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title shortTitle intro redirect_from versions
Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions
Workflow syntax
A workflow is a configurable automated process made up of one or more jobs. You must create a YAML file to define your workflow configuration.
/articles/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions
/github/automating-your-workflow-with-github-actions/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions
/actions/automating-your-workflow-with-github-actions/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions
/actions/reference/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions
/actions/learn-github-actions/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions
fpt ghes ghec
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{% data reusables.actions.enterprise-github-hosted-runners %}

About YAML syntax for workflows

Workflow files use YAML syntax, and must have either a .yml or .yaml file extension. {% data reusables.actions.learn-more-about-yaml %}

You must store workflow files in the .github/workflows directory of your repository.

name

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.workflow-syntax-name %}

{% ifversion actions-run-name %}

run-name

The name for workflow runs generated from the workflow. {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} displays the workflow run name in the list of workflow runs on your repository's "Actions" tab. If run-name is omitted or is only whitespace, then the run name is set to event-specific information for the workflow run. For example, for a workflow triggered by a push or pull_request event, it is set as the commit message.

This value can include expressions and can reference the github and inputs contexts.

Example of run-name

{% raw %}

run-name: Deploy to ${{ inputs.deploy_target }} by @${{ github.actor }}

{% endraw %} {% endif %}

on

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.section-triggering-a-workflow %}

on.<event_name>.types

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.section-triggering-a-workflow-types %}

on.<pull_request|pull_request_target>.<branches|branches-ignore>

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.section-triggering-a-workflow-branches %}

on.push.<branches|tags|branches-ignore|tags-ignore>

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.section-run-on-specific-branches-or-tags %}

on.<push|pull_request|pull_request_target>.<paths|paths-ignore>

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.section-triggering-a-workflow-paths %}

on.schedule

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.section-triggering-a-workflow-schedule %}

on.workflow_call

Use on.workflow_call to define the inputs and outputs for a reusable workflow. You can also map the secrets that are available to the called workflow. For more information on reusable workflows, see "AUTOTITLE."

on.workflow_call.inputs

When using the workflow_call keyword, you can optionally specify inputs that are passed to the called workflow from the caller workflow. For more information about the workflow_call keyword, see "AUTOTITLE."

In addition to the standard input parameters that are available, on.workflow_call.inputs requires a type parameter. For more information, see on.workflow_call.inputs.<input_id>.type.

If a default parameter is not set, the default value of the input is false for a boolean, 0 for a number, and "" for a string.

Within the called workflow, you can use the inputs context to refer to an input. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

If a caller workflow passes an input that is not specified in the called workflow, this results in an error.

Example of on.workflow_call.inputs

{% raw %}

on:
  workflow_call:
    inputs:
      username:
        description: 'A username passed from the caller workflow'
        default: 'john-doe'
        required: false
        type: string

jobs:
  print-username:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Print the input name to STDOUT
        run: echo The username is ${{ inputs.username }}

{% endraw %}

For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

on.workflow_call.inputs.<input_id>.type

Required if input is defined for the on.workflow_call keyword. The value of this parameter is a string specifying the data type of the input. This must be one of: boolean, number, or string.

on.workflow_call.outputs

A map of outputs for a called workflow. Called workflow outputs are available to all downstream jobs in the caller workflow. Each output has an identifier, an optional description, and a value. The value must be set to the value of an output from a job within the called workflow.

In the example below, two outputs are defined for this reusable workflow: workflow_output1 and workflow_output2. These are mapped to outputs called job_output1 and job_output2, both from a job called my_job.

Example of on.workflow_call.outputs

{% raw %}

on:
  workflow_call:
    # Map the workflow outputs to job outputs
    outputs:
      workflow_output1:
        description: "The first job output"
        value: ${{ jobs.my_job.outputs.job_output1 }}
      workflow_output2:
        description: "The second job output"
        value: ${{ jobs.my_job.outputs.job_output2 }}

{% endraw %}

For information on how to reference a job output, see jobs.<job_id>.outputs. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

on.workflow_call.secrets

A map of the secrets that can be used in the called workflow.

Within the called workflow, you can use the secrets context to refer to a secret.

{% note %}

Note: If you are passing the secret to a nested reusable workflow, then you must use jobs.<job_id>.secrets again to pass the secret. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

{% endnote %}

If a caller workflow passes a secret that is not specified in the called workflow, this results in an error.

