What you will learn in GitHub Actions in Action: Continuous integration and delivery for DevOps
Continuous integration and delivery for DevOps
Chapter by chapter
Concepts explained in this book
- runner labelA runner label is a matching identifier assigned to a GitHub Actions runner so workflows can target runners by operating system or configuration.
- monitoringMonitoring is the systematic observation of system state, resource usage, and operational metrics.
- GitHub ActionsGitHub Actions is GitHub's platform for automating software development workflows in response to repository events or other triggers.
- triggerA workflow trigger is an event or condition that starts a GitHub Actions workflow.
- runner groupA runner group is a named collection of GitHub Actions runners that can be targeted and governed together.
- software artifactA software artifact is a generated file or package retained or transferred as an output of a development workflow.
- GitHub releaseA GitHub release is a published repository version associated with a Git tag and optionally accompanied by release notes and downloadable assets.
- GitHub-hosted runnerA GitHub-hosted runner is a virtual machine managed by GitHub that executes workflow jobs.
- Actions Runner ControllerActions Runner Controller is GitHub's Kubernetes controller for deploying and autoscaling GitHub Actions runners in a Kubernetes cluster.
- ephemeral runnerAn ephemeral runner is a workflow runner configured to execute a single job and then stop accepting additional work.
- extra-large macOS runnerA larger GitHub-hosted runner is a GitHub-managed runner with configurable CPU, memory, disk capacity, and concurrency limits beyond standard hosted runner sizes.
- container imageA container image is a packaged filesystem and metadata used to create a container execution environment.
- YAMLYAML is a human-readable data-serialization language commonly used for configuration files.
- GitHub Actions environmentA GitHub Actions environment is a named deployment context that applies protection rules and controls access to environment-specific secrets.
- registration tokenA runner registration token is a short-lived, single-use credential that authorizes registering or deregistering a GitHub Actions runner at a specified scope.
- traceabilityTraceability is the ability to associate a software change with its originating requirement, request, review, and deployment evidence.
- GITHUB_TOKENGITHUB_TOKEN is an automatically generated secret token that authenticates a GitHub Actions workflow when it accesses GitHub resources.
- actions/checkoutThe Checkout action is a GitHub Action that retrieves a repository's files into the workflow execution environment.
- deployment descriptorA deployment descriptor is a configuration file that specifies how software or a containerized workload should be deployed and operated in an execution environment.
- Action minuteA billable unit of time consumed while a GitHub Actions runner executes jobs.
- pull requestA pull request is a proposal to review and integrate changes from one repository branch or repository into another.
- shell injection attackA shell injection attack is an attack in which untrusted input causes unintended shell commands to execute.
- health check endpointA health endpoint is an application endpoint that reports whether the application or a component is operational and ready to serve requests.
- workflow editorA workflow editor is a graphical interface for creating and modifying GitHub Actions workflow definitions.
- queue timeQueue time is the elapsed period a workflow job remains waiting before execution begins.
- cachingCaching is the practice of storing reusable data or outputs so they can be retrieved without repeating their computation or acquisition.
- GitHubGitHub.com is GitHub's publicly hosted software development and collaboration platform.
- approval decisionA manual approval is an explicit human authorization required before a protected operation, such as a deployment, proceeds.
- vulnerabilityA software vulnerability is a weakness in software that can be exploited to compromise its security properties.
- protection ruleA protection rule is a deployment control that must be satisfied before a protected job proceeds.
- openid connectOpenID Connect is an identity layer built on OAuth 2.0 that enables clients to verify user identity and obtain basic profile claims.
- action metadataAn action metadata file is the YAML file that defines a GitHub Action's metadata, inputs, outputs, runtime, and related configuration.
- organization levelThe organization level is the configuration scope applying to repositories within a GitHub organization.
- actionlintactionlint is a linter that statically checks GitHub Actions workflow files for syntax errors, configuration mistakes, and potentially unsafe expressions.
- staging environmentA staging environment is a pre-production execution environment where a software version is installed and validated before production use.
- semantic versioningSemantic versioning is a versioning scheme that communicates compatibility and change significance through major, minor, and patch version numbers.
- feature flagA feature toggle is a runtime-controlled switch that selectively enables or disables a software capability independently of deployment.
- GitHub CLIGitHub CLI is a command-line tool for working with GitHub repositories, workflows, and other GitHub resources.
- just-in-time setupJust-in-time runner configuration is a single-use configuration value that registers a self-hosted runner for one job.
- GitHub MarketplaceGitHub Marketplace is GitHub's catalog for discovering and acquiring integrations, applications, and reusable automation components.
- ring-based deployment strategyA ring-based deployment strategy releases software progressively to successive groups of users or environments called rings.
- rollbackRollback is the process of returning a deployment or system to a previously known good version or state.
- software bill of materialsA software bill of materials is a structured inventory of the components and dependencies contained in a software product.
- runs-onruns-on is a GitHub Actions job configuration key that selects the runner or runner group on which a job executes.
- cache keyA cache key is an identifier that determines which stored cache entry a request retrieves or replaces.
- autoscale ruleA scaling rule is a configured condition and action that determines when and by how much computing capacity is adjusted.
- branch protectionA branch protection rule is a repository rule that controls which changes and operations are permitted for a branch.
- GitHub flowGitHub Flow is a lightweight branching workflow in which changes are developed on branches, reviewed through pull requests, merged into the main branch, and deployed.
- Docker container actionA Docker container action is a GitHub Action executed inside a Docker container that packages its dependencies with the action.
- blue-green deploymentA red-green deployment is a deployment strategy that runs two application versions in parallel and shifts traffic incrementally from the active version to the new version without visible downtime.
- trust relationshipA trust relationship is a configured mutual authorization between an identity provider and a cloud resource or service that permits federated authentication.
- enterprise levelThe enterprise level is the configuration scope applying across organizations managed by a GitHub enterprise.
- single responsibility principleThe single responsibility principle is a software design principle stating that a component should have one primary responsibility and one reason to change.
- word splittingWord splitting is shell processing that divides an unquoted variable value into separate words or arguments according to whitespace or delimiters.
- principle of least privilegeThe principle of least privilege is a security practice of granting only the minimum permissions required for an actor or process to perform its task.
These guides are generated from the text of Manning books by Manning's knowledge graph and link to the sections they draw on. The full books are available on liveBook and at manning.com.