I use GitHub Actions for CI/CD pipelines. I automate infrastructure, deployment, and all processes. Most companies use CI/CD pipelines, and GitHub Actions is one of the tools available for this purpose.
Senior DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Integration with various environments and cloud providers enhances automation
Pros and Cons
- "It improves efficiency as it involves no downtime and is managed by GitHub."
- "The main improvement would be to add support for more programming languages and frameworks."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of GitHub Actions is that it is completely free. It can be integrated with different environments and cloud providers, supporting all major cloud providers.
Additionally, it improves efficiency as it involves no downtime and is managed by GitHub.
What needs improvement?
The main improvement would be to add support for more programming languages and frameworks. Currently, only six to seven languages are supported, so increasing this would be beneficial.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using GitHub Actions for almost five years, working as a consultant.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I find GitHub Actions to be really stable as it is entirely managed by GitHub. I would rate its stability ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate scalability as ten out of ten because it has no downtime and is fully managed by AWS.
How are customer service and support?
I have not interacted with technical support for GitHub Actions. It might be because the free version does not typically offer technical support. There is a paid version available for business enterprises.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Many of my customers have switched from Jenkins, Bitbucket, and AWS to GitHub Actions because it is easy to set up and it's free.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup can be slightly challenging at times, especially for complex use cases. You need basic knowledge of YAML scripting to set up GitHub Actions. However, following official documentation for a simple setup is really easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
GitHub Actions is completely free for most customers, which is a significant factor for adoption.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate GitHub Actions ten out of ten.
For new users, I advise understanding your requirements thoroughly and using GitHub Actions accordingly. Keep in mind that there's a limited number of CI/CD pipeline hours available in the free edition monthly.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. consultant
Aws solutions architect at a non-tech company with 1-10 employees
Streamlined development with automation and secure deployments
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of GitHub Actions is the ability to automate various tasks, such as backups and deployments, to ease the development workflow."
- "The main challenge I've experienced is with integration, particularly uploading to OneDrive, which was more complex compared to Google Drive or AWS S3 bucket."
What is our primary use case?
I use GitHub Actions to automate my development workflows, primarily focusing on tasks such as automating backups by zipping repositories and uploading them to OneDrive.
Additionally, I use it for unit testing, static code analysis, software composition analysis, and automating Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) pipelines.
I also use it to deploy Docker applications to AWS Elastic Container Registry (ECR) and automate deployments with Kubernetes.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of GitHub Actions is the ability to automate various tasks, such as backups and deployments, to ease the development workflow.
GitHub Actions allow the use of custom runners, which accommodate a range of tasks. Additionally, storing secrets securely via GitHub Secrets ensures safe access to credentials when running pipelines.
What needs improvement?
The main challenge I've experienced is with integration, particularly uploading to OneDrive, which was more complex compared to Google Drive or AWS S3 bucket. I had to conduct extensive research to find a solution using RClone for configuration. Focusing on making integrations smoother would be beneficial.
For how long have I used the solution?
I started using GitHub Actions this year, in either January or February.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
GitHub Actions is mostly stable, but I did face an issue two weeks ago when GitHub Actions services were down for about six hours, impacting my task timelines. However, such downtimes are expected with cloud platforms.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
GitHub Actions operates independently of user management within my projects. The management of GitHub Actions, even with new users coming in, follows the company’s set rules, making scalability efficient with no noticeable limitations.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used to be a GitLab person, utilizing GitHub when collaborating with an organization last year. However, since my tasks mostly involved source code management, transitioning to GitHub and utilizing GitHub Actions fit my needs better.
I am exploring Jenkins and considering Sequoia CI solutions. I haven't fully explored them enough to provide a detailed comparison.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward, especially when using Visual Studio Code for my Versus Code setups. While starting from the GitHub GUI was a bit confusing initially, I got accustomed to it after a few steps.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are pricing considerations where exceeding the free hours given in a month incurs additional costs. GitHub provides a free version with certain hours, which seems reasonable for my usage.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend GitHub Actions because it is widely used by organizations for source code management. It is an open-source tool that supports collaboration and offers comprehensive documentation.
