GitHub Actions Generator

GitHub Actions Generator

Generate production-ready GitHub Actions workflows and custom actions following current best practices, security standards, and naming conventions. All generated resources are automatically validated using the devops-skills:github-actions-validator skill.

Quick Reference

Trigger Decision Tree

Route every request through this decision tree before reading references or generating files:

1. If the user asks for .github/workflows/*.yml CI/CD automation, choose Workflow Generation.
2. If the user asks for action.yml or a reusable step package, choose Custom Action Generation.
3. If the user asks for workflow_call or shared pipelines across repositories, choose Reusable Workflow Generation.
4. If the request includes security-only scanning (dependency review, SBOM, CodeQL), stay on Workflow Generation with the security pattern.
5. If intent is ambiguous, ask one disambiguation question: "Do you want a workflow, a custom action, or a reusable workflow?"

Progressive Disclosure Route

Load only what is needed for the selected route, in this order:

If a required reference/template is unavailable, continue with the closest available reference and report the fallback explicitly in output.

Core Capabilities

1. Generate Workflows

Triggers: "Create a workflow for...", "Build a CI/CD pipeline..."

Process:

1. Understand requirements (triggers, runners, dependencies)
2. Define trust boundaries (internal branches vs fork PRs vs external triggers)
3. Set default permissions to read-only, then elevate only per job when required
4. Reference references/best-practices.md for patterns
5. Reference references/common-actions.md for action versions
6. Generate workflow with:
   • Semantic names, pinned actions (SHA), explicit permissions
   • Concurrency controls, caching, matrix strategies
   • Fork-safe PR handling (no secrets in untrusted contexts)
7. Validate with devops-skills:github-actions-validator skill
8. Fix issues and re-validate if needed

Minimal Example:

name: CI Pipeline

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

permissions:
  contents: read

concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
      - uses: actions/setup-node@6044e13b5dc448c55e2357c09f80417699197238 # v6.2.0
        with:
          node-version: '24'
          cache: 'npm'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test

Untrusted PR Guardrail (required for secret-using jobs):

jobs:
  deploy:
    if: github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository

2. Generate Custom Actions

Triggers: "Create a composite action...", "Build a Docker action...", "Create a JavaScript action..."

Types:

• Composite: Combine multiple steps → Fast startup
• Docker: Custom environment/tools → Isolated
• JavaScript: API access, complex logic → Fastest

Process:

1. Use templates from assets/templates/action/
2. Follow structure in references/custom-actions.md
3. Include branding, inputs/outputs, documentation
4. Validate with devops-skills:github-actions-validator skill

See references/custom-actions.md for:

• Action metadata and branding
• Directory structure patterns
• Versioning and release workflows

3. Generate Reusable Workflows

Triggers: "Create a reusable workflow...", "Make this workflow callable..."

Key Elements:

• workflow_call trigger with typed inputs
• Explicit secrets (avoid secrets: inherit)
• Explicit trusted-caller expectations (document org/repo boundaries)
• Outputs mapped from job outputs
• Minimal permissions

on:
  workflow_call:
    inputs:
      environment:
        required: true
        type: string
    secrets:
      deploy-token:
        required: false
    outputs:
      result:
        value: ${{ jobs.build.outputs.result }}

When secrets are required, pass only the exact secret names needed and prefer environment protection rules for deployment stages.

See references/advanced-triggers.md for complete patterns.

4. Generate Security Workflows

Triggers: "Add security scanning...", "Add dependency review...", "Generate SBOM..."

Components:

• Dependency Review: actions/dependency-review-action@v4
• SBOM Attestations: actions/attest-sbom@v2
• CodeQL Analysis: github/codeql-action

Permission Model: Use a read-only workflow-level baseline, then elevate only in the security job that requires write scopes.

permissions:
  contents: read

jobs:
  security-scan:
    permissions:
      contents: read
      security-events: write  # For CodeQL
      id-token: write         # For attestations
      attestations: write     # For attestations

See references/best-practices.md section on security.

5. Modern Features

Triggers: "Add job summaries...", "Use environments...", "Run in container..."

See references/modern-features.md for:

• Job summaries ($GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY)
• Deployment environments with approvals
• Container jobs with services
• Workflow annotations

6. Third-Party Action Documentation and Citation

When using third-party actions (any uses: entry not in the same repository):

1. Search for documentation:

   "[owner/repo] [version] github action documentation"

2. Or use Context7 MCP:

   • mcp__context7__resolve-library-id to find action
   • mcp__context7__query-docs for documentation

3. Pin to SHA with version comment:

   - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2

4. Cite source and version in the response:

   • Action source (repository URL)
   • Version source (release/tag/changelog URL)
   • Selected commit SHA and human-readable version
   • Access date for the source used

See references/common-actions.md for pre-verified action versions.