Example of on.workflow_call.secrets

{% raw %}

on:
  workflow_call:
    secrets:
      access-token:
        description: 'A token passed from the caller workflow'
        required: false

jobs:

  pass-secret-to-action:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    # passing the secret to an action
      - name: Pass the received secret to an action
        uses: ./.github/actions/my-action
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.access-token }}

  # passing the secret to a nested reusable workflow
  pass-secret-to-workflow:
    uses: ./.github/workflows/my-workflow
    secrets:
       token: ${{ secrets.access-token }}

{% endraw %}

on.workflow_call.secrets.<secret_id>

A string identifier to associate with the secret.

on.workflow_call.secrets.<secret_id>.required

A boolean specifying whether the secret must be supplied.

on.workflow_run.<branches|branches-ignore>

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.section-specifying-branches %}

on.workflow_dispatch

{% data reusables.actions.workflow-dispatch %}

on.workflow_dispatch.inputs

{% data reusables.actions.workflow-dispatch-inputs %}

Example of on.workflow_dispatch.inputs

{% data reusables.actions.workflow-dispatch-inputs-example %}

on.workflow_dispatch.inputs.<input_id>.required

A boolean specifying whether the input must be supplied.

on.workflow_dispatch.inputs.<input_id>.type

The value of this parameter is a string specifying the data type of the input. This must be one of: boolean, choice, number, environment or string.

permissions

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-assigning-permissions-to-jobs %}

Defining access for the GITHUB_TOKEN scopes

{% data reusables.actions.github-token-available-permissions %}

Changing the permissions in a forked repository

{% data reusables.actions.forked-write-permission %}

Setting the GITHUB_TOKEN permissions for all jobs in a workflow

You can specify permissions at the top level of a workflow, so that the setting applies to all jobs in the workflow.

Example: Setting the GITHUB_TOKEN permissions for an entire workflow

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-permissions-all-jobs-example %}

env

A map of variables that are available to the steps of all jobs in the workflow. You can also set variables that are only available to the steps of a single job or to a single step. For more information, see jobs.<job_id>.env and jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].env.

Variables in the env map cannot be defined in terms of other variables in the map.

{% data reusables.repositories.actions-env-var-note %}

Example of env

env:
  SERVER: production

defaults

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-default-values-for-jobs-defaults %}

defaults.run

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-default-values-for-jobs-defaults-run %}

defaults.run.shell

{% data reusables.actions.setting-default-values-for-jobs-defaults-run-shell %}

defaults.run.working-directory

{% data reusables.actions.setting-default-values-for-jobs-defaults-run-working-directory %}

concurrency

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-concurrency %}

jobs

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-jobs-in-a-workflow %}

jobs.<job_id>

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-jobs-in-a-workflow-id %}

jobs.<job_id>.name

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-jobs-in-a-workflow-name %}

jobs.<job_id>.permissions

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-assigning-permissions-to-jobs-specific %}

{% data reusables.actions.github-token-scope-descriptions %}

Defining access for the GITHUB_TOKEN scopes

{% data reusables.actions.github-token-available-permissions %}

Changing the permissions in a forked repository

{% data reusables.actions.forked-write-permission %}

Example: Setting the GITHUB_TOKEN permissions for one job in a workflow

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-permissions-specific-jobs-example %}

jobs.<job_id>.needs

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-jobs-in-a-workflow-needs %}

jobs.<job_id>.if

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-conditions-to-control-job-execution %}

jobs.<job_id>.runs-on

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-choosing-the-runner-for-a-job %}

jobs.<job_id>.environment

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-environments-for-jobs %}

jobs.<job_id>.concurrency

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-concurrency-jobs %}

jobs.<job_id>.outputs

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-defining-outputs-for-jobs %}

jobs.<job_id>.env

A map of variables that are available to all steps in the job. You can set variables for the entire workflow or an individual step. For more information, see env and jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].env.

{% data reusables.repositories.actions-env-var-note %}

Example of jobs.<job_id>.env

jobs:
  job1:
    env:
      FIRST_NAME: Mona

jobs.<job_id>.defaults

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-default-values-for-jobs-defaults-job %}

jobs.<job_id>.defaults.run

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-default-values-for-jobs-defaults-job-run %}

jobs.<job_id>.defaults.run.shell

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-default-values-for-jobs-defaults-run-shell %}

jobs.<job_id>.defaults.run.working-directory

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-default-values-for-jobs-defaults-run-working-directory %}

Example: Setting default run step options for a job

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.setting-default-run-value-for-job-example %}

jobs.<job_id>.steps

A job contains a sequence of tasks called steps. Steps can run commands, run setup tasks, or run an action in your repository, a public repository, or an action published in a Docker registry. Not all steps run actions, but all actions run as a step. Each step runs in its own process in the runner environment and has access to the workspace and filesystem. Because steps run in their own process, changes to environment variables are not preserved between steps. {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} provides built-in steps to set up and complete a job.

{% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} only displays the first 1,000 checks, however, you can run an unlimited number of steps as long as you are within the workflow usage limits. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE" for {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runners and "AUTOTITLE" for self-hosted runner usage limits.

Example of jobs.<job_id>.steps

{% raw %}

name: Greeting from Mona

on: push

jobs:
  my-job:
    name: My Job
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Print a greeting
        env:
          MY_VAR: Hi there! My name is
          FIRST_NAME: Mona
          MIDDLE_NAME: The
          LAST_NAME: Octocat
        run: |
          echo $MY_VAR $FIRST_NAME $MIDDLE_NAME $LAST_NAME.

{% endraw %}

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].id

A unique identifier for the step. You can use the id to reference the step in contexts. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].if

You can use the if conditional to prevent a step from running unless a condition is met. {% data reusables.actions.if-supported-contexts %}

{% data reusables.actions.expression-syntax-if %} For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

Example: Using contexts

This step only runs when the event type is a pull_request and the event action is unassigned.

steps:
  - name: My first step
    if: {% raw %}${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.action == 'unassigned' }}{% endraw %}
    run: echo This event is a pull request that had an assignee removed.

Example: Using status check functions

The my backup step only runs when the previous step of a job fails. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

steps:
  - name: My first step
    uses: octo-org/action-name@main
  - name: My backup step
    if: {% raw %}${{ failure() }}{% endraw %}
    uses: actions/heroku@1.0.0

Example: Using secrets

Secrets cannot be directly referenced in if: conditionals. Instead, consider setting secrets as job-level environment variables, then referencing the environment variables to conditionally run steps in the job.

If a secret has not been set, the return value of an expression referencing the secret (such as {% raw %}${{ secrets.SuperSecret }}{% endraw %} in the example) will be an empty string.

{% raw %}

name: Run a step if a secret has been set
on: push
jobs:
  my-jobname:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    env:
      super_secret: ${{ secrets.SuperSecret }}
    steps:
      - if: ${{ env.super_secret != '' }}
        run: echo 'This step will only run if the secret has a value set.'
      - if: ${{ env.super_secret == '' }}
        run: echo 'This step will only run if the secret does not have a value set.'

{% endraw %}

For more information, see "AUTOTITLE" and "AUTOTITLE."

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].name

A name for your step to display on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}.

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].uses

Selects an action to run as part of a step in your job. An action is a reusable unit of code. You can use an action defined in the same repository as the workflow, a public repository, or in a published Docker container image.

We strongly recommend that you include the version of the action you are using by specifying a Git ref, SHA, or Docker tag. If you don't specify a version, it could break your workflows or cause unexpected behavior when the action owner publishes an update.

  • Using the commit SHA of a released action version is the safest for stability and security.
  • If the action publishes major version tags, you should expect to receive critical fixes and security patches while still retaining compatibility. Note that this behavior is at the discretion of the action's author.
  • Using the default branch of an action may be convenient, but if someone releases a new major version with a breaking change, your workflow could break.

Some actions require inputs that you must set using the with keyword. Review the action's README file to determine the inputs required.

Actions are either JavaScript files or Docker containers. If the action you're using is a Docker container you must run the job in a Linux environment. For more details, see runs-on.

Example: Using versioned actions

steps:
  # Reference a specific commit
  - uses: actions/checkout@8f4b7f84864484a7bf31766abe9204da3cbe65b3
  # Reference the major version of a release
  - uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-checkout %}
  # Reference a specific version
  - uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-checkout %}.2.0
  # Reference a branch
  - uses: actions/checkout@main

Example: Using a public action

{owner}/{repo}@{ref}

You can specify a branch, ref, or SHA in a public {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} repository.

jobs:
  my_first_job:
    steps:
      - name: My first step
        # Uses the default branch of a public repository
        uses: actions/heroku@main
      - name: My second step
        # Uses a specific version tag of a public repository
        uses: actions/aws@v2.0.1

Example: Using a public action in a subdirectory

{owner}/{repo}/{path}@{ref}

A subdirectory in a public {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} repository at a specific branch, ref, or SHA.

jobs:
  my_first_job:
    steps:
      - name: My first step
        uses: actions/aws/ec2@main

Example: Using an action in the same repository as the workflow

./path/to/dir

The path to the directory that contains the action in your workflow's repository. You must check out your repository before using the action.

