Implementing CI/CD with GitHub Actions

What is CI/CD?

CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) automates testing and deployment of your code.

GitHub Actions Basics

GitHub Actions is a powerful CI/CD platform built into GitHub.

Key Concepts

• Workflows: Automated processes
• Jobs: Groups of steps
• Steps: Individual tasks
• Actions: Reusable commands

Creating Your First Workflow

Create a file at .github/workflows/ci.yml:

name: CI
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
      - run: npm install
      - run: npm test

Deployment Pipeline

Add deployment after successful tests:

deploy:
  needs: build
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - run: npm run build
    - run: npm run deploy

Best Practices

1. Keep workflows fast: Cache dependencies
2. Use secrets: Never hardcode credentials
3. Run in parallel: Speed up with matrix builds
4. Add status checks: Require passing CI

Caching Dependencies

Speed up builds with caching:

- uses: actions/cache@v3
  with:
    path: node_modules
    key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}

Conclusion

GitHub Actions makes CI/CD accessible. Start simple and expand as needed.