How to set up a CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions

Short answer

Create a .github/workflows YAML file that defines triggers (push, pull_request), jobs, and steps. Use GitHub-hosted or self-hosted runners to execute commands for linting, testing, building, and deployment.

Details

GitHub Actions workflows are event-driven. A common setup triggers on pull_request to run tests and on push to main to deploy. You can define a matrix strategy to test across multiple Node.js versions or operating systems simultaneously. Reusable workflows and composite actions help reduce duplication across repositories.

Security is critical: pin third-party actions to a commit SHA rather than a mutable tag, and use OpenID Connect (OIDC) to authenticate to cloud providers without long-lived secrets. If you are deploying to AWS, you may also want to read How to design a multi-region architecture on AWS. For managing infrastructure alongside your app, see What is GitOps and how does it work.

Tips

• Cache dependencies between runs using actions/cache to speed up pipelines.
• Use concurrency controls to cancel outdated runs when new commits arrive.
• For versioning and release management, learn how to amend a git commit to keep history clean before triggering deployment workflows.