github-learning-lab[bot]
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4 years ago Configuring a workflow
Actions are enabled on your repository by default, but we still have to tell our repository to use them. We do this by creating a workflow file in our repository.
A workflow file can be thought of as the recipe for automating a task. They house the start to finish instructions, in the form of jobs and steps, for what should happen based on specific triggers.
Your repository can contain multiple workflow files that carry out a wide variety of tasks. It is important to consider this when deciding on a name for your workflow. The name you choose should reflect the tasks being performed.
In our case, we will use this one workflow file for many things, which leads us to break this convention for teaching purposes.
📖Read more about workflows
:keyboard: Activity: Create a pull request to prepare the repository for actions
- Create a new workflow file titled
my-workflow.ymlby using the instructions below, or this quicklink.- Go to the Actions tab.
- Choose the Set up a workflow yourself option, located on the top right hand corner of the screen.
- Change the name of the file from
main.ymltomy-workflow.yml.
- Commit the workflow to a new branch named
add-initial-workflow. - Create a pull request titled Create my-workflow.yml.
- Supply the pull request body content and click
Create pull request.
It is important to place meaningful content into the body of the pull requests you create throughout this course. This repository will stay with you long after you complete the course. It is advisable that you use the body of the pull requests you create as a way to take long lived notes about thing you want to remember.
Suggested body content
`Workflow files are the recipe for task automation. This is where actions are placed if I want to use them for a task.`I'll respond in the new pull request when I detect it has been created.
If at any point you're expecting a response and don't see one, refresh the page.
Hi there 👋!
Hello @svip1321, I'm so excited to teach you how to create your own GitHub Actions 😄
Getting started
In this repository we will be diving into the world of writing GitHub Actions! I will guide you through the process of writing a custom GitHub Action using the JavaScript programming language.
You may be asking yourself, "what are actions and is JavaScript the only language used to create GitHub Actions?"
Currently, there are two supported ways to create your own GitHub Actions:
As you can see we aren't necessarily limited to JavaScript even though it is the focal point for this course.
Creating vs consuming actions
Although we are going to focus on creating and consuming a custom action, in this course we will also be consuming some actions that have been made public to us. Because your workflows will most likely do the same, I found it important to show you where to look for actions that already exist.
After all, for each time we need to reinvent the wheel for our specific use-case there are a handful of times when we are better off using a wheel that's already made!
[checkout](https://github.com/actions/checkout)from this repository as we go through this course. I'll explain more about what it does when we use it!.github/actionsdirectory in the root of your repository. This is the convention we will be using as we learn how to create our own action.Using actions and Learning Lab
In other courses, you may have noticed that some behaviors take me longer to respond to than others. In this course, many of the behaviors we'll see demonstrated will be related to our GitHub Actions workflow. Those workflows sometimes take longer to complete, up to several minutes. Don't be concerned if I take a few minutes to respond, or if I respond too quickly. Sometimes, I'll let you know what the workflow will say before it finishes! Please wait for the workflows to finish before moving on to your next step.
If you aren't already familiar, it may be a good idea to go through the Introduction to GitHub Learning Lab.