{% data reusables.actions.workflows.section-referencing-an-action-from-the-same-repository %}

Example: Using a Docker Hub action

docker://{image}:{tag}

A Docker image published on Docker Hub.

jobs:
  my_first_job:
    steps:
      - name: My first step
        uses: docker://alpine:3.8

{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}

Example: Using the {% data variables.product.prodname_registry %} {% data variables.product.prodname_container_registry %}

docker://{host}/{image}:{tag}

A public Docker image in the {% data variables.product.prodname_registry %} {% data variables.product.prodname_container_registry %}.

jobs:
  my_first_job:
    steps:
      - name: My first step
        uses: docker://ghcr.io/OWNER/IMAGE_NAME

{% endif %}

Example: Using a Docker public registry action

docker://{host}/{image}:{tag}

A Docker image in a public registry. This example uses the Google Container Registry at gcr.io.

jobs:
  my_first_job:
    steps:
      - name: My first step
        uses: docker://gcr.io/cloud-builders/gradle

Example: Using an action inside a different private repository than the workflow

Your workflow must checkout the private repository and reference the action locally. Generate a {% data variables.product.pat_generic %} and add the token as a secret. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE" and "AUTOTITLE."

Replace PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN in the example with the name of your secret.

jobs:
  my_first_job:
    steps:
      - name: Check out repository
        uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-checkout %}
        with:
          repository: octocat/my-private-repo
          ref: v1.0
          token: {% raw %}${{ secrets.PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN }}{% endraw %}
          path: ./.github/actions/my-private-repo
      - name: Run my action
        uses: ./.github/actions/my-private-repo/my-action

Alternatively, use a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} instead of a {% data variables.product.pat_generic %} in order to ensure your workflow continues to run even if the {% data variables.product.pat_generic %} owner leaves. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].run

Runs command-line programs that do not exceed 21,000 characters using the operating system's shell. If you do not provide a name, the step name will default to the text specified in the run command.

Commands run using non-login shells by default. You can choose a different shell and customize the shell used to run commands. For more information, see jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].shell.

Each run keyword represents a new process and shell in the runner environment. When you provide multi-line commands, each line runs in the same shell. For example:

  • A single-line command:

    - name: Install Dependencies
  run: npm install

  • A multi-line command:

    - name: Clean install dependencies and build
  run: |
    npm ci
    npm run build

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].working-directory

Using the working-directory keyword, you can specify the working directory of where to run the command.

- name: Clean temp directory
  run: rm -rf *
  working-directory: ./temp

Alternatively, you can specify a default working directory for all run steps in a job, or for all run steps in the entire workflow. For more information, see "defaults.run.working-directory" and "jobs.<job_id>.defaults.run.working-directory."

You can also use a run step to run a script. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].shell

You can override the default shell settings in the runner's operating system and the job's default using the shell keyword. You can use built-in shell keywords, or you can define a custom set of shell options. The shell command that is run internally executes a temporary file that contains the commands specified in the run keyword.

{% data reusables.actions.supported-shells %}

Alternatively, you can specify a default shell for all run steps in a job, or for all run steps in the entire workflow. For more information, see "defaults.run.shell" and "jobs.<job_id>.defaults.run.shell."

Example: Running a command using Bash

steps:
  - name: Display the path
    shell: bash
    run: echo $PATH

Example: Running a command using Windows cmd

steps:
  - name: Display the path
    shell: cmd
    run: echo %PATH%

Example: Running a command using PowerShell Core

steps:
  - name: Display the path
    shell: pwsh
    run: echo ${env:PATH}

Example: Using PowerShell Desktop to run a command

steps:
  - name: Display the path
    shell: powershell
    run: echo ${env:PATH}

Example: Running an inline Python script

steps:
  - name: Display the path
    shell: python
    run: |
      import os
      print(os.environ['PATH'])

Custom shell

You can set the shell value to a template string using command [options] {0} [more_options]. {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} interprets the first whitespace-delimited word of the string as the command, and inserts the file name for the temporary script at {0}.

