---

name: ci-cd-ops description: "CI/CD pipeline patterns with GitHub Actions, release automation, and testing strategies. Use for: github actions, workflow, CI, CD, pipeline, deploy, release, semantic release, changesets, goreleaser, matrix, cache, secrets, environment, artifact, reusable workflow, composite action." license: MIT allowed-tools: "Read Write Bash" metadata: author: claude-mods related-skills: git-ops, docker-ops, testing-ops

CI/CD Operations

Comprehensive patterns for continuous integration, delivery, and deployment using GitHub Actions, release automation tools, and testing pipelines.

GitHub Actions Quick Reference

Workflow File Anatomy

name: CI                          # Display name in Actions tab
on:                               # Trigger events
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

permissions:                      # GITHUB_TOKEN scope (least privilege)
  contents: read
  pull-requests: write

concurrency:                      # Prevent duplicate runs
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

env:                              # Workflow-level environment variables
  NODE_VERSION: "20"

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: ${{ env.NODE_VERSION }}
          cache: npm
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test

Core Syntax Elements

| Element | Purpose | Example | |---------|---------|---------| | on | Event triggers | push, pull_request, schedule | | jobs.<id>.runs-on | Runner selection | ubuntu-latest, self-hosted | | jobs.<id>.needs | Job dependencies | needs: [build, lint] | | jobs.<id>.if | Conditional execution | if: github.event_name == 'push' | | jobs.<id>.strategy.matrix | Parallel variants | node-version: [18, 20, 22] | | jobs.<id>.environment | Deployment target | environment: production | | jobs.<id>.permissions | Token scope | contents: write | | steps[*].uses | Use an action | uses: actions/checkout@v4 | | steps[*].run | Run a command | run: npm test | | steps[*].env | Step environment | env: { CI: true } |

Trigger Decision Tree

| Scenario | Trigger | Config | |----------|---------|--------| | Run tests on every PR | pull_request | branches: [main] | | Deploy on merge to main | push | branches: [main] | | Release on version tag | push | tags: ['v*'] | | Nightly builds | schedule | cron: '0 2 * * *' | | Manual deployment | workflow_dispatch | inputs: { environment: ... } | | Called by another workflow | workflow_call | inputs:, secrets: | | On PR label change | pull_request | types: [labeled] | | On issue comment | issue_comment | types: [created] | | On release published | release | types: [published] | | On package push | registry_package | types: [published] |

Trigger Filter Patterns

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, 'release/**']      # Branch patterns
    paths: ['src/**', '!src/**/*.test.*'] # Path filters (ignore tests)
    tags: ['v*']                          # Tag patterns
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened] # Default types
    paths-ignore: ['docs/**', '*.md']     # Ignore docs-only changes

Caching Strategies

| Ecosystem | Action / Key | Path | Restore Key | |-----------|-------------|------|-------------| | Node (npm) | actions/setup-node with cache: npm | Auto | Auto | | Node (pnpm) | actions/setup-node with cache: pnpm | Auto | Auto | | Go modules | actions/setup-go with cache: true | Auto | Auto | | Cargo | actions/cache@v4 | ~/.cargo/registry, target | cargo-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('Cargo.lock') }} | | pip / uv | actions/setup-python with cache: pip | Auto | Auto | | Docker layers | docker/build-push-action | Uses buildx cache | type=gha or type=registry | | Gradle | actions/setup-java with cache: gradle | Auto | Auto | | Composer | actions/cache@v4 | vendor | composer-${{ hashFiles('composer.lock') }} |

Manual Cache Example

- uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: |
      ~/.cargo/bin
      ~/.cargo/registry
      ~/.cargo/git
      target
    key: cargo-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/Cargo.lock') }}
    restore-keys: |
      cargo-${{ runner.os }}-

Matrix Strategy

strategy:
  fail-fast: false                    # Don't cancel siblings on failure
  max-parallel: 4                     # Limit concurrent jobs
  matrix:
    os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest]
    node-version: [18, 20, 22]
    include:                          # Add specific combos
      - os: ubuntu-latest
        node-version: 22
        coverage: true
    exclude:                          # Remove specific combos
      - os: windows-latest
        node-version: 18

Dynamic Matrix

prepare:
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  outputs