GitHub Actions-cheatsheet
Een doorzoekbaar, afdrukbaar GitHub Actions-naslagwerk: workflow triggers, jobs, steps, expressions, matrices, caching en herbruikbare workflows. Gratis.
Workflow skeleton & triggers
12.github/workflows/ci.yml
Where workflow files live
name: CI
Workflow display name
on: push
Run on every push
on: { push: { branches: [main] } }
Only pushes to main
on: { push: { tags: ["v*"] } }
Run on version tags
on: pull_request
Run on PR open/update
on: { pull_request: { paths: ["src/**"] } }
Only when paths change
on: { schedule: [{ cron: "0 6 * * 1" }] }
Cron: Mondays 06:00 UTC
on: workflow_dispatch
Manual "Run workflow" button
workflow_dispatch: { inputs: { env: { type: choice, options: [dev, prod] } } }
Manual run with inputs
on: { release: { types: [published] } }
Run when a release ships
on: workflow_call
Make workflow reusable
Jobs & runners
12jobs: { build: { runs-on: ubuntu-latest } }
Define a job and its runner
runs-on: [macos-latest / windows-latest]
Other hosted runner images
runs-on: [self-hosted, linux, x64]
Route to self-hosted by labels
needs: build
Run after another job
needs: [lint, test]
Wait for several jobs
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
Conditional job
container: node:22
Run job inside a Docker image
services: { redis: { image: redis:7, ports: ["6379:6379"] } }
Sidecar service container
outputs: { sha: ${{ steps.vars.outputs.sha }} }
Expose job outputs
needs.build.outputs.sha
Read another job's output
defaults: { run: { working-directory: app } }
Default dir for run steps
strategy: { fail-fast: false }
Keep matrix jobs running
Steps & popular actions
14- uses: actions/checkout@v4
Clone the repository
- uses: actions/checkout@v4 with fetch-depth: 0
Full history (tags, blame)
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4 with node-version: 22
Install Node.js
- uses: actions/setup-python@v5 with python-version: "3.12"
Install Python
- uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2 with php-version: "8.3"
Install PHP
- run: npm ci && npm test
Run shell commands
- run: | (multiline)
Multi-line script step
- name: Build
Readable step name in logs
- id: vars
Reference step outputs later
echo "sha=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
Set a step output
echo "PATH_EXTRA=/opt/bin" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
Set env for later steps
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
Save build outputs
- uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
Fetch artifacts in later jobs
continue-on-error: true
Don't fail the job on error
Expressions & contexts
14${{ github.ref }}
Full ref, e.g. refs/heads/main
${{ github.ref_name }}
Branch or tag name only
${{ github.sha }}
Commit SHA being built
${{ github.event_name }}
Trigger: push, pull_request...
${{ github.actor }}
User who triggered the run
${{ github.repository }}
owner/repo string
${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
Dig into the event payload
${{ secrets.API_KEY }}
Encrypted repo/org secret
${{ vars.SITE_URL }}
Non-secret config variable
${{ env.NODE_ENV }}
Environment variable
${{ runner.os }} / ${{ runner.temp }}
Runner OS and temp dir
${{ steps.vars.outputs.sha }}
Output of an earlier step
contains(), startsWith(), format()
Expression helper functions
GITHUB_TOKEN
Auto-provided per-run token
Conditionals & matrix
11if: success() / failure() / always()
Run based on prior status
if: cancelled()
Only when the run is cancelled
if: github.event_name == 'push'
Trigger-specific step
if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
Only for tag builds
if: contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '[skip e2e]')
Commit-message switches
strategy: { matrix: { node: [20, 22] } }
One job per matrix value
matrix: { os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest], node: [20, 22] }
Cross-product matrix (4 jobs)
${{ matrix.node }}
Use the matrix value
matrix: { include: [{ os: ubuntu-latest, node: 23, experimental: true }] }
Add extra combos
matrix: { exclude: [{ os: macos-latest, node: 20 }] }
Drop combos
max-parallel: 2
Throttle concurrent matrix jobs
Caching & artifacts
11- uses: actions/cache@v4
Generic dependency cache
key: npm-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}
Cache key from lockfile hash
restore-keys: | npm-
Fallback prefix on miss
path: ~/.npm
What directory to cache
setup-node@v4 with cache: npm
Built-in npm cache (easiest)
setup-python@v5 with cache: pip
Built-in pip cache
upload-artifact@v4 with name/path
Store files for download
upload-artifact: retention-days: 5
Auto-delete artifacts
download-artifact@v4 (no name)
Download all artifacts
if-no-files-found: error
Fail if the path is empty
Cache limit: 10 GB per repo
Old caches get evicted
Environments & permissions
11permissions: { contents: read }
Least-privilege GITHUB_TOKEN
permissions: { contents: write, pull-requests: write }
Allow pushes + PR comments
permissions: { id-token: write }
OIDC for cloud auth (no keys)
environment: production
Use a deploy environment
environment: { name: prod, url: https://app.example.com }
Link shown on the run
Environment protection rules
Required reviewers, wait timer
env: { NODE_ENV: production }
Env at workflow/job/step level
secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN
Scoped to the current repo
Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions
Where to define secrets
Org secrets with repo allowlists
Share secrets across repos
pull_request_target: use with care
Runs with secrets on fork PRs
Reusable workflows & composite actions
11on: { workflow_call: { inputs: ..., secrets: ... } }
Declare a reusable workflow
jobs: { ci: { uses: org/repo/.github/workflows/ci.yml@v1 } }
Call a reusable workflow
