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---
title: Quickstart for GitHub Actions
intro: 'Try out the features of {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} in 5 minutes or less.'
allowTitleToDifferFromFilename: true
title: Understanding GitHub Actions
shortTitle: Understanding GitHub Actions
intro: 'Learn the basics of {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, including core concepts and essential terminology.'
redirect_from:
- /actions/getting-started-with-github-actions/starting-with-preconfigured-workflow-templates
- /github/automating-your-workflow-with-github-actions/core-concepts-for-github-actions
- /actions/automating-your-workflow-with-github-actions/core-concepts-for-github-actions
- /actions/getting-started-with-github-actions/core-concepts-for-github-actions
- /actions/learn-github-actions/introduction-to-github-actions
versions:
fpt: '*'
ghes: '*'
ghae: '*'
ghec: '*'
type: quick_start
type: overview
topics:
- Fundamentals
shortTitle: Quickstart
---

{% data reusables.actions.enterprise-beta %}
{% data reusables.actions.enterprise-github-hosted-runners %}

## Introduction

You only need a {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} repository to create and run a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow. In this guide, you'll add a workflow that demonstrates some of the essential features of {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}.

The following example shows you how {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} jobs can be automatically triggered, where they run, and how they can interact with the code in your repository.

## Creating your first workflow

1. Create a `.github/workflows` directory in your repository on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} if this directory does not already exist.
2. In the `.github/workflows` directory, create a file named `github-actions-demo.yml`. For more information, see "[Creating new files](/github/managing-files-in-a-repository/creating-new-files)."
3. Copy the following YAML contents into the `github-actions-demo.yml` file:
{% raw %}
```yaml{:copy}
name: GitHub Actions Demo
on: [push]
jobs:
Explore-GitHub-Actions:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: echo "🎉 The job was automatically triggered by a ${{ github.event_name }} event."
- run: echo "🐧 This job is now running on a ${{ runner.os }} server hosted by GitHub!"
- run: echo "🔎 The name of your branch is ${{ github.ref }} and your repository is ${{ github.repository }}."{% endraw %}
- name: Check out repository code
uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-checkout %}{% raw %}
- run: echo "💡 The ${{ github.repository }} repository has been cloned to the runner."
- run: echo "🖥️ The workflow is now ready to test your code on the runner."
- name: List files in the repository
run: |
ls ${{ github.workspace }}
- run: echo "🍏 This job's status is ${{ job.status }}."

```
{% endraw %}
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select **Create a new branch for this commit and start a pull request**. Then, to create a pull request, click **Propose new file**.
![Commit workflow file](/assets/images/help/repository/actions-quickstart-commit-new-file.png)

Committing the workflow file to a branch in your repository triggers the `push` event and runs your workflow.

## Viewing your workflow results

{% data reusables.repositories.navigate-to-repo %}
{% data reusables.repositories.actions-tab %}
1. In the left sidebar, click the workflow you want to see.

![Workflow list in left sidebar](/assets/images/help/repository/actions-quickstart-workflow-sidebar.png)
1. From the list of workflow runs, click the name of the run you want to see.

![Name of workflow run](/assets/images/help/repository/actions-quickstart-run-name.png)
1. Under **Jobs** , click the **Explore-GitHub-Actions** job.

![Locate job](/assets/images/help/repository/actions-quickstart-job.png)
1. The log shows you how each of the steps was processed. Expand any of the steps to view its details.

![Example workflow results](/assets/images/help/repository/actions-quickstart-logs.png)

For example, you can see the list of files in your repository:
![Example action detail](/assets/images/help/repository/actions-quickstart-log-detail.png)

## More starter workflows

{% data reusables.actions.workflow-template-overview %}

## More complex examples
{% data reusables.actions.link-to-example-library %}

## Next steps

The example workflow you just added runs each time code is pushed to the branch, and shows you how {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} can work with the contents of your repository. But this is only the beginning of what you can do with {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}:

- Your repository can contain multiple workflows that trigger different jobs based on different events.
- You can use a workflow to install software testing apps and have them automatically test your code on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}'s runners.

{% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} can help you automate nearly every aspect of your application development processes. Ready to get started? Here are some helpful resources for taking your next steps with {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}:

- "[Learn {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}](/actions/learn-github-actions)" for an in-depth tutorial.
## Overview
{% data reusables.actions.about-actions %} You can create workflows that build and test every pull request to your repository, or deploy merged pull requests to production.
{% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} goes beyond just DevOps and lets you run workflows when other events happen in your repository. For example, you can run a workflow to automatically add the appropriate labels whenever someone creates a new issue in your repository.
{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
{% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} provides Linux, Windows, and macOS virtual machines to run your workflows, or you can host your own self-hosted runners in your own data center or cloud infrastructure.
{% elsif ghes or ghae %}
You must host your own Linux, Windows, or macOS virtual machines to run workflows for {% data variables.product.product_location %}. {% data reusables.actions.self-hosted-runner-locations %}
{% endif %}
{% ifversion ghec or ghes or ghae %}
For more information about introducing {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} to your enterprise, see "[Introducing {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} to your enterprise](/admin/github-actions/getting-started-with-github-actions-for-your-enterprise/introducing-github-actions-to-your-enterprise)."
{% endif %}
## The components of {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}
You can configure a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} _workflow_ to be triggered when an _event_ occurs in your repository, such as a pull request being opened or an issue being created. Your workflow contains one or more _jobs_ which can run in sequential order or in parallel. Each job will run inside its own virtual machine _runner_, or inside a container, and has one or more _steps_ that either run a script that you define or run an _action_, which is a reusable extension that can simplify your workflow.
![Workflow overview](/assets/images/help/images/overview-actions-simple.png)
### Workflows
{% data reusables.actions.about-workflows-long %}
{% ifversion fpt or ghes > 3.3 or ghae-issue-4757 or ghec %}You can reference a workflow within another workflow, see "[Reusing workflows](/actions/learn-github-actions/reusing-workflows)."{% endif %}
For more information about workflows, see "[Using workflows](/actions/using-workflows)."
### Events
An event is a specific activity in a repository that triggers a workflow run. For example, activity can originate from {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} when someone creates a pull request, opens an issue, or pushes a commit to a repository. You can also trigger a workflow run on a schedule, by [posting to a REST API](/rest/reference/repos#create-a-repository-dispatch-event), or manually.
For a complete list of events that can be used to trigger workflows, see [Events that trigger workflows](/actions/reference/events-that-trigger-workflows).
### Jobs
A job is a set of _steps_ in a workflow that execute on the same runner. Each step is either a shell script that will be executed, or an _action_ that will be run. Steps are executed in order and are dependent on each other. Since each step is executed on the same runner, you can share data from one step to another. For example, you can have a step that builds your application followed by a step that tests the application that was built.
You can configure a job's dependencies with other jobs; by default, jobs have no dependencies and run in parallel with each other. When a job takes a dependency on another job, it will wait for the dependent job to complete before it can run. For example, you may have multiple build jobs for different architectures that have no dependencies, and a packaging job that is dependent on those jobs. The build jobs will run in parallel, and when they have all completed successfully, the packaging job will run.
For more information about jobs, see "[Using jobs](/actions/using-jobs)."
### Actions
An _action_ is a custom application for the {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} platform that performs a complex but frequently repeated task. Use an action to help reduce the amount of repetitive code that you write in your workflow files. An action can pull your git repository from {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}, set up the correct toolchain for your build environment, or set up the authentication to your cloud provider.
You can write your own actions, or you can find actions to use in your workflows in the {% data variables.product.prodname_marketplace %}.
{% data reusables.actions.internal-actions-summary %}
For more information, see "[Creating actions](/actions/creating-actions)."
### Runners
{% data reusables.actions.about-runners %} Each runner can run a single job at a time. {% ifversion ghes or ghae %} You must host your own runners for {% data variables.product.product_name %}. {% elsif fpt or ghec %}{% data variables.product.company_short %} provides Ubuntu Linux, Microsoft Windows, and macOS runners to run your workflows; each workflow run executes in a fresh, newly-provisioned virtual machine. If you need a different operating system or require a specific hardware configuration, you can host your own runners.{% endif %} For more information{% ifversion fpt or ghec %} about self-hosted runners{% endif %}, see "[Hosting your own runners](/actions/hosting-your-own-runners)."

{% data reusables.actions.workflow-basic-example-and-explanation %}

## More complex examples
{% data reusables.actions.link-to-example-library %}

## Next steps

- To continue learning about {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, see "[Finding and customizing actions](/actions/learn-github-actions/finding-and-customizing-actions)."
{% ifversion fpt or ghec or ghes %}
- To understand how billing works for {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, see "[About billing for {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}](/actions/reference/usage-limits-billing-and-administration#about-billing-for-github-actions)".
{% endif %}

## Contacting support
{% data reusables.actions.contacting-support %}
{% ifversion ghec or ghes or ghae %}
## Further reading
- "[About {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} for enterprises](/admin/github-actions/getting-started-with-github-actions-for-your-enterprise/about-github-actions-for-enterprises)"
{% endif %}
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