20 GitHub Actions Interview Questions and Answers

GitHub Actions is a feature of the popular code-sharing website that allows developers to automate their workflows. This includes tasks like building and testing code, deploying applications, and more. If you’re interviewing for a position that involves GitHub Actions, you can expect to be asked questions about your experience and knowledge of the tool. In this article, we review some of the most common GitHub Actions interview questions and provide tips on how to answer them.

GitHub Actions Interview Questions and Answers

Here are 20 commonly asked GitHub Actions interview questions and answers to prepare you for your interview:

1. Can you explain what GitHub Actions are?

GitHub Actions are a way to automate your workflow. With Actions, you can trigger a set of commands to run whenever certain events happen on GitHub, such as when you push code to a repository or open a pull request.

2. What is the main benefit of using GitHub Actions in your workflow?

The main benefit of using GitHub Actions is that it allows you to automate your workflow. This can save you a lot of time and effort in the long run, as you won’t need to manually trigger actions or check for updates.

3. How does GitHub Actions compare with Jenkins, Bamboo, and other CI/CD tools?

GitHub Actions is a newer tool, but it is quickly gaining popularity due to its ease of use and tight integration with GitHub. It is similar to other CI/CD tools in that it can be used to automate the process of building, testing, and deploying code. However, it has some unique features, such as the ability to trigger actions in response to events on GitHub, that make it a powerful tool for automating workflows.

4. Can you give me some examples of common workflows that can be automated by using GitHub Actions?

There are a lot of different workflows that can be automated by using GitHub Actions. For example, you could set up a workflow to automatically build and deploy your code whenever you push a new commit to your GitHub repository. Or, you could set up a workflow to run a series of tests on your code every time you open a new pull request. There are endless possibilities for what you can do with GitHub Actions, so it really depends on what you need to automate in your particular workflow.

5. What’s a good way to get started with writing my first action in GitHub?

A good way to get started with writing your first action in GitHub is to start by looking at the existing actions that are available and see if any of them can be adapted to your needs. Once you have a good understanding of how actions work, you can start writing your own custom action by following the instructions in the GitHub Actions documentation.

6. In which languages can we write actions for GitHub?

You can write actions for GitHub in any language that can run on Linux, including but not limited to Bash, JavaScript, and Python.

7. Is it possible to share actions across different repositories within an organization? If yes, then how?

Yes, it is possible to share actions across different repositories within an organization. One way to do this is to create a central repository that contains all of the shared actions, and then other repositories can reference the actions in that central repository. Another way to do this is to use a tool like Action Registry, which allows you to share and manage actions across different repositories.

8. How do you use GitHub Actions to run a script on every push?

You can use GitHub Actions to automatically run a script on every push by creating a workflow file in your repository. In the workflow file, you will need to specify the events that will trigger the workflow and the actions that should be taken. For example, you could specify that the workflow should be triggered on every push to the repository and that the action to be taken is to run a script.

9. How can you trigger an event when someone leaves a comment or creates a pull request?

You can trigger an event when someone leaves a comment or creates a pull request by using the GitHub Actions API.

10. Is it possible to use Docker containers as part of a workflow? If yes, then how?

Yes, it is possible to use Docker containers as part of a workflow. You can do this by using the Docker Container action. This action allows you to run a container as part of your workflow. You can specify the image to use, the command to run, and any necessary arguments.

11. What is the best way to add new features to existing codebases?

The best way to add new features to existing codebases is to use GitHub Actions. With GitHub Actions, you can easily automate the process of adding new features to your codebase. This way, you can focus on other aspects of your project, and let GitHub Actions handle the tedious task of adding new features for you.

12. What is the maximum size allowed for a file uploaded to GitHub?

The maximum file size that can be uploaded to GitHub is 100 MB.

13. Does GitHub allow us to upload files larger than 100 MB? If yes, then how?

Yes, GitHub allows us to upload files larger than 100 MB through a process called Git Large File Storage (LFS). With Git LFS, we can store our large files outside of our Git repository on a remote server and then just keep a pointer to those files inside of our Git repository. This way, our Git repository stays small and manageable, while we can still keep our large files under version control.

14. What is the difference between uploading a file directly to GitHub and pushing it through git?

Uploading a file directly to GitHub would simply add the file to the GitHub repository without going through the git version control system. Pushing a file through git would add the file to the repository and also create a new commit with that file, which would then be tracked by git.

15. What’s the best way to manage sensitive data like passwords and secrets when using GitHub?

The best way to manage sensitive data when using GitHub is to use the Secrets feature. With Secrets, you can encrypt your data and only allow certain people to access it. This way, only those who need to know the information will be able to see it.

16. What is the recommended approach for providing feedback on issues related to a particular repository?

The recommended approach for providing feedback on issues related to a particular repository is to use the GitHub Actions “Issue and Pull Request Labels” action. This action will allow you to automatically add labels to new issues and pull requests, and you can use these labels to provide feedback on the issues.

17. How does GitHub handle conflicts during merges?

GitHub will automatically attempt to resolve any merge conflicts that arise. However, if it is unable to do so, it will notify the user and ask them to resolve the conflict manually.

18. What happens if someone tries to commit changes to a branch that has been protected from such actions?

If someone tries to commit changes to a branch that has been protected from such actions, their changes will not be accepted and they will receive an error message.

19. What does “forking” mean in context with GitHub?

Forking a repository means to create a copy of it in your own GitHub account. This is useful if you want to make changes to a repository that you don’t have permission to change directly.

20. What is the purpose of assigning labels to issues?

Labels can be used to categorize issues and pull requests within GitHub repositories. This can be helpful for organizing and prioritizing work, and for quickly identifying and finding issues that are related to one another.