Exercises and projects

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Table of contents

1. Basic exercises
2. Intermediate exercises
3. Project 1: Node.js pipeline
4. Project 2: Automatic release
5. Project 3: Monorepo
6. Validation checklist

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1 - Basic exercises

Exercise 1.1: Hello World

Create a workflow that displays "Hello World" on every push.

Solution

name: Hello World

on: push

jobs:
  hello:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Hello World!"

Exercise 1.2: Multi-event

Create a workflow triggered by push AND pull_request.

Solution

name: Multi-Event

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Triggered by ${{ github.event_name }}"

Exercise 1.3: Environment variables

Create a workflow with a global variable and a step variable.

Solution

name: Variables

on: push

env:
  GLOBAL_VAR: "I am global"

jobs:
  vars:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Use global
        run: echo "$GLOBAL_VAR"
      
      - name: Use local
        env:
          LOCAL_VAR: "I am local"
        run: echo "$LOCAL_VAR"

Exercise 1.4: Checkout and list

Create a workflow that checks out the code and lists the files.

Solution

name: Checkout

on: push

jobs:
  list:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: ls -la
      - run: cat README.md || echo "No README"

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---

2 - Intermediate exercises

Exercise 2.1: npm cache

Create a workflow with npm cache using setup-node.

Solution

name: Build with Cache

on: push

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '18'
          cache: 'npm'
      
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run build

Exercise 2.2: Multi-version matrix

Test on Node 16, 18 and 20.

Solution

name: Matrix Test

on: push

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node: [16, 18, 20]
    
    name: Node ${{ matrix.node }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: ${{ matrix.node }}
      
      - run: node --version

Exercise 2.3: Dependent jobs

Create 3 jobs: build → test → deploy (sequential).

Solution

name: Pipeline

on: push

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Building..."

  test:
    needs: build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Testing..."

  deploy:
    needs: test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Deploying..."

Exercise 2.4: Artifacts

Create a file in one job and download it in another.

Solution

name: Artifacts

on: push

jobs:
  create:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Hello" > message.txt
      
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: message
          path: message.txt

  read:
    needs: create
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: message
      
      - run: cat message.txt

Exercise 2.5: Conditions

Run a job only on the main branch.

Solution

name: Conditional

on: push

jobs:
  always:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Always runs"

  main-only:
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Only on main"

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---

3 - Project 1: Complete Node.js pipeline

Goal

Create a complete CI/CD pipeline for a Node.js application:

• Lint with ESLint
• Tests with Jest
• Build
• Conditional deployment

Solution

name: Node.js CI/CD

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

env:
  NODE_VERSION: '18'

jobs:
  lint:
    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 run lint

  test:
    needs: lint
    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 -- --coverage
      
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: coverage-report
          path: coverage/

  build:
    needs: 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 run build
      
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: build
          path: dist/

  deploy-staging:
    needs: build
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/develop'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: staging
    steps:
      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: build
          path: ./dist
      
      - run: echo "Deploying to staging..."

  deploy-production:
    needs: build
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: production
    steps:
      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: build
          path: ./dist
      
      - run: echo "Deploying to production..."

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---

4 - Project 2: Automatic release

Goal

Create a workflow that:

• Triggers on v* tags
• Builds the application
• Creates a GitHub release with the assets

Solution

name: Release

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '18'
          cache: 'npm'
      
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run build
      
      - name: Create archive
        run: tar -czf dist.tar.gz dist/
      
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: release-archive
          path: dist.tar.gz

  release:
    needs: build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: release-archive
      
      - name: Create Release
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
        with:
          files: dist.tar.gz
          generate_release_notes: true

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---

5 - Project 3: Monorepo

Goal

Create a pipeline for a monorepo with:

• Frontend (React)
• Backend (Node.js)
• Conditional deployment based on the modified files

Solution

name: Monorepo CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  changes:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      frontend: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.frontend }}
      backend: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.backend }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v2
        id: filter
        with:
          filters: |
            frontend:
              - 'frontend/**'
            backend:
              - 'backend/**'

  frontend:
    needs: changes
    if: needs.changes.outputs.frontend == 'true'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    defaults:
      run:
        working-directory: frontend
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '18'
          cache: 'npm'
          cache-dependency-path: frontend/package-lock.json
      
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      - run: npm run build

  backend:
    needs: changes
    if: needs.changes.outputs.backend == 'true'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    defaults:
      run:
        working-directory: backend
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '18'
          cache: 'npm'
          cache-dependency-path: backend/package-lock.json
      
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test

  deploy:
    needs: [frontend, backend]
    if: always() && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && (needs.frontend.result == 'success' || needs.backend.result == 'success')
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Deploying changed components..."

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6 - Validation checklist

Skills to validate

Skill	Checked
Create a basic workflow	☐
Use checkout and setup-node	☐
Configure the cache	☐
Use variables and secrets	☐
Create dependent jobs	☐
Use artifacts	☐
Configure a matrix	☐
Add conditions	☐
Create a reusable workflow	☐
Configure environments	☐
Deploy automatically	☐

Self-assessment

1. Can you create a lint → test → build → deploy pipeline?
2. Do you know how to use the cache to speed up your builds?
3. Can you test on several Node versions?
4. Do you know how to share data between jobs?
5. Can you deploy conditionally based on the branch?

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Congratulations!

You have completed the GitHub Actions course! 🎉

You now know how to:

• ✅ Create CI/CD workflows
• ✅ Use Marketplace actions
• ✅ Manage secrets and variables
• ✅ Optimize with cache and artifacts
• ✅ Test across environments with matrix builds
• ✅ Build reusable workflows
• ✅ Create complete deployment pipelines

Next steps

• Apply this knowledge to your projects
• Explore the Marketplace to discover new actions
• Create your own reusable actions
• Share your workflows with your team

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