Workflows and actions reference

A workflow is a configurable automated process made up of one or more jobs. You must create a YAML file to define your workflow configuration.

You can configure your workflows to run when specific activity on GitHub happens, at a scheduled time, or when an event outside of GitHub occurs.

You can use workflow commands when running shell commands in a workflow or in an action's code.

Find information for supported variables, naming conventions, limits, and contexts in GitHub Actions workflows.

Find information for expressions in GitHub Actions.

Find information about contexts available in GitHub Actions workflows, including available properties, access methods, and usage examples.

Find information about deployment protection rules, environment secrets, and environment variables.

Find information on the functionality of dependency caching in workflows.

Learn how to avoid duplication when creating a workflow by reusing existing workflows.

You can create actions to perform tasks in your repository. Actions require a metadata file that uses YAML syntax.

Find information on the steps GitHub takes to cancel a workflow run.

When creating a Dockerfile for a Docker container action, you should be aware of how some Docker instructions interact with GitHub Actions and an action's metadata file.