Github actions is an automation tool integrated directly into GitHub repositories. It allows you to create workflows that automatically build, test and deploy your code.

Key Features:

• Triggered by GitHub events (eg, push, pull request)
• Runs in Virtual machines or containers
• Used for CI/CD pipelines

CI/CD is a set of practices and tools that automate the process of software delivery.

Continuous Integration (CI)

• Developers frequently merge code changes into a central repository
• Automated builds and tests are run
• Goals: detect problems early, improve software quality

Continous Deployment (CD)

• Automatically deploy all code changes to a testing or production environment
• Requires a robest automated testing environment
• Goals: faster release cycles, reduced manual errors

Github Actions for CI/CD

1. Trigger: push to main branch
2. Build: compile code, create docer image
3. Test: Run unit tests, integration tests
4. Deploy: Push to staging/production environments