CI/CD with GitHub Actions: Complete Guide

# CI/CD with GitHub Actions: Complete Guide GitHub Actions provides powerful CI/CD directly in your repository. Here's how to use it effectively. ## Basics ### Workflow Structure Workflows live in `.github/workflows/` as YAML files with triggers, jobs, and steps. ### Triggers - push: On code push - pull_request: On PR events - schedule: Cron-based - workflow_dispatch: Manual trigger ## Common Workflows ### Testing Run tests on every push and pull request to main branch. ### Build and Deploy Build application and deploy to Vercel, Netlify, AWS, etc. ### Docker Build Build and push Docker images to container registries. ## Best Practices ### Use Caching Cache dependencies to speed up workflows with actions/cache. ### Secrets Management Store sensitive data in GitHub Secrets, reference with `secrets.NAME`. ### Matrix Builds Test across multiple versions: - Node versions - Operating systems - Database versions ### Reusable Workflows Create shared workflows for common patterns. ## Security ### Least Privilege Use minimal permissions for tokens. ### Pin Action Versions Use specific versions, not @latest. ### Review Third-Party Actions Audit before using external actions. ## Monitoring ### Status Badges Show workflow status in README. ### Notifications Slack/email notifications for failures. ## Conclusion GitHub Actions simplifies CI/CD. Start with testing, add deployment as confidence grows.