GitHub Actions

github.com/features/actions
DevOps
Weekend Project

Automate your workflow from idea to production

How to Replace GitHub Actions

Overview

GitHub Actions makes it easy to automate all your software workflows with world-class CI/CD capabilities. Build, test, and deploy your code right from GitHub. Make code reviews, branch management, and issue triaging work the way you want.

Features

12 features across 7 categories

Automation(1)

Event-triggered Workflows

Kick off workflows on any GitHub event to automate tasks

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Development(2)

Custom Actions

Use the millions of open source libraries available on GitHub to create your own actions. Write them in JavaScript or create a container action—both can interact with the full GitHub API and any other public API.

Multi-language Support

GitHub Actions supports Node.js, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, Go, Rust, .NET, and more. Build, test, and deploy applications in your language of choice.

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Infrastructure(2)

Hosted Runners

Linux, macOS, Windows, ARM, GPU, and containers make it easy to build and test all your projects. Run directly on a VM or inside a container.

Self-hosted Runners

Use your own VMs, in the cloud or on-prem, with self-hosted runners

Integration(2)

Actions Marketplace

GitHub Actions connects all of your tools to automate every step of your development workflow. Easily deploy to any cloud, create tickets in Jira, or publish a package to npm.

GitHub Packages Integration

Pair GitHub Packages with Actions to simplify package management, including version updates, fast distribution with our global CDN, and dependency resolution, using your existing GITHUB_TOKEN.

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Monitoring(1)

Live Logs

See your workflow run in realtime with color and emoji. It's one click to copy a link that highlights a specific line number to share a CI/CD failure.

Security(2)

Built-in Secret Store

Automate your software development practices with workflow files embracing the Git flow by codifying it in your repository

Secure Package Registry

Securely store and manage your code and packages with GitHub credentials, integrated into your workflows via APIs and webhooks. Enjoy fast, reliable downloads through a global CDN for optimized performance.

Also in: Hugging Face, Notion, Airtable

Testing(2)

Matrix Builds

Save time with matrix workflows that simultaneously test across multiple operating systems and versions of your runtime

Multi-container Testing

Test your web service and its DB in your workflow by simply adding some docker-compose to your workflow file

Pricing

Free

Free
  • Free CI/CD for public repositories
  • Included runners

Cost Calculator

Pricing data not available for GitHub Actions. Check their website for current pricing.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a GitHub Actions alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 12 features.

Buy GitHub Actions

Better Value
Monthly costContact Sales
3-year totalVaries
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$12,000
Maintenance$180/mo
3-year total$18,480
Dev time~1 months

Buying GitHub Actions saves ~$18,480 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 12 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

5 known integrations

Cloud ProvidersGitHub APIGitHub PackagesJiranpm