@v4
            - run: npm ci
            - run: npm run build
            - name: Upload build artifact
              uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
              with:
                  name: build-output
                  path: dist/

    deploy:
        needs: [build]
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
        steps:
            - name: Deploy to server
              run: |
                  echo "Deploying to production..."
                  # SSH commands go here

test ──> build ──> deploy

jobs:
    test:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        strategy:
            matrix:
                node-version: [18, 20, 22]
        steps:
            - uses: actions/checkout@v4
            - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
              with:
                  node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
            - run: npm ci
            - run: npm test

steps:
    - name: Deploy to server
      env:
          SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
          SERVER_HOST: ${{ secrets.SERVER_HOST }}
      run: |
          echo "$SSH_PRIVATE_KEY" > ssh_key
          chmod 600 ssh_key
          ssh -i ssh_key deploy@$SERVER_HOST "docker compose pull && docker compose up -d"

# Run only on push to main
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'

# Run only on pull requests
if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'

# Run only on specific file changes
on:
    push:
        paths:
            - "api/**"
            - "compose.yaml"
            - "Dockerfile"

# Skip if PR is a draft
if: github.event.pull_request.draft == false

# Run only for specific event types
on:
    pull_request:
        types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]

- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
  with:
      node-version: 22
      cache: "npm"

# Python (pip)
- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
  with:
      cache: "pip"

# Go
- uses: actions/setup-go@v5
  with:
      cache: true

# Generic cache
- uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
      path: ~/.npm
      key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}
      restore-keys: |
          ${{ runner.os }}-node-

![CI](https://github.com/your-username/your-repo/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)

[CI ✅ Passing]  or  [CI ❌ Failing]

your-repo/
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
│       ├── ci.yml           # Tests on every PR
│       ├── deploy.yml       # Deploy on merge to main
│       └── nightly.yml      # Scheduled maintenance tasks
├── src/
├── compose.yaml
└── Dockerfile

name: CI

on:
    pull_request:
        branches: [main]
    push:
        branches: [main]

jobs:
    test:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        strategy:
            matrix:
                node-version: [20, 22]

        steps:
            - uses: actions/checkout@v4

            - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
              with:
                  node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
                  cache: "npm"

            - run: npm ci

            - run: npm run lint
              continue-on-error: true

            - run: npm run typecheck

            - run: npm test -- --coverage

            - name: Upload coverage
              uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
              with:
                  name: coverage-${{ matrix.node-version }}
                  path: coverage/