GitHub Actions
CI/CD automation built into GitHub. Run workflows for build, test, and deploy.
Best for GitHub-hosted projects that need CI/CD tightly integrated with pull requests and issues.
Use Cases
Free Tier
2000 minutes/month for private repos (free), 500MB storage
How to Maximize the Free Tier
GitHub Actions is free with unlimited minutes for public repos — make your CI/CD pipeline public if your project allows it. For private repos, the 2000 minutes/month go fast: optimize your workflow by caching dependencies (actions/cache), using conditional job execution (skip tests on docs-only changes), and running jobs in parallel. Use matrix builds sparingly — each matrix combination counts as separate minutes.
Getting Started
Create .github/workflows/ci.yml in repo → define trigger (push, PR) → add steps (checkout, setup, build, test) → commit → Actions auto-runs on next push. Free for public repos with unlimited minutes.
Pros
- GitHub integration: Triggers on PRs, pushes, issues, releases — deeply integrated with the GitHub ecosystem
- Marketplace: Huge marketplace of pre-built actions for deployments, testing, notifications, and more
- Public repos free: Unlimited CI/CD minutes for public repositories — a massive value for open-source projects
Cons
- Private repo limits: 2000 minutes/month for private repos — heavy CI pipelines can exhaust this within days
- Debugging: No SSH access to runners on the free tier — debugging failures requires adding debug steps to workflows
- Non-Linux cost: Windows and macOS runners cost more than Linux — billed at 2x and 10x the Linux rate