Book Image

Automating Workflows with GitHub Actions

By : Priscila Heller
Book Image

Automating Workflows with GitHub Actions

By: Priscila Heller

Overview of this book

GitHub Actions is one of the most popular products that enables you to automate development tasks and improve your software development workflow. Automating Workflows with GitHub Actions uses real-world examples to help you automate everyday tasks and use your resources efficiently. This book takes a practical approach to helping you develop the skills needed to create complex YAML files to automate your daily tasks. You'll learn how to find and use existing workflows, allowing you to get started with GitHub Actions right away. Moving on, you'll discover complex concepts and practices such as self-hosted runners and writing workflow files that leverage other platforms such as Docker as well as programming languages such as Java and JavaScript. As you advance, you'll be able to write your own JavaScript, Docker, and composite run steps actions, and publish them in GitHub Marketplace! You'll also find instructions to migrate your existing CI/CD workflows into GitHub Actions from platforms like Travis CI and GitLab. Finally, you'll explore tools that'll help you stay informed of additions to GitHub Actions along with finding technical support and staying engaged with the community. By the end of this GitHub book, you'll have developed the skills and experience needed to build and maintain your own CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions.

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Table of Contents (14 chapters)
Preface
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Download the color images
Conventions used
Get in touch
Share Your Thoughts
1
Section 1:Introduction and Overview of Technologies Used with GitHub Actions
Section 1:Introduction and Overview of Technologies Used with GitHub Actions
Free Chapter
2
Chapter 1: Learning the Foundations for GitHub Actions
Chapter 1: Learning the Foundations for GitHub Actions
Technical requirements
Understanding the basics of CI/CD
Introduction to GitHub: creating a user account
Discovering the basics of Git and GitHub
Introduction to YAML
Summary
3
Chapter 2: Deep Diving into GitHub Actions
Chapter 2: Deep Diving into GitHub Actions
Learning about GitHub Actions' core concepts and components
Understanding the basics of workflows
Securing your GitHub Actions
Summary
4
Section 2: Advanced Concepts and Hands-On Exercises to Create Actions
Section 2: Advanced Concepts and Hands-On Exercises to Create Actions
5
Chapter 3: A Closer Look at Workflows
Chapter 3: A Closer Look at Workflows
Reviewing the webhook events that trigger workflows
Authenticating within a workflow
Understanding contexts, environment variables, and expressions
Managing the workflow run
Summary
6
Chapter 4: Working with Self-Hosted Runners
Chapter 4: Working with Self-Hosted Runners
Technical requirements
Creating a self-hosted runner
Configuring a job that runs on a self-hosted runner
Managing a self-hosted runner
Summary
7
Chapter 5: Writing Your Own Actions
Chapter 5: Writing Your Own Actions
Technical requirements
Overview
Reviewing the metadata syntax
Using exit codes
Creating a JavaScript action
Creating a Docker container action
Creating a composite run steps action
Summary
8
Chapter 6: Marketplace – Finding Existing Actions and Publishing Your Own
Chapter 6: Marketplace – Finding Existing Actions and Publishing Your Own
Technical requirements
Overview
Finding existing actions
Publishing your own actions
Removing your action from GitHub Marketplace
Summary
9
Section 3: Customizing Existing Actions, Migrations, and the Future of GitHub Actions
Section 3: Customizing Existing Actions, Migrations, and the Future of GitHub Actions
10
Chapter 7: Migrations
Chapter 7: Migrations
Technical requirements
Considerations before you migrate
Migrating from Azure Pipelines
Migrating from GitLab CI/CD
Migrating from Jenkins
Summary
11
Chapter 8: Contributing to the Community and Finding Help
Chapter 8: Contributing to the Community and Finding Help
Technical requirements
Hands-on learning
Interacting with the GitHub Actions community
Helping to improve GitHub Actions
Requesting technical support
Summary
12
Chapter 9: The Future of GitHub Actions
Chapter 9: The Future of GitHub Actions
Technical requirements
Checking the GitHub roadmap
Reading the GitHub blog and changelog
Connecting through social media
Summary
Why subscribe?
13
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Understanding the basics of workflows

Workflows are automated and configurable processes that you can add to your GitHub repository. Workflows consist of one or multiple jobs that are triggered by specific events. A workflow configuration is defined in a workflow file, which must be written using YAML.

Important Note

All workflow files related to GitHub Actions must live in the .github/workflows directory and must have either the .yml or .yaml file extension.

Workflow files are an integral part of GitHub Actions, and Chapter 3, A Closer Look at Workflows is dedicated to covering more complex topics related to them. Understanding the basics of the workflow file syntax will introduce you to the essentials that will become the basis for assimilating advanced terms that can be added to the file, and also help you quickly get started creating or customizing workflows.

Learning the basics of the workflow file syntax

So far, you have learned about the basics of YAML syntax...

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