GitHub Actions basics - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of a GitHub Actions workflow run command

What is the output of the following GitHub Actions command when triggered in a workflow?

Git

echo "Hello from GitHub Actions!"

A Hello from GitHub Actions!

B echo Hello from GitHub Actions!

C Error: command not found

D No output

💡 Hint

Think about what the echo command does in a shell environment.

The echo command prints the text string to the standard output, so the output will be exactly the string inside the quotes.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding GitHub Actions workflow triggers

Which event triggers a GitHub Actions workflow when a pull request is opened?

A pull_request

B release

C push

D issue_comment

💡 Hint

Think about the event name that relates to pull requests.

The 'pull_request' event triggers workflows when pull requests are opened, synchronized, or closed.

❓ Configuration

advanced

Correct syntax for a GitHub Actions job with multiple steps

Which option shows the correct YAML syntax for a job named 'build' with two steps: one to checkout code and one to run a script?

Git

name: CI
on: push
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:

A

- uses: actions/checkout@v3
  - run: ./build.sh

B

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v3
  - run: ./build.sh

C

- uses: actions/checkout@v3
    - run: ./build.sh

D

- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- run: ./build.sh

💡 Hint

Remember that each step is an item in a list with a dash and proper indentation.

Each step must start with a dash at the same indentation level. Option D correctly lists two steps with proper indentation and keys.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Diagnosing a failed GitHub Actions workflow due to missing permissions

A workflow fails with an error saying it cannot access the repository contents. What is the most likely cause?

A The workflow is triggered on the wrong event.

B The workflow file is missing the 'permissions' key with 'contents: read'.

C The runner machine is offline.

D The YAML syntax is invalid.

💡 Hint

GitHub Actions requires explicit permissions to access repository contents.

Since GitHub changed default permissions, workflows need 'permissions: contents: read' to access repo files. Missing this causes access errors.

🔀 Workflow

expert

Order of steps execution in a GitHub Actions job

Given a job with these steps, what is the order in which they execute?

A 1,3,2,4

B 2,1,3,4

C 1,2,3,4

D 4,3,2,1

💡 Hint

Steps run in the order they are listed in the YAML file.

GitHub Actions executes steps sequentially from top to bottom in the order they appear.