Overall, I would rate GitHub Actions nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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GitHub Actions
January 2026
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Assistant Manager Cloud DevOps at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
Automated processes boost productivity by reducing manual intervention
Pros and Cons
- "It is user-friendly, with clear and organized processes, making it easy to navigate and work with."
- "Sometimes it is quite complex to commit code from our local system to the GitHub repository; creating a folder in GitHub can be tedious."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for GitHub Actions is for continuous integration and continuous deployment (CICD). Our application is mostly based on Java, and our codes are on GitHub. We have set up a pipeline for CICD that automatically deploys to our test server. We integrated GitHub with Jenkins using GitHub Webhook to take builds and pass parameters, such as push parameters, to trigger jobs.
How has it helped my organization?
GitHub Actions has improved team productivity significantly. It has reduced the manual intervention needed, saving both time and effort. The automation of tasks allows our developers to focus more on new tasks rather than repetitive testing phases. It also makes our workflows more efficient, as it automates unit and integration testing, which helps us avoid wasting time.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of GitHub Actions is its ability to automate processes, eliminating the need for manual interventions. It is user-friendly, with clear and organized processes, making it easy to navigate and work with. Its integration with Jenkins helps streamline our code-building process, ensuring everything is in order without interruptions.
What needs improvement?
Sometimes it is quite complex to commit code from our local system to the GitHub repository; creating a folder in GitHub can be tedious. Integration with SSH keys in the GitHub account setup could be improved to be more straightforward from a user perspective.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with GitHub Actions for one or two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have not experienced any downtime or stability issues while using GitHub Actions. It has been stable and reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
GitHub Actions is scalable and highly available. We don't face any issues with scalability or downtime.
How are customer service and support?
We have not needed to raise any questions with GitHub technical support, suggesting that the system has been self-sufficient and straightforward.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked with both GitHub Actions and Jenkins. I didn't get the chance to work with other tools, so I continue to work with these.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy and straightforward. With all the available plugins for GitHub integration, setting it up with Jenkins was manageable and didn't take much time.
What about the implementation team?
I was responsible for implementing and setting up GitHub Actions in our environment.
What other advice do I have?
I highly recommend GitHub Actions for managing development workflows because it is easy to set up, saves time, and can handle complex tasks efficiently.
I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Engineer at a recreational facilities/services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Achieves efficient CI/CD with seamless integration and deployment flexibility
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of GitHub Actions include its seamless integration within GitHub, which simplifies the CI/CD pipeline setup. The scalability of using different types of runners—both public and private runners—enhances deployment flexibility."
- "Improvements could be made in terms of time-saving capabilities and resolving potential complexities in centralized workflows."
What is our primary use case?
We are using GitHub Actions to enhance our CI/CD processes within an AWS environment. Our primary use cases include the deployment of infrastructure, authentication against AWS, GitHub, and Databricks, implementing security checks, and conducting QA tests.
We utilize the tool for deploying Databricks within AWS and migrating repositories from GitHub. We also use GitHub Actions for setting up centralized workflows, monitoring, Terraform deployment, and security checks.
How has it helped my organization?
The automation using GitHub Actions has optimized our workflow by streamlining processes and establishing standardized practices across the organization. It allows our team to work more efficiently by reducing complexities in deployment and integrating enhanced security checks.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of GitHub Actions include its seamless integration within GitHub, which simplifies the CI/CD pipeline setup. The scalability of using different types of runners—both public and private runners—enhances deployment flexibility. The ease with which pipelines can be learned and implemented is also a key feature. GitHub Actions provides a wide range of available services and community actions that cater to various needs.
What needs improvement?
Improvements could be made in terms of time-saving capabilities and resolving potential complexities in centralized workflows. The challenge lies in maintaining centralized workflows given the potential for outdated or non-functional community actions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with GitHub Actions for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of GitHub Actions is commendable, with few downtimes experienced. Issues, when they occur, are typically resolved quickly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
GitHub Actions proves to be scalable, with the ability to edit pipelines easily and address scalability challenges effortlessly.
How are customer service and support?
I have not utilized GitHub Actions' technical support, as most issues can be solved with available resources online.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used Jenkins and AWS CICD automation before switching to GitHub Actions for centralized integration within GitHub and improved efficiency in managing automation.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up GitHub Actions initially was challenging as it required learning a new CI/CD tool and adapting from previous tools. However, the documentation is comprehensive and helpful.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment involved a team of about five people. Two or three people continue to maintain the processes post-deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is open source, making it cost-effective for individual users. However, company usage may depend on its scale and specific requirements.
