github-actions-templates

Production-ready GitHub Actions workflow patterns for testing, building, and deploying applications.

risk: unknown
source: community
date added: 2026-02-27

GitHub Actions Templates

Production-ready GitHub Actions workflow patterns for testing, building, and deploying applications.

Do not use this skill when

The task is unrelated to github actions templates
You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

Instructions

Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
Provide actionable steps and verification.
If detailed examples are required, open resources/implementation-playbook.md.

Purpose

Create efficient, secure GitHub Actions workflows for continuous integration and deployment across various tech stacks.

Use this skill when

Automate testing and deployment
Build Docker images and push to registries
Deploy to Kubernetes clusters
Run security scans
Implement matrix builds for multiple environments

Common Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Test Workflow

name: Test

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main, develop ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    strategy:
      matrix:
        node-version: [18.x, 20.x]

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4

    - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
      uses: actions/setup-node@v4
      with:
        node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
        cache: 'npm'

    - name: Install dependencies
      run: npm ci

    - name: Run linter
      run: npm run lint

    - name: Run tests
      run: npm test

    - name: Upload coverage
      uses: codecov/codecov-action@v3
      with:
        files: ./coverage/lcov.info

Reference: See assets/test-workflow.yml

Pattern 2: Build and Push Docker Image

name: Build and Push

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
    tags: [ 'v*' ]

env:
  REGISTRY: ghcr.io
  IMAGE_NAME: ${{ github.repository }}

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      packages: write

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4

    - name: Log in to Container Registry
      uses: docker/login-action@v3
      with:
        registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
        username: ${{ github.actor }}
        password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

    - name: Extract metadata
      id: meta
      uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
      with:
        images: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}
        tags: |
          type=ref,event=branch
          type=ref,event=pr
          type=semver,pattern={{version}}
          type=semver,pattern={{major}}.{{minor}}

    - name: Build and push
      uses: docker/build-push-action@v5
      with:
        context: .
        push: true
        tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
        labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
        cache-from: type=gha
        cache-to: type=gha,mode=max

Reference: See assets/deploy-workflow.yml

Pattern 3: Deploy to Kubernetes

name: Deploy to Kubernetes

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4

    - name: Configure AWS credentials
      uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v4
      with:
        aws-access-key-id: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
        aws-secret-access-key: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
        aws-region: us-west-2

    - name: Update kubeconfig
      run: |
        aws eks update-kubeconfig --name production-cluster --region us-west-2

    - name: Deploy to Kubernetes
      run: |
        kubectl apply -f k8s/
        kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app -n production
        kubectl get services -n production

    - name: Verify deployment
      run: |
        kubectl get pods -n production
        kubectl describe deployment my-app -n production

Pattern 4: Matrix Build

name: Matrix Build

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
        python-version: ['3.9', '3.10', '3.11', '3.12']

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4

    - name: Set up Python
      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      with:
        python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}

    - name: Install dependencies
      run: |
        python -m pip install --upgrade pip
        pip install -r requirements.txt

    - name: Run tests
      run: pytest

Reference: See assets/matrix-build.yml

Workflow Best Practices

Use specific action versions (@v4, not @latest)
Cache dependencies to speed up builds
Use secrets for sensitive data
Implement status checks on PRs
Use matrix builds for multi-version testing
Set appropriate permissions
Use reusable workflows for common patterns
Implement approval gates for production
Add notification steps for failures
Use self-hosted runners for sensitive workloads

Reusable Workflows

# .github/workflows/reusable-test.yml
name: Reusable Test Workflow

on:
  workflow_call:
    inputs:
      node-version:
        required: true
        type: string
    secrets:
      NPM_TOKEN:
        required: true

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
    - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
      with:
        node-version: ${{ inputs.node-version }}
    - run: npm ci
    - run: npm test

Use reusable workflow:

jobs:
  call-test:
    uses: ./.github/workflows/reusable-test.yml
    with:
      node-version: '20.x'
    secrets:
      NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

Security Scanning

name: Security Scan

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  security:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4

    - name: Run Trivy vulnerability scanner
      uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@master
      with:
        scan-type: 'fs'
        scan-ref: '.'
        format: 'sarif'
        output: 'trivy-results.sarif'

    - name: Upload Trivy results to GitHub Security
      uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v2
      with:
        sarif_file: 'trivy-results.sarif'

    - name: Run Snyk Security Scan
      uses: snyk/actions/node@master
      env:
        SNYK_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SNYK_TOKEN }}

Deployment with Approvals

name: Deploy to Production

on:
  push:
    tags: [ 'v*' ]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment:
      name: production
      url: https://app.example.com

    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4

    - name: Deploy application
      run: |
        echo "Deploying to production..."
        # Deployment commands here

    - name: Notify Slack
      if: success()
      uses: slackapi/slack-github-action@v1
      with:
        webhook-url: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK }}
        payload: |
          {
            "text": "Deployment to production completed successfully!"
          }

Reference Files

assets/test-workflow.yml - Testing workflow template
assets/deploy-workflow.yml - Deployment workflow template
assets/matrix-build.yml - Matrix build template
references/common-workflows.md - Common workflow patterns

Related Skills

gitlab-ci-patterns - For GitLab CI workflows
deployment-pipeline-design - For pipeline architecture
secrets-management - For secrets handling