Tools

GitHub Actions Cheat Sheet — Workflow Syntax Reference

The workflow syntax for GitHub Actions in one place. Workflows live in .github/workflows/*.yml.

Put it into practice with the matching tool.

Triggers

on: pushRun on every push

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

Only pushes to main

on: pull_requestRun on pull requests

paths: ['src/**']Only when matching files change

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 6 * * 1'

On a schedule (UTC)

on: workflow_dispatchAdd a manual "Run workflow" button

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

Define a job and its runner

- uses: actions/checkout@v4Use an action

- run: npm ciRun a shell command

with:
  node-version: 22

Pass inputs to an action

needs: buildWait for another job to finish

if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'Run a job or step conditionally

timeout-minutes: 15Fail a job that hangs

strategy:
  matrix:
    node: [20, 22]

Run the job once per value

${{ matrix.node }}Use the current matrix value

fail-fast: falseKeep other matrix jobs running when one fails

${{ secrets.API_KEY }}Read a repository or environment secret

env:
  NODE_ENV: production

Environment variables for a workflow, job, or step

echo "KEY=value" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"Set an env var for later steps

echo "tag=v1" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"Set a step output

${{ steps.meta.outputs.tag }}Read a step output (the step needs an id)

actions/setup-node@v4 with cache: npmBuilt-in dependency caching

actions/upload-artifact@v4Save build output from a job

permissions:
  contents: read

Limit the GITHUB_TOKEN to what the job needs

concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

Cancel older runs on the same branch

uses: owner/action@<commit-sha>Pin third-party actions to a full commit SHA

Understanding Cron Syntax (With Examples)