What other advice do I have?
We chose GitHub Actions as a company standard.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
AWS & Azure DevOps Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Efficient automation that's easy to use and enhances CI/CD pipeline flexibility
Pros and Cons
- "We can trigger files manually or automate processes."
- "GitHub sometimes makes it difficult to debug actions."
What is our primary use case?
I am currently using GitHub Actions as a tool for our CI/CD pipeline. I was engaged in an e-commerce project where I used GitHub Actions and stored secret data within GitHub Actions secrets and variables.
How has it helped my organization?
GitHub Actions streamline our workflows by allowing us to manage production, testing, and live environments in a single directory. It helps automate processes efficiently without much manual intervention.
What is most valuable?
We can use secrets and variables within GitHub Actions while managing our source code. We can trigger files manually or automate processes. GitHub Actions fit seamlessly with our CI/CD needs, integrating well with other tools we use.
What needs improvement?
GitHub sometimes makes it difficult to debug actions. Improvements in debugging could enhance its usability greatly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I am currently using GitHub Actions.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are frequent stability issues with GitHub, particularly when managing data sets and ensuring all components function correctly. Troubleshooting is sometimes necessary.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
GitHub Actions are scalable as we can use them for scalability protocols.
How are customer service and support?
As a technical support approach, issues are addressed directly through client communication. We manage issues arising from clients via direct mail correspondence, thereby handling problems as they occur.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
GitHub Actions provides an easy-to-use interface suitable for beginners, free runners for CI/CD, third-party actions, and cost-effectiveness. Troubleshooting can be challenging, requiring technical knowledge.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup involves creating a workflow directory and writing YAML files to manage resources, security, and monitoring. We work closely with the development team during setup.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment requires collaboration between frontend, backend, and database teams, along with the use of Terraform and monitoring tools like CloudWatch for effective management.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
GitHub Actions can be compared with Jenkins for CI/CD purposes.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend GitHub Actions to other users due to its user-friendly nature, free runner availability, and effective secret management.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Software Developer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Effortless integration, easy to use, and simplifies package building
Pros and Cons
- "GitHub Actions is valuable for its ease of use and integration."
- "The only issue I have faced is with authorization, particularly when configuring the GitHub token correctly."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for GitHub Actions is for continuous integration and deployment within our repository. We utilize it to build packages and create binaries.
How has it helped my organization?
GitHub Actions has improved our organization by being readily available within our repository. It is widely used, and we can easily integrate straightforward YAML, providing clear status updates on failures.
What is most valuable?
GitHub Actions is valuable for its ease of use and integration. Additionally, we can use our own GitHub runner to perform many tasks such as building packages and creating binaries.
What needs improvement?
The only issue I have faced is with authorization, particularly when configuring the GitHub token correctly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using GitHub Actions for approximately three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have not faced any stability issues with GitHub Actions. It has been reliable without any notable problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of GitHub Actions is good, and we have not faced any issues regarding scalability.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I was using a previous solution before GitHub Actions and switched since GitHub Actions is more favorable in terms of features and integration.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise new users to ensure their secret keys are safe and to set up authorization carefully with GitHub Actions to prevent exposure.
I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software Architect at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Efficiently automates our software development processes and offers good integration
Pros and Cons
- "The level of automation achievable is really good. So, the custom workflow creation and Marketplace Actions improved our project's efficiency."
- "The UI could be better."
What is our primary use case?
It's part of an automation process. We develop code in GitHub and use Google Cloud Platform. To do that, we leverage GitHub Actions, which automatically interacts with GitHub, the source code repository, and automates our build, deployment, and deployment processes.
How has it helped my organization?
GitHub Actions have been pivotal for automating our software development processes.
We develop in GitHub. Once a feature is built and tested, different Actions help us deploy it to our test environment. We test again, and then with GitHub, we deploy to production with just a click.
What is most valuable?
The integration is excellent. Having the source code in GitHub and seamlessly using Google Cloud is smooth and secure.
The level of automation achievable is really good. So, the custom workflow creation and Marketplace Actions improved our project's efficiency
What needs improvement?
