5.1GitHub Actions and Automation

GitHub Actions is a workflow platform for automating work, starting with CI/CD. ■ What CI/CD means • CI (continuous integration) = frequently integrate changes and catch issues early with automated builds/tests. • CD (continuous delivery/deployment) = keep software releasable and automate distribution/deployment. ■ Workflow structure (see the diagram) Workflows are defined as YAML in the `.github/workflows` folder. The `on` key specifies triggers (`push`, `pull_request`, `schedule` (cron), `workflow_dispatch` (manual), and more). The hierarchy is Workflow > Jobs > Steps, with jobs running on runners. Runners are either GitHub-hosted (provided/managed by GitHub) or self-hosted (provided/man…