Describe continuous integration with Actions

  • 3 minutes

Continuous Integration (CI) with GitHub Actions transforms how teams collaborate on software development by automating the build, test, and validation process every time code changes. This approach catches issues early, improves code quality, and accelerates delivery.

Understanding CI with GitHub Actions

Continuous integration is a development practice where team members integrate their code changes frequently, ideally multiple times per day. Each integration triggers an automated build and test process that validates the changes and provides immediate feedback.

Key benefits of CI with GitHub Actions

Immediate feedback loop

  • Automated testing runs on every push or pull request
  • Developers know within minutes if their changes break existing functionality
  • Issues are caught early when they're cheaper and easier to fix

Consistent build environment

  • Every build runs in a clean, reproducible environment
  • Eliminates "works on my machine" problems
  • Ensures consistent behavior across different developer setups

Automated quality checks

  • Code linting, security scanning, and testing happen automatically
  • Maintains coding standards without manual intervention
  • Provides consistent quality gates for all code contributions

Modern CI workflow example

Here's an example CI workflow:

name: CI Pipeline

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

env:
  DOTNET_VERSION: "8.0.x"
  NODE_VERSION: "20"

jobs:
  test:
    name: Test and Lint
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0 # Full history for better analysis

      - name: Setup .NET
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          dotnet-version: ${{ env.DOTNET_VERSION }}

      - name: Cache dependencies
        uses: actions/cache@v4
        with:
          path: ~/.nuget/packages
          key: ${{ runner.os }}-nuget-${{ hashFiles('**/*.csproj') }}

      - name: Restore dependencies
        run: dotnet restore

      - name: Build project
        run: dotnet build --no-restore --configuration Release

      - name: Run unit tests
        run: dotnet test --no-build --configuration Release --collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"

      - name: Upload coverage reports
        uses: codecov/codecov-action@v3
        with:
          files: ./coverage.xml
          fail_ci_if_error: true

  security-scan:
    name: Security Analysis
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Run security scan
        uses: github/codeql-action/init@v3
        with:
          languages: csharp

      - name: Build for analysis
        run: dotnet build --configuration Release

      - name: Perform CodeQL analysis
        uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@v3

  build-artifacts:
    name: Build Release Artifacts
    needs: [test, security-scan]
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'

    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup .NET
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          dotnet-version: ${{ env.DOTNET_VERSION }}

      - name: Build release package
        run: dotnet publish --configuration Release --output ./release

      - name: Upload build artifacts
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: release-package
          path: ./release
          retention-days: 30

Workflow breakdown

Event triggers

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
  • Push events: Trigger CI on commits to main and develop branches
  • Pull request events: Validate changes before they're merged

Environment configuration

env:
  DOTNET_VERSION: "8.0.x"
  NODE_VERSION: "20"
  • Centralized version management for consistency across jobs
  • Easy to update and maintain across the entire workflow

Job orchestration

  • Parallel execution: test and security-scan run simultaneously for faster feedback
  • Dependencies: build-artifacts waits for both test and security jobs to complete
  • Conditional execution: Artifacts are only built from the main branch

Best practices implemented

Security and reliability

  • Uses pinned action versions (@v4) for reproducibility
  • Implements security scanning with CodeQL
  • Validates code coverage and fails CI on insufficient coverage

Performance optimization

  • Dependency caching reduces build times
  • Parallel job execution minimizes total workflow duration
  • Selective artifact building saves compute resources

Developer tools

  • Clear job names and step descriptions
  • Test coverage reporting
  • Fast feedback on pull requests

CI pipeline evolution

As your project grows, you can extend this foundation with:

  • Multi-environment testing: Test against different .NET versions or operating systems
  • Integration testing: Add database or API integration tests
  • Performance testing: Include load testing for critical paths
  • Deployment automation: Extend CI into full CI/CD with automated deployments

This approach to CI with GitHub Actions provides a foundation for software quality and team productivity.