✅ Complete GitHub Actions Tutorial Outline (Beginner → Advanced)

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1. Introduction

1. What is GitHub Actions?

2. Why use GitHub Actions for CI/CD?

3. Key concepts

   • Workflows
   • Events
   • Jobs
   • Steps
   • Runners

4. YAML basics for GitHub Actions

5. GitHub-hosted vs self-hosted runners

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2. GitHub Actions Fundamentals (Beginner Level)

1. Creating the first workflow
2. Triggering workflows (push, pull_request, schedule, workflow_dispatch)
3. Using actions from the marketplace
4. Environment variables & secrets
5. Artifacts (upload/download)
6. Caching basics (npm, pip, gradle, maven)
7. Using matrices to test multiple versions (Node/Java/Python)

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3. Building CI Pipelines

1. Setting up code checkout and environment

2. Installing dependencies

3. Running unit tests

4. Linting and formatting

5. Generating test reports

6. Matrix CI pipelines

   • Multiple Node/Python/Java versions
   • OS matrix (windows, ubuntu, macOS)

7. Using job dependencies (needs:)

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4. Docker Integration (Intermediate)

1. Writing Dockerfiles

2. Building images using GitHub Actions

3. Caching Docker layers

4. Using Buildx & QEMU for multi-architecture builds

5. Tagging strategies (latest, commit SHA, semantic versioning)

6. Pushing images to registries:

   • GitHub Container Registry (GHCR)
   • Docker Hub
   • Azure Container Registry (ACR)

7. Storing credentials securely using GitHub Secrets

8. OIDC authentication (passwordless login to Azure)

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5. CD Pipelines (Advanced)

1. Introduction to deployment workflows
2. Environments & deployment rules
3. Manual approvals
4. Reusable workflows for deployments
5. Branch-based deployments (dev/staging/prod)
6. Versioned deployments (tags & releases)

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6. Kubernetes Integration (Advanced+)

1. Kubernetes basics for CI/CD

2. Deploying to AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service)

3. Using kubectl in GitHub Actions

4. Applying Kubernetes manifests

5. Rolling updates

6. Canary/Blue-Green deployment strategies

7. Using Helm for deployment:

   • Writing a Helm chart
   • Passing values dynamically
   • Versioning Helm releases

8. Secrets and configmaps management

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7. Azure Integration (Enterprise Level)

1. Azure setup required:

   • ACR
   • AKS
   • Azure Service Principal or OIDC federation

2. Deploying Docker images to ACR

3. Connecting ACR → AKS

4. GitHub Actions authentication using OIDC

5. Full CI/CD flow:

   • Build image
   • Push to ACR
   • Deploy to AKS

6. Monitoring & logging deployment

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8. Optimizing Pipelines

1. Workflow-level caching (dependencies, Docker layers)

2. Reusable workflows for DRY pipelines

3. Conditional jobs (if:)

4. Parallel jobs & matrix strategies

5. Speed optimization:

   • Self-hosted runners
   • Build artifact reuse
   • Instance size selection

6. Cost optimization & runner efficiency

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9. Security & Compliance

1. Secrets management
2. OIDC vs classic secrets authentication
3. Permissions (read/write)
4. Least-privilege principle
5. Dependency scanning & SAST with GitHub Advanced Security
6. Container security scanning (Trivy, Snyk)

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10. Real-World End-to-End Project

A complete production-grade pipeline including:

CI Pipeline

• Lint
• Unit tests
• Integration tests
• Matrix versions
• Artifact upload

Docker Build Pipeline

• Build image
• Cache layers
• Tag with SHA + version
• Push to registry (GHCR/ACR)

CD Pipeline

• Deploy to AKS using Helm
• Detect changes
• Roll out update
• Check status
• Notify Slack or Teams

Pipeline includes:

• Branch strategies (PR → dev → staging → prod)
• Manual approval gates
• Rollback workflow
• Automated version bump + release creation

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11. Troubleshooting & Debugging

1. Reading logs
2. Enabling runner debug mode
3. Handling failed jobs
4. Retrying jobs
5. Validating YAML
6. Testing workflows locally with act

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12. Final Best Practices

• Use secrets sparingly
• Prefer OIDC for cloud auth
• Use reusable workflows
• Keep CI fast (<10 mins)
• Use environments + approvals
• Automate everything: test → build → deploy → monitor

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