Composite Actions in GitHub Actions

Composite Actions allow you to combine multiple actions into a single action, making it easier to share and reuse workflows. They enable you to define a sequence of steps that can be reused across multiple workflows.

Creating a composite action involves defining a new action in your GitHub repository. Below are the steps to create one:

1. Create a new directory for your action, e.g., my-composite-action.
2. Create a action.yml file inside the directory.
3. Define the inputs, outputs, and the steps that your composite action will execute.

Here's a basic example:

name: 'My Composite Action'
description: 'An example of a composite action'
inputs:
  example-input:
    description: 'An example input'
    required: true
runs:
  using: 'composite'
  steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v2
    - name: Run a script
      run: echo "Hello ${{ inputs.example-input }}"
            

To ensure your composite actions are efficient and maintainable, follow these best practices:

• Keep actions small and focused on a single task.
• Document your inputs and outputs clearly.
• Use meaningful names for your actions and steps.
• Version your actions to prevent breaking changes.