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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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

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

Usage

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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

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You can test the bash script locally:

`bash


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
`

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Test JSON operations with jq:

`bash


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

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Both workflows demonstrate setting and using job outputs:

Bash example:
`yaml
- 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:
`yaml
- 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);
`

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The mixed workflow shows how to share data between jobs:

`yaml


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
`

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Examples of running steps conditionally:

`yaml
- 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"
`

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Using github-script to interact with the GitHub API:

`javascript
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

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- 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

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- 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

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- 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.