Day 32: My First GitHub Actions Workflow 🚀

Welcome to Day 32 of my #100DaysOfDevOps journey! After learning CI/CD concepts on Day 31, today I set up a GitHub repository and created my first GitHub Actions workflow to run a simple Python script. As a beginner, I’m thrilled to automate my first CI step! This post walks you through my process, code, and lessons learned—perfect for anyone starting with CI/CD. Let’s dive in! 💻

What is GitHub Actions? 🤔

GitHub Actions is a powerful CI/CD tool built into GitHub. It lets you automate tasks (like running scripts or tests) when events happen (e.g., pushing code). Workflows are defined in .yml files, making it easy to set up pipelines.

Why It’s Exciting:

• Automates my Weather App or WordPress blog tasks.

• Free for public repos, great for beginners.

• Builds on Day 31’s CI concepts and preps me for Day 33 (adding tests).

Step 1: Setting Up the GitHub Repo 🗂️

I reused my ci-cd-practice repo from Day 31 (github.com/ritesh355/ci-cd-practice), which has:

• app.py: A simple function (def add(a, b)).

• test_app.py: Unit tests with pytest.

New Addition: I created script.py to run in my workflow:

# script.py
print("Hello from GitHub Actions! This is my first workflow.")

Commands:

git add script.py
git commit -m "Add simple script for GitHub Actions"
git push origin main

This sets the stage for automation!

Step 2: Creating the Workflow ⚙️

I created a GitHub Actions workflow to run script.py whenever I push to the main branch.

Steps:

1. Created .github/workflows/ci.yml in VS Code:

    name: Basic CI Workflow
   
    on:
      push:
        branches:
          - main
   
    jobs:
      run-script:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
          - name: Checkout code
            uses: actions/checkout@v4
          - name: Set up Python
            uses: actions/setup-python@v5
            with:
              python-version: '3.9'
          - name: Run script
            run: python script.py
   

2. Committed and pushed:

    git add .github/workflows/ci.yml
    git commit -m "Add basic GitHub Actions workflow to run script"
    git push origin main
   

3. Checked the Actions tab on GitHub:

   • Saw “Basic CI Workflow” running.

   • Found the output in logs: Hello from GitHub Actions! This is my first workflow.

What’s Happening:

• on: push: Triggers the workflow when I push to main.

• runs-on: ubuntu-latest: Runs on an Ubuntu virtual machine.

• steps:

  • Clones the repo (actions/checkout@v4).

  • Installs Python 3.9 (actions/setup-python@v5).

  • Runs python script.py.

Step 3: Testing and Troubleshooting 🔍

To learn, I intentionally broke script.py:

print(undefined_variable)  # Causes an error

• Pushed and saw the workflow fail in the Actions tab.

• Fixed it, pushed again, and confirmed it passed.

Lessons:

• Logs in the Actions tab are super helpful for debugging.

• Small changes trigger the workflow automatically—CI in action!

Why This Matters 🌟

• This is my first automated CI pipeline, running a script on every push.

• It connects to Day 34: CI automates code checks, and this is the first step.

Tips for Beginners 💡

1. Start Simple: Use a basic script26 like mine to learn workflows.

2. Check Syntax: Ensure .yml files are in .github/workflows and use correct indentation (YAML is picky!).

3. Use Logs: Actions tab logs show what went wrong.

4. Explore Examples: Check github.com/actions/starter-workflows for ideas.

5. Document: I’m noting everything in Day35.md:

    Set up `ci-cd-practice` repo and created `ci.yml` to run `script.py` on push.
    Learned to check logs and troubleshoot failures.
   

Resources 📚

• Docs: GitHub Actions Quickstart (docs.github.com/en/actions/quickstart)

• Video: TechWorld with Nana’s “GitHub Actions Tutorial” (YouTube)

• Tool: GitHub (github.com) for free repos and Actions

👨‍💻 Author

Ritesh Singh
🌐 LinkedIn | 📝 Hashnode | GITHUB

Join the Journey! 🚀

Have you tried GitHub Actions? Share your first workflow or any questions in the comments! Follow my #100DaysOfDevOps on Hashnode for more DevOps adventures. Let’s master CI/CD together! 💪

#100DaysOfDevOps #CICD #GitHubActions #DevOps #Beginner