For example:

steps:
  - name: Display the environment variables and their values
    shell: perl {0}
    run: |
      print %ENV

The command used, perl in this example, must be installed on the runner.

{% ifversion fpt or ghec %} For information about the software included on GitHub-hosted runners, see "AUTOTITLE." {% endif %}

Exit codes and error action preference

For built-in shell keywords, we provide the following defaults that are executed by {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runners. You should use these guidelines when running shell scripts.

  • bash/sh:

    • By default, fail-fast behavior is enforced using set -e for both sh and bash. When shell: bash is specified, -o pipefail is also applied to enforce early exit from pipelines that generate a non-zero exit status.
    • You can take full control over shell parameters by providing a template string to the shell options. For example, bash {0}.
    • sh-like shells exit with the exit code of the last command executed in a script, which is also the default behavior for actions. The runner will report the status of the step as fail/succeed based on this exit code.

  • powershell/pwsh

    • Fail-fast behavior when possible. For pwsh and powershell built-in shell, we will prepend $ErrorActionPreference = 'stop' to script contents.
    • We append if ((Test-Path -LiteralPath variable:\LASTEXITCODE)) { exit $LASTEXITCODE } to powershell scripts so action statuses reflect the script's last exit code.
    • Users can always opt out by not using the built-in shell, and providing a custom shell option like: pwsh -File {0}, or powershell -Command "& '{0}'", depending on need.

  • cmd

    • There doesn't seem to be a way to fully opt into fail-fast behavior other than writing your script to check each error code and respond accordingly. Because we can't actually provide that behavior by default, you need to write this behavior into your script.
    • cmd.exe will exit with the error level of the last program it executed, and it will return the error code to the runner. This behavior is internally consistent with the previous sh and pwsh default behavior and is the cmd.exe default, so this behavior remains intact.

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].with

A map of the input parameters defined by the action. Each input parameter is a key/value pair. Input parameters are set as environment variables. The variable is prefixed with INPUT_ and converted to upper case.

Input parameters defined for a Docker container must use args. For more information, see "jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].with.args."

Example of jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].with

Defines the three input parameters (first_name, middle_name, and last_name) defined by the hello_world action. These input variables will be accessible to the hello-world action as INPUT_FIRST_NAME, INPUT_MIDDLE_NAME, and INPUT_LAST_NAME environment variables.

jobs:
  my_first_job:
    steps:
      - name: My first step
        uses: actions/hello_world@main
        with:
          first_name: Mona
          middle_name: The
          last_name: Octocat

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].with.args

A string that defines the inputs for a Docker container. {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} passes the args to the container's ENTRYPOINT when the container starts up. An array of strings is not supported by this parameter. A single argument that includes spaces should be surrounded by double quotes "".

Example of jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].with.args

{% raw %}

steps:
  - name: Explain why this job ran
    uses: octo-org/action-name@main
    with:
      entrypoint: /bin/echo
      args: The ${{ github.event_name }} event triggered this step.

{% endraw %}

The args are used in place of the CMD instruction in a Dockerfile. If you use CMD in your Dockerfile, use the guidelines ordered by preference:

  1. Document required arguments in the action's README and omit them from the CMD instruction.
  2. Use defaults that allow using the action without specifying any args.
  3. If the action exposes a --help flag, or something similar, use that as the default to make your action self-documenting.

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].with.entrypoint

Overrides the Docker ENTRYPOINT in the Dockerfile, or sets it if one wasn't already specified. Unlike the Docker ENTRYPOINT instruction which has a shell and exec form, entrypoint keyword accepts only a single string defining the executable to be run.

Example of jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].with.entrypoint

steps:
  - name: Run a custom command
    uses: octo-org/action-name@main
    with:
      entrypoint: /a/different/executable

The entrypoint keyword is meant to be used with Docker container actions, but you can also use it with JavaScript actions that don't define any inputs.

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].env

Sets variables for steps to use in the runner environment. You can also set variables for the entire workflow or a job. For more information, see env and jobs.<job_id>.env.

