GitHub Actions Cheat Sheet
A searchable, printable GitHub Actions reference — workflow triggers, jobs, steps, expressions, matrices, caching and reusable workflows. Free.
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
No entry matches “:q”.
About GitHub Actions Cheat Sheet
This GitHub Actions cheat sheet compresses workflow YAML into one searchable page: the workflow skeleton and triggers, jobs and runners, steps and popular actions, expressions and contexts, conditionals and matrix builds, caching and artifacts, environments and permissions, reusable workflows and composite actions, concurrency and timeouts, common recipes, debugging, and the gh CLI commands for Actions.
Workflow files are mostly remembered syntax — which trigger fires on a tag, how to reference a secret, the if expression that skips a step on a fork, the cache key pattern for a lockfile — so every row shows the YAML fragment with a one-line explanation.
The sheet is free and client-side: filter rows live with the search box, hop between sections with the sticky table of contents, copy any fragment with one click and print the page as a desk reference.
How to use GitHub Actions Cheat Sheet
- Skim the sections, from Workflow skeleton & triggers and Jobs & runners to gh CLI for Actions.
- Search for a keyword such as matrix, secrets or cache to filter every row live.
- Jump to Common recipes for a ready-made build, test or deploy job to adapt.
- Click a YAML fragment or its copy icon to copy it into your workflow file.
- Print the sheet for an offline GitHub Actions reference.
Frequently asked questions
Twelve sections: workflow skeleton and triggers, jobs and runners, steps and popular actions, expressions and contexts, conditionals and matrix, caching and artifacts, environments and permissions, reusable and composite workflows, concurrency and timeouts, common recipes, debugging, and the gh CLI.
Yes — push, pull_request, schedule with cron, workflow_dispatch with inputs, release, and the path and branch filters that narrow each one.
Both have their own sections: matrix strategies with include, exclude and fail-fast, and actions/cache with lockfile-based keys and restore-keys.
Yes. Click any row or its copy icon and the fragment lands on your clipboard with a brief confirmation.
Yes, completely free — searchable, printable and rendered in your browser with no sign-up.
Popular searches
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