uses: ./.github/workflows/ci.yml
Call one from the same repo
with: { node-version: 22 }
Pass inputs to the callee
secrets: inherit
Forward all caller secrets
${{ inputs.node-version }}
Read inputs in the callee
action.yml with runs: { using: composite }
Define a composite action
steps: - run: ... shell: bash
Composite steps need shell:
uses: ./.github/actions/setup
Use a local composite action
inputs/outputs in action.yml
Action interface definition
Nesting limit: 4 levels of reusable calls
Plan the call depth
Concurrency & timeouts
9concurrency: { group: deploy, cancel-in-progress: true }
Kill superseded runs
group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
One run per branch
cancel-in-progress: false
Queue instead of cancel
timeout-minutes: 15 (job level)
Kill runaway jobs (default 360)
timeout-minutes: 5 (step level)
Cap a single step
retry via nick-fields/retry@v3
Retry flaky steps
jobs.<id>.strategy.max-parallel
Limit parallel matrix legs
if: always() on cleanup steps
Cleanup even after failure
Scheduled runs can be delayed/skipped
Cron is best-effort, not exact
Common recipes
12on: push: tags: ["v*"] + softprops/action-gh-release@v2
Release on version tag
on: push: paths: ["apps/api/**"]
Monorepo: build only what changed
dorny/paths-filter@v3
Per-job change detection
peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v4
Deploy static site to Pages
docker/build-push-action@v6
Build and push Docker images
docker/login-action@v3 with ghcr.io
Log in to GitHub registry
aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v4 (OIDC)
Keyless AWS deploys
appleboy/ssh-action@v1
Run commands on a server
codecov/codecov-action@v4
Upload coverage reports
github/codeql-action
Code scanning / security
dependabot.yml + auto-merge workflow
Auto-update dependencies
schedule + stale action
Auto-close stale issues
Debugging
12Secret ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG = true
Verbose step debug logs
Secret ACTIONS_RUNNER_DEBUG = true
Runner diagnostic logs
Re-run jobs > Enable debug logging
One-off debug re-run
act
Run workflows locally in Docker
act -j build
Run a single job locally
act -s GITHUB_TOKEN=$(gh auth token)
Pass secrets to act
echo "::debug::message"
Emit a debug log line
echo "::error file=app.js,line=1::Oops"
Annotate code with errors
echo "::group::Install" ... "::endgroup::"
Collapsible log sections
$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
Write Markdown run summary
mxschmitt/action-tmate@v3
SSH into a live runner
cat "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH"
Inspect the raw event JSON
gh CLI for Actions
13gh run list
Recent workflow runs
gh run list --workflow ci.yml
Runs for one workflow
gh run watch
Live-follow the latest run
gh run view 123456 --log
Full logs of a run
gh run view --log-failed
Only the failed steps' logs
gh run rerun 123456 --failed
Re-run failed jobs only
gh run cancel 123456
Cancel a run
gh run download 123456
Download run artifacts
gh workflow list
List workflows in the repo
gh workflow run ci.yml -f env=prod
Trigger workflow_dispatch
gh workflow disable ci.yml
Disable a workflow
gh secret set API_KEY
Set a repo secret
gh cache list / gh cache delete
Inspect and prune caches
Geen vermelding komt overeen met “:q”.
Over GitHub Actions-cheatsheet
Dit GitHub Actions-spiekbriefje comprimeert workflow-YAML op één doorzoekbare pagina: het workflowskelet en triggers, jobs en runners, stappen en populaire actions, expressies en contexts, voorwaarden en matrixbuilds, caching en artifacts, omgevingen en rechten, herbruikbare workflows en composite actions, concurrency en time-outs, veelgebruikte recepten, debuggen, en de gh CLI-opdrachten voor Actions.
Workflowbestanden bestaan vooral uit onthouden syntaxis (welke trigger bij een tag afgaat, hoe u naar een secret verwijst, de if-expressie die een stap bij een fork overslaat, het cachesleutelpatroon voor een lockfile), dus elke rij toont het YAML-fragment met een uitleg van één regel.
Het overzicht is gratis en werkt aan de clientzijde: filter rijen direct met het zoekvak, spring tussen secties met de vastgepinde inhoudsopgave, kopieer elk fragment met één klik en print de pagina als bureaunaslagwerk.
Hoe gebruik je GitHub Actions-cheatsheet
- Blader door de secties, van Workflowskelet & triggers en Jobs & runners tot gh CLI voor Actions.
- Zoek op een trefwoord zoals matrix, secrets of cache om alle rijen direct te filteren.
- Spring naar Veelgebruikte recepten voor een kant-en-klare build-, test- of deploy-job om aan te passen.
- Klik op een YAML-fragment of het kopieericoon om het in uw workflowbestand te kopiëren.
- Print het overzicht voor een offline GitHub Actions-naslagwerk.
Veelgestelde vragen
Twaalf secties: workflowskelet en triggers, jobs en runners, stappen en populaire actions, expressies en contexts, voorwaarden en matrix, caching en artifacts, omgevingen en rechten, herbruikbare en composite workflows, concurrency en time-outs, veelgebruikte recepten, debuggen, en de gh CLI.
Ja: push, pull_request, schedule met cron, workflow_dispatch met inputs, release, en de pad- en branchfilters die elk daarvan beperken.
Beide hebben een eigen sectie: matrixstrategieën met include, exclude en fail-fast, en actions/cache met sleutels op basis van lockfiles en restore-keys.
Ja. Klik op een rij of op het kopieericoon en het fragment staat op uw klembord met een korte bevestiging.
Ja, helemaal gratis: doorzoekbaar, printbaar en weergegeven in uw browser, zonder registratie.
Populaire zoekopdrachten
github actions cheat sheet
github actions workflow syntax
github actions yaml example
github actions matrix build
github actions cache
workflow triggers list
reusable workflows github
Hulp nodig?
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