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Collaborate on GitHub Actions

Collaborate effectively when building and maintaining GitHub Actions workflows.

Propose changes through pull requests​

  • Create a feature branch for workflow edits.
  • Open a pull request (PR) describing the change and its impact.
  • Request reviews from developers and DevOps owners.
git checkout -b chore/update-ci-workflow
git commit -am "ci: add coverage upload and cache"
git push -u origin chore/update-ci-workflow

Review workflows consistently​

Use a lightweight checklist:

  • Workflow triggers are correct and minimal
  • Secrets are referenced from ${{ secrets.* }}
  • Permissions follow least-privilege (permissions:)
  • Steps are small and named clearly
  • Caching is safe and keyed properly

Use environments and protections​

  • Use GitHub Environments (staging, production) for gated deployments
  • Add required reviewers for production deploys
  • Use environment secrets for environment-specific tokens
environments:
  production:
    reviewers: ["devops-team"]

Document decisions​

  • Keep a docs/ci/CHANGELOG.md (or similar) for workflow changes
  • Reference PR numbers and rationale ("why")
  • Link to incidents or support tickets when applicable

Handle secrets securely​

  • Store tokens in Repository secrets or Organization secrets
  • Rotate credentials regularly
  • Avoid printing secrets in logs (set -x off, ::add-mask:: if needed)

Communicate status​

  • Enable PR checks required for merging (tests, build, lint)
  • Use status badges in README.md
![CI](https://github.com/<org>/<repo>/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)

Next steps​