setting-up-ci

Setup CI (GitHub Actions)

Use this skill when the user asks to set up CI, continuous integration, a build pipeline, or GitHub Actions.

Steps

1. Detect the project structure — check for package.json (Node.js), requirements.txt / pyproject.toml (Python), go.mod (Go), or monorepo tools like Turborepo.

2. Create .github/workflows/ci.yml

   For a Node.js project:

   name: CI
   
   on:
     push:
       branches: [main]
     pull_request:
       branches: [main]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
           with:
             node-version: 20
             cache: npm
         - run: npm ci
         - run: npm run lint
         - run: npm run typecheck
         - run: npm test
         - run: npm run build
   

3. Add type-checking — if typecheck script doesn't exist in package.json, add "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit".

4. Add caching — the actions/setup-node cache option handles node_modules. For monorepos with Turborepo, add remote caching or actions/cache for .turbo.

5. Add matrix testing (optional) — if the user needs to test across Node versions or OS:

   strategy:
     matrix:
       node-version: [18, 20, 22]
   

6. Add deployment step (optional) — if requested, add a deploy job that runs only on main pushes, gated by the build job succeeding:

   deploy:
     needs: build
     if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: npm ci && npm run build
       - run: npx vercel deploy --prod --token=${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }}
   

7. Add status badge — add the workflow status badge to the project README:

   ![CI](https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)
   

Notes

• Keep CI fast — run lint and typecheck in parallel using separate jobs if the pipeline is slow.
• Use npm ci (not npm install) for deterministic installs.
• Store secrets (API keys, deploy tokens) in GitHub repository settings, never in the workflow file.