{% data reusables.repositories.actions-env-var-note %}

Public actions may specify expected variables in the README file. If you are setting a secret or sensitive value, such as a password or token, you must set secrets using the secrets context. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

Example of jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].env

{% raw %}

steps:
  - name: My first action
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      FIRST_NAME: Mona
      LAST_NAME: Octocat

{% endraw %}

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].continue-on-error

Prevents a job from failing when a step fails. Set to true to allow a job to pass when this step fails.

jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].timeout-minutes

The maximum number of minutes to run the step before killing the process.

jobs.<job_id>.timeout-minutes

The maximum number of minutes to let a job run before {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} automatically cancels it. Default: 360

If the timeout exceeds the job execution time limit for the runner, the job will be canceled when the execution time limit is met instead. For more information about job execution time limits, see "AUTOTITLE" for {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runners and "AUTOTITLE" for self-hosted runner usage limits.

{% note %}

Note: {% data reusables.actions.github-token-expiration %} For self-hosted runners, the token may be the limiting factor if the job timeout is greater than 24 hours. For more information on the GITHUB_TOKEN, see "AUTOTITLE."

{% endnote %}

jobs.<job_id>.strategy

Use jobs.<job_id>.strategy to use a matrix strategy for your jobs. {% data reusables.actions.jobs.about-matrix-strategy %} For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

jobs.<job_id>.strategy.matrix

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.using-matrix-strategy %}

Example: Using a single-dimension matrix

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.single-dimension-matrix %}

Example: Using a multi-dimension matrix

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.multi-dimension-matrix %}

Example: Using contexts to create matrices

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.matrix-from-context %}

jobs.<job_id>.strategy.matrix.include

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.matrix-include %}

Example: Expanding configurations

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.matrix-expand-with-include %}

Example: Adding configurations

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.matrix-add-with-include %}

jobs.<job_id>.strategy.matrix.exclude

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.matrix-exclude %}

jobs.<job_id>.strategy.fail-fast

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-a-build-matrix-for-your-jobs-failfast %}

jobs.<job_id>.strategy.max-parallel

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-using-a-build-matrix-for-your-jobs-max-parallel %}

jobs.<job_id>.continue-on-error

Prevents a workflow run from failing when a job fails. Set to true to allow a workflow run to pass when this job fails.

Example: Preventing a specific failing matrix job from failing a workflow run

You can allow specific jobs in a job matrix to fail without failing the workflow run. For example, if you wanted to only allow an experimental job with node set to 15 to fail without failing the workflow run.

{% raw %}

runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
continue-on-error: ${{ matrix.experimental }}
strategy:
  fail-fast: false
  matrix:
    node: [13, 14]
    os: [macos-latest, ubuntu-latest]
    experimental: [false]
    include:
      - node: 15
        os: ubuntu-latest
        experimental: true

{% endraw %}

jobs.<job_id>.container

{% data reusables.actions.docker-container-os-support %}

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-running-jobs-in-a-container %}

jobs.<job_id>.container.image

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-running-jobs-in-a-container-image %}

jobs.<job_id>.container.credentials

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-running-jobs-in-a-container-credentials %}

jobs.<job_id>.container.env

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-running-jobs-in-a-container-env %}

jobs.<job_id>.container.ports

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-running-jobs-in-a-container-ports %}

jobs.<job_id>.container.volumes

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-running-jobs-in-a-container-volumes %}

jobs.<job_id>.container.options

{% data reusables.actions.jobs.section-running-jobs-in-a-container-options %}

jobs.<job_id>.services

{% data reusables.actions.docker-container-os-support %}

Used to host service containers for a job in a workflow. Service containers are useful for creating databases or cache services like Redis. The runner automatically creates a Docker network and manages the life cycle of the service containers.

If you configure your job to run in a container, or your step uses container actions, you don't need to map ports to access the service or action. Docker automatically exposes all ports between containers on the same Docker user-defined bridge network. You can directly reference the service container by its hostname. The hostname is automatically mapped to the label name you configure for the service in the workflow.

If you configure the job to run directly on the runner machine and your step doesn't use a container action, you must map any required Docker service container ports to the Docker host (the runner machine). You can access the service container using localhost and the mapped port.

For more information about the differences between networking service containers, see "AUTOTITLE."