The UI could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. We haven't encountered any major issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable. We deploy quite large systems successfully.
There are around 200 end users using this solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Jenkins before.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup can require some knowledge, but there are helpful tutorials, examples, courses, and other resources. Overall, it's manageable.
The process varies depending on what's being deployed (data, services, etc.). We use multiple environments with different ports for each microservice.
It's a complex infrastructure with databases and other components, but Actions makes scaling it up and down and managing its overall complexity surprisingly easy.
Deployments are quick, usually taking a few minutes, up to ten minutes at most. They're one-time jobs, though they might run multiple times a day.
GitHub Actions is our CI/CD tool. We actually use TerraForm for deployment.
What about the implementation team?
It's actually quite user-friendly. Teams can manage it themselves without needing dedicated IT professionals.
What was our ROI?
The level of automation it offers makes it worth the investment.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
it specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Allows you to automate your build, test, and deployment pipeline
Pros and Cons
- "Creating workflows in YAML format is straightforward and easy to comprehend. This includes both understanding and writing workflows. Additionally, the downloading aspect for third-party instances can also be easily done. It's worth noting that vulnerability analysis and similar tasks should be part of our automation through data workflows. Furthermore, we can break down our processes step by step, starting from building, then moving on to analysis, testing, and finally deploying in production and the clear environment. All of these tasks can be efficiently managed within this platform."
- "We can leverage this database tool to manage everything within our environment and data burners, allowing for customization and execution. An additional advantage is the capability to modify aspects like file size, making processes more efficient and faster across the pipelines. Regarding improvements or implementations, I believe there should be enhancements made to the deployment tool. It should be integrated as part of the solution. Infrastructure-wise, we already have tools like GitHub and RobSpot, and data enables us to automate various processes, which is quite beneficial. As for further enhancements, I'm uncertain. I've shared everything I know. However, if there's something specific you'd like to see in future releases, a feature that may not exist yet but would be desirable, I can't provide any input on that matter."
What is our primary use case?
It works excellently. Instead of having an additional CI/CD tool, we find this specific data backend tool highly beneficial. Within this data backend tool, we possess data burners, such as DNS hit creation, and within these data burners, we can conduct all build and release tasks, except for the more complicated ones like clicking. This provides a significant advantage, allowing us to automate and script processes across various environments effortlessly. I highly recommend using data backend actions for these purposes.
What is most valuable?
Creating workflows in YAML format is straightforward and easy to comprehend. This includes both understanding and writing workflows. Additionally, the downloading aspect for third-party instances can also be easily done. It's worth noting that vulnerability analysis and similar tasks should be part of our automation through data workflows. Furthermore, we can break down our processes step by step, starting from building, then moving on to analysis, testing, and finally deploying in production and the clear environment. All of these tasks can be efficiently managed within this platform.
What needs improvement?
We can leverage this database tool to manage everything within our environment and data burners, allowing for customization and execution. An additional advantage is the capability to modify aspects like file size, making processes more efficient and faster across the pipelines. Regarding improvements or implementations, I believe there should be enhancements made to the deployment tool. It should be integrated as part of the solution.
Infrastructure-wise, we already have tools like GitHub and RobSpot, and data enables us to automate various processes, which is quite beneficial. As for further enhancements, I'm uncertain. I've shared everything I know. However, if there's something specific you'd like to see in future releases, a feature that may not exist yet but would be desirable, I can't provide any input on that matter.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using GitHub Actions for sometime.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable so I would rate it 10 out of 10.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is highly scalable, so I would rate it 10 out of 10.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good but it can be improved.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
There are several steps in our process that need to be followed. First, we perform local testing on our proprietary branches. Then, we transition to the development phase, where we create a full request and merge it into the main branch. Following that, we move to the release branch after review and discussions. Once it's uploaded, the main branch becomes the pre-release branch, and similar teams across the globe apply their changes. Every fifteen days, in line with agile practices, we conduct a COC meeting to discuss and deploy to the main branch. Once everything is in order within the release branch, we proceed to the production environment within the AWS cluster.I would rate the solution 8 out of 10, so it is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is free and open platform, so I would rate it 1 out of 10.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the overall solution 10 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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