GitHub Actions Tests

A repository for testing and validating GitHub Actions workflows that use a mix of github-script and bash script based jobs.

Overview

This repository provides a comprehensive testing environment for GitHub Actions workflows, demonstrating:

• GitHub Script Jobs: Using the @actions/github-script action to interact with the GitHub API
• Bash Script Jobs: Running shell commands and scripts in workflow jobs
• Mixed Workflows: Combining both github-script and bash operations in complex pipelines
• Job Dependencies: Passing data between jobs using outputs
• Artifacts: Uploading and downloading artifacts across jobs
• Conditional Execution: Running steps based on event types and conditions

Workflows

1. GitHub Script Tests (github-script-test.yml)

Tests various operations using the @actions/github-script action:

• Basic GitHub Script Job: Print repository information, list files, and demonstrate API interactions
• Advanced GitHub Script Operations: Get workflow run info, list recent commits, check branch protection
• GitHub Script with Outputs: Set job outputs for use in dependent jobs

Trigger: Push to main/master, Pull Requests, Manual dispatch

2. Bash Script Tests (bash-script-test.yml)

Tests various bash scripting operations:

• Basic Bash Commands: System information, environment variables, git operations
• File Operations: Create/manipulate files, JSON processing with jq, array operations
• Advanced Bash Scripting: Conditional logic, functions, error handling, pipelines
• Bash with Outputs: Generate and pass outputs to dependent jobs

Trigger: Push to main/master, Pull Requests, Manual dispatch

3. Mixed Tests (mixed-test.yml)

Demonstrates combining github-script and bash in complex workflows:

• Prepare with Bash → Process with GitHub Script → Verify with Bash: Multi-stage pipeline
• Mixed Operations in Single Job: Alternating between bash and github-script steps
• Conditional Execution: Different steps for push vs pull_request events
• Artifact Passing: Upload data in bash, download and process in github-script

Trigger: Push to main/master, Pull Requests, Manual dispatch

4. Demo Workflow (demo.yml)

An interactive demo workflow with customizable inputs:

• Workflow Inputs: Choose test type (all, github-script, bash, mixed) and custom message
• Conditional Jobs: Runs only selected test types
• Comprehensive Examples: Shows real-world usage of all workflow types
• Summary Report: Displays results from all executed jobs

Trigger: Manual dispatch only (with inputs)

Repository Structure

.
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
│       ├── github-script-test.yml    # GitHub Script workflow examples
│       ├── bash-script-test.yml      # Bash script workflow examples
│       ├── mixed-test.yml            # Mixed workflow examples
│       └── demo.yml                  # Interactive demo workflow
├── test-data/
│   ├── workflows.json                # Sample JSON data
│   └── sample.txt                    # Sample text file
├── scripts/
│   └── test-script.sh                # Sample bash script
├── CONTRIBUTING.md                   # Guide for contributors
├── QUICKREF.md                       # Quick reference guide
└── README.md

Test Data

test-data/workflows.json

Contains metadata about the workflows in this repository, useful for testing JSON processing in both bash (with jq) and github-script (with Node.js).

test-data/sample.txt

A sample text file with various content types for testing file operations, grep, and text processing.

scripts/test-script.sh

An executable bash script demonstrating common operations that can be called from workflows.

Usage

Running Workflows Manually

All workflows support manual triggering via workflow_dispatch:

1. Go to the Actions tab in your repository
2. Select the workflow you want to run
3. Click Run workflow
4. Choose the branch and click Run workflow

Demo Workflow with Inputs

The demo workflow provides interactive options:

1. Go to Actions → Demo Workflow
2. Click Run workflow
3. Choose options:
   • Test type: Select 'all', 'github-script', 'bash', or 'mixed'
   • Custom message: Enter a message to display in the workflow
4. Click Run workflow to start

Testing Locally

You can test the bash script locally:

# Make sure the script is executable
chmod +x scripts/test-script.sh

# Run the script
./scripts/test-script.sh arg1 arg2

# Or run it from the repository root
bash scripts/test-script.sh

Testing JSON Processing

Test JSON operations with jq:

# Install jq if needed
sudo apt-get install jq  # Ubuntu/Debian
brew install jq          # macOS

# Query the workflows.json file
jq '.workflows[] | .name' test-data/workflows.json
jq '.features' test-data/workflows.json

Key Concepts Demonstrated

1. Job Outputs

Both workflows demonstrate setting and using job outputs:

Bash example:

- name: Generate Outputs
  id: set-output
  run: |
    echo "timestamp=$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
    echo "file-count=$(find . -type f | wc -l)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

GitHub Script example:

- name: Set Outputs
  id: set-output
  uses: actions/github-script@v7
  with:
    script: |
      core.setOutput('repo-name', context.repo.repo);
      core.setOutput('commit-count', commits.length);

2. Artifact Sharing

The mixed workflow shows how to share data between jobs:

# Upload in one job
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: test-data
    path: /tmp/test-data.json

# Download in another job
- uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: test-data
    path: /tmp

3. Conditional Execution

Examples of running steps conditionally:

- name: Run on Push Only
  if: github.event_name == 'push'
  run: echo "This runs only on push"

- name: Always Run
  if: always()
  run: echo "This always runs"

4. GitHub API Access

Using github-script to interact with the GitHub API:

const { data: commits } = await github.rest.repos.listCommits({
  owner: context.repo.owner,
  repo: context.repo.repo,
  per_page: 5
});

Best Practices Demonstrated

1. Error Handling: Using set -e in bash scripts and continue-on-error in workflows
2. Logging: Clear console output with section headers
3. Modularity: Separating concerns across different jobs
4. Reusability: Using functions in bash scripts
5. Documentation: Inline comments and clear step names
6. Testing: Verification steps to ensure operations completed successfully

Extending This Repository

You can extend this repository by:

1. Adding new workflows: Create additional .yml files in .github/workflows/
2. Adding test data: Place more sample files in test-data/
3. Creating utility scripts: Add more bash scripts to scripts/
4. Testing new actions: Install and test third-party GitHub Actions
5. Experimenting with triggers: Try different event triggers (schedule, issue_comment, etc.)

Troubleshooting

Workflows not running?

• Check that workflows are enabled in your repository settings
• Ensure you're pushing to the correct branch (main or master)
• Check the Actions tab for error messages

Permission errors?

• Some GitHub API operations may require additional permissions
• Check the workflow run logs for specific permission errors
• You may need to adjust repository or workflow permissions

Script execution errors?

• Ensure bash scripts have execute permissions (chmod +x)
• Check for syntax errors in scripts
• Verify paths are correct (use absolute paths when needed)

Quick Reference

See QUICKREF.md for:

• Command cheat sheet
• Common patterns and examples
• Context variables reference
• Troubleshooting tips
• Links to specific examples in this repository

Resources

• GitHub Actions Documentation
• github-script Action
• Workflow Syntax
• GitHub REST API
• CONTRIBUTING.md - Guide for extending this repository

License

This is a testing repository. Use the workflows and examples freely for your own testing and learning purposes.