Example: Using localhost

This example creates two services: nginx and redis. When you specify the Docker host port but not the container port, the container port is randomly assigned to a free port. {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} sets the assigned container port in the {% raw %}${{job.services.<service_name>.ports}}{% endraw %} context. In this example, you can access the service container ports using the {% raw %}${{ job.services.nginx.ports['8080'] }}{% endraw %} and {% raw %}${{ job.services.redis.ports['6379'] }}{% endraw %} contexts.

services:
  nginx:
    image: nginx
    # Map port 8080 on the Docker host to port 80 on the nginx container
    ports:
      - 8080:80
  redis:
    image: redis
    # Map TCP port 6379 on Docker host to a random free port on the Redis container
    ports:
      - 6379/tcp

jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.image

The Docker image to use as the service container to run the action. The value can be the Docker Hub image name or a registry name.

jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.credentials

{% data reusables.actions.registry-credentials %}

Example of jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.credentials

{% raw %}

services:
  myservice1:
    image: ghcr.io/owner/myservice1
    credentials:
      username: ${{ github.actor }}
      password: ${{ secrets.github_token }}
  myservice2:
    image: dockerhub_org/myservice2
    credentials:
      username: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_USER }}
      password: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_PASSWORD }}

{% endraw %}

jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.env

Sets a map of environment variables in the service container.

jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.ports

Sets an array of ports to expose on the service container.

jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.volumes

Sets an array of volumes for the service container to use. You can use volumes to share data between services or other steps in a job. You can specify named Docker volumes, anonymous Docker volumes, or bind mounts on the host.

To specify a volume, you specify the source and destination path:

<source>:<destinationPath>.

The <source> is a volume name or an absolute path on the host machine, and <destinationPath> is an absolute path in the container.

Example of jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.volumes

volumes:
  - my_docker_volume:/volume_mount
  - /data/my_data
  - /source/directory:/destination/directory

jobs.<job_id>.services.<service_id>.options

Additional Docker container resource options. For a list of options, see "docker create options."

{% warning %}

Warning: The --network option is not supported.

{% endwarning %}

jobs.<job_id>.uses

The location and version of a reusable workflow file to run as a job. Use one of the following syntaxes:

{% data reusables.actions.reusable-workflow-calling-syntax %}

Example of jobs.<job_id>.uses

{% data reusables.actions.uses-keyword-example %}

For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

jobs.<job_id>.with

When a job is used to call a reusable workflow, you can use with to provide a map of inputs that are passed to the called workflow.

Any inputs that you pass must match the input specifications defined in the called workflow.

Unlike jobs.<job_id>.steps[*].with, the inputs you pass with jobs.<job_id>.with are not available as environment variables in the called workflow. Instead, you can reference the inputs by using the inputs context.

Example of jobs.<job_id>.with

jobs:
  call-workflow:
    uses: octo-org/example-repo/.github/workflows/called-workflow.yml@main
    with:
      username: mona

jobs.<job_id>.with.<input_id>

A pair consisting of a string identifier for the input and the value of the input. The identifier must match the name of an input defined by on.workflow_call.inputs.<inputs_id> in the called workflow. The data type of the value must match the type defined by on.workflow_call.inputs.<input_id>.type in the called workflow.

Allowed expression contexts: github, and needs.

jobs.<job_id>.secrets

When a job is used to call a reusable workflow, you can use secrets to provide a map of secrets that are passed to the called workflow.

Any secrets that you pass must match the names defined in the called workflow.

Example of jobs.<job_id>.secrets

{% raw %}

jobs:
  call-workflow:
    uses: octo-org/example-repo/.github/workflows/called-workflow.yml@main
    secrets:
      access-token: ${{ secrets.PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN }}

{% endraw %}

{% ifversion actions-inherit-secrets-reusable-workflows %}

jobs.<job_id>.secrets.inherit

Use the inherit keyword to pass all the calling workflow's secrets to the called workflow. This includes all secrets the calling workflow has access to, namely organization, repository, and environment secrets. The inherit keyword can be used to pass secrets across repositories within the same organization, or across organizations within the same enterprise.

Example of jobs.<job_id>.secrets.inherit

{% raw %}

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  pass-secrets-to-workflow:
    uses: ./.github/workflows/called-workflow.yml
    secrets: inherit
on:
  workflow_call:

jobs:
  pass-secret-to-action:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Use a repo or org secret from the calling workflow.
        run: echo ${{ secrets.CALLING_WORKFLOW_SECRET }}

{% endraw %}

jobs.<job_id>.secrets.<secret_id>

A pair consisting of a string identifier for the secret and the value of the secret. The identifier must match the name of a secret defined by on.workflow_call.secrets.<secret_id> in the called workflow.

Allowed expression contexts: github, needs, and secrets. {% endif %}

Filter pattern cheat sheet

You can use special characters in path, branch, and tag filters.

