Use a context value in a step
Read metadata from the current workflow run.
yamlANYgithub-contextexpressions
yaml
- run: echo "Ref is ${{ github.ref }}"Notes
Contexts expose run metadata such as branch, actor, repository, event payload, and more.
GitHub Actions: Expressions, Contexts, Variables, and Outputs
Expressions, contexts, env vars, configuration variables, step outputs, job outputs, and dynamic workflow logic in GitHub Actions.
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Contexts and expressions
Read data from the workflow run and evaluate conditions dynamically.
Use repository or organization variables
Read configuration values from the `vars` context.
yamlANYvarsenv
yaml
env:
APP_ENV: ${{ vars.APP_ENV }}Notes
Use configuration variables for non-secret values shared across workflows.
yaml
strategy:
matrix: ${{ fromJson(needs.prepare.outputs.matrix) }}Notes
`fromJson()` is useful when one job computes dynamic matrix values for another.
yaml
if: contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'deploy-preview')Notes
Functions like `contains`, `startsWith`, `endsWith`, and `format` are commonly used in conditions.
Env files, step outputs, and job outputs
Pass values safely between steps and jobs.
Set an environment variable for later steps
Append to `GITHUB_ENV` to persist a variable in the current job.
bashANYGITHUB_ENVenv-files
bash
echo "IMAGE_TAG=${GITHUB_SHA}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"Notes
This is the supported way to set environment variables for subsequent steps in the job.
bash
echo "version=1.2.3" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"Notes
Use `GITHUB_OUTPUT` instead of the old deprecated `set-output` workflow command.
yaml
- id: version
run: echo "value=1.2.3" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
- run: echo "Version is ${{ steps.version.outputs.value }}"Notes
Give the producing step an `id` so later steps can reference its outputs.
Promote a step output to a job output
Pass values between jobs through `needs`.
yamlANYjob-outputsneeds
yaml
jobs:
prepare:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
outputs:
version: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.version }}
steps:
- id: meta
run: echo "version=1.2.3" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
deploy:
needs: prepare
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- run: echo "Deploying ${{ needs.prepare.outputs.version }}"Notes
Job outputs are the standard way to pass structured values between jobs.
Write a multiline value to GITHUB_OUTPUT
Preserve newlines in an output variable.
bashANYmultilineGITHUB_OUTPUT
bash
{
echo 'notes<<EOF'
cat CHANGELOG.md
echo 'EOF'
} >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"Notes
Use the heredoc-like delimiter format for multiline values in environment files.
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