Github Actions
When to Use This Skill
USE when:
- Building CI/CD pipelines for GitHub repositories
- Automating tests across multiple OS/language versions
- Creating release and deployment workflows
- Publishing packages to npm, PyPI, Docker Hub
- Automating issue triage and PR management
- Scheduling periodic maintenance tasks
- Building reusable workflow components
- Implementing GitOps deployment patterns
DON'T USE when:
- Repository not hosted on GitHub (use Jenkins, GitLab CI)
- Need complex DAG-based workflow orchestration (use Airflow)
- Require visual workflow design (use n8n, Activepieces)
- Self-hosted runners not available for compute-intensive tasks
- Need real-time event processing (use dedicated message queues)
Prerequisites
GitHub Repository Setup
# Create workflow directory
mkdir -p .github/workflows
# Verify GitHub CLI installed
gh --version
# Authenticate with GitHub
gh auth login
# Check workflow permissions
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/permissionsLocal Testing with act
# Install act for local workflow testing
# macOS
brew install act
# Linux
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nektos/act/master/install.sh | sudo bash
# Verify installation
act --version
*See sub-skills for full details.*
### Workflow Linting
Install actionlint
brew install actionlint # macOS go install github.com/rhysd/actionlint/cmd/actionlint@latest # Go
Lint workflows
actionlint .github/workflows/*.yml
YAML validation
pip install yamllint yamllint .github/workflows/
## Version History
| Version | Date | Changes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1.0.0 | 2026-01-17 | Initial release with comprehensive CI/CD patterns |
## Resources
- [GitHub Actions Documentation](https://docs.github.com/en/actions)
- [Workflow Syntax Reference](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions)
- [GitHub Actions Marketplace](https://github.com/marketplace?type=actions)
- [act - Local Testing](https://github.com/nektos/act)
- [actionlint - Workflow Linter](https://github.com/rhysd/actionlint)
---
*This skill provides production-ready patterns for GitHub Actions workflows, tested across multiple repositories and CI/CD pipelines.*
## Sub-Skills
- [1. Basic Workflow Structure](https://github.com/vamseeachanta/workspace-hub/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/operations/automation/github-actions/1-basic-workflow-structure/SKILL.md)
- [2. Matrix Builds for Cross-Platform Testing](https://github.com/vamseeachanta/workspace-hub/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/operations/automation/github-actions/2-matrix-builds-for-cross-platform-testing/SKILL.md)
- [3. Caching Strategies (+1)](https://github.com/vamseeachanta/workspace-hub/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/operations/automation/github-actions/3-caching-strategies/SKILL.md)
- [Integration with Slack Notifications (+1)](https://github.com/vamseeachanta/workspace-hub/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/operations/automation/github-actions/integration-with-slack-notifications/SKILL.md)
- [1. Security Best Practices (+3)](https://github.com/vamseeachanta/workspace-hub/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/operations/automation/github-actions/1-security-best-practices/SKILL.md)
- [Common Issues (+1)](https://github.com/vamseeachanta/workspace-hub/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/operations/automation/github-actions/common-issues/SKILL.md)
## Sub-Skills
- [What's Changed](https://github.com/vamseeachanta/workspace-hub/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/operations/automation/github-actions/whats-changed/SKILL.md)
- [5. Reusable Workflows (+5)](https://github.com/vamseeachanta/workspace-hub/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/operations/automation/github-actions/5-reusable-workflows/SKILL.md)