  • *: Matches zero or more characters, but does not match the / character. For example, Octo* matches Octocat.
  • **: Matches zero or more of any character.
  • ?: Matches zero or one of the preceding character.
  • +: Matches one or more of the preceding character.
  • [] Matches one alphanumeric character listed in the brackets or included in ranges. Ranges can only include a-z, A-Z, and 0-9. For example, the range[0-9a-z] matches any digit or lowercase letter. For example, [CB]at matches Cat or Bat and [1-2]00 matches 100 and 200.
  • !: At the start of a pattern makes it negate previous positive patterns. It has no special meaning if not the first character.

The characters *, [, and ! are special characters in YAML. If you start a pattern with *, [, or !, you must enclose the pattern in quotes. Also, if you use a flow sequence with a pattern containing [ and/or ], the pattern must be enclosed in quotes.

# Valid
paths:
  - '**/README.md'

# Invalid - creates a parse error that
# prevents your workflow from running.
paths:
  - **/README.md

# Valid
branches: [ main, 'release/v[0-9].[0-9]' ]

# Invalid - creates a parse error
branches: [ main, release/v[0-9].[0-9] ]

For more information about branch, tag, and path filter syntax, see "on.<push>.<branches|tags>", "on.<pull_request>.<branches|tags>", and "on.<push|pull_request>.paths."

Patterns to match branches and tags

Pattern Description Example matches
feature/* The * wildcard matches any character, but does not match slash (/). feature/my-branch

feature/your-branch
feature/** The ** wildcard matches any character including slash (/) in branch and tag names. feature/beta-a/my-branch

feature/your-branch

feature/mona/the/octocat
main

releases/mona-the-octocat		 Matches the exact name of a branch or tag name. main

releases/mona-the-octocat
'*' Matches all branch and tag names that don't contain a slash (/). The * character is a special character in YAML. When you start a pattern with *, you must use quotes. main

releases
'**' Matches all branch and tag names. This is the default behavior when you don't use a branches or tags filter. all/the/branches

every/tag
'*feature' The * character is a special character in YAML. When you start a pattern with *, you must use quotes. mona-feature

feature

ver-10-feature
v2* Matches branch and tag names that start with v2. v2

v2.0

v2.9
v[12].[0-9]+.[0-9]+ Matches all semantic versioning branches and tags with major version 1 or 2. v1.10.1

v2.0.0

Patterns to match file paths

Path patterns must match the whole path, and start from the repository's root.

Pattern Description of matches Example matches
'*' The * wildcard matches any character, but does not match slash (/). The * character is a special character in YAML. When you start a pattern with *, you must use quotes. README.md

server.rb
'*.jsx?' The ? character matches zero or one of the preceding character. page.js

page.jsx
'**' The ** wildcard matches any character including slash (/). This is the default behavior when you don't use a path filter. all/the/files.md
'*.js' The * wildcard matches any character, but does not match slash (/). Matches all .js files at the root of the repository. app.js

index.js
'**.js' Matches all .js files in the repository. index.js

js/index.js

src/js/app.js
docs/* All files within the root of the docs directory, at the root of the repository. docs/README.md

docs/file.txt
docs/** Any files in the /docs directory at the root of the repository. docs/README.md

docs/mona/octocat.txt
docs/**/*.md A file with a .md suffix anywhere in the docs directory. docs/README.md

docs/mona/hello-world.md

docs/a/markdown/file.md
'**/docs/**' Any files in a docs directory anywhere in the repository. docs/hello.md

dir/docs/my-file.txt

space/docs/plan/space.doc
'**/README.md' A README.md file anywhere in the repository. README.md

js/README.md
'**/*src/**' Any file in a folder with a src suffix anywhere in the repository. a/src/app.js

my-src/code/js/app.js
'**/*-post.md' A file with the suffix -post.md anywhere in the repository. my-post.md

path/their-post.md
'**/migrate-*.sql' A file with the prefix migrate- and suffix .sql anywhere in the repository. migrate-10909.sql

db/migrate-v1.0.sql

db/sept/migrate-v1.sql
'*.md'

'!README.md'		 Using an exclamation mark (!) in front of a pattern negates it. When a file matches a pattern and also matches a negative pattern defined later in the file, the file will not be included. hello.md

Does not match

README.md

docs/hello.md
'*.md'

'!README.md'

README*		 Patterns are checked sequentially. A pattern that negates a previous pattern will re-include file paths. hello.md

README.md

README.doc