GitHub - copyleftdev/workflow-showcase: Minimal app showcasing powerful GitHub Actions CI/CD patterns

CI/CD Patterns Playbook

Minimalistic, powerful GitHub Actions recipes you can copy and adapt.

Pattern	Trigger	Why It Matters
Tag → Release	`push: tags: ['v*']`	Immutable, auditable releases
Label → Deploy	PR label added	Human-in-the-loop deploys
Comment → Action	`.deploy`, `.approve`	ChatOps without external tools
Reusable Workflows	`workflow_call`	DRY across repos
Environment Gates	`environment: production`	Approval + secrets isolation
Matrix Testing	`strategy: matrix`	Multi-version coverage
Path Filtering	`paths: ['src/**']`	Monorepo efficiency
Concurrency	`concurrency: group`	Prevent race conditions
Security Scanning	Push, PR, weekly	Automated vulnerability detection
Docker Build	Push, tags	Multi-platform container images
Dependabot	Weekly schedule	Automated dependency updates
CODEOWNERS	PR opened	Auto-assign reviewers

git tag v1.0.0 && git push origin v1.0.0

→ Creates GitHub Release with changelog

Label	Effect
`deploy-staging`	Deploy PR branch to staging
`deploy-prod`	Deploy to production (with approval)

Concurrency Control — Cancel redundant runs:

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

Environment Gate — Require approval:

jobs:
  deploy:
    environment: production  # Configure reviewers in Settings → Environments

Label Trigger — React to labels:

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [labeled]

jobs:
  deploy:
    if: github.event.label.name == 'deploy-staging'

Reusable Workflow — Call shared logic:

jobs:
  deploy:
    uses: ./.github/workflows/reusable-deploy.yml
    with:
      environment: staging

Matrix Strategy — Test across versions:

strategy:
  matrix:
    node: [18, 20, 22]
    os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest]

See EXERCISE.md for a full walkthrough.

This repo includes intentional demo artifacts to show workflows in action:

Item	Purpose
PR #1	Demonstrates Auto Label, Deploy on Label, IssueOps commands
Issue #2	Demonstrates IssueOps `.approve` workflow