GitHub Actions for .NET: Complete CI/CD Guide

GitHub Actions is now my go-to for .NET CI/CD. It’s free for public repos, integrated with GitHub, and surprisingly powerful. Here’s a complete guide.

Basic .NET Workflow

name: .NET Build and Test

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

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
    
    - name: Setup .NET
      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v1
      with:
        dotnet-version: 3.1.x
    
    - name: Restore
      run: dotnet restore
    
    - name: Build
      run: dotnet build --no-restore -c Release
    
    - name: Test
      run: dotnet test --no-build -c Release --logger trx
    
    - name: Publish Test Results
      uses: dorny/test-reporter@v1
      if: always()
      with:
        name: Test Results
        path: '**/*.trx'
        reporter: dotnet-trx

Deploy to Azure

- name: Deploy to Azure Web App
  uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v2
  with:
    app-name: 'my-app'
    publish-profile: ${{ secrets.AZURE_PUBLISH_PROFILE }}
    package: './publish'

Tips

• Cache NuGet packages for faster builds
• Use matrix builds to test multiple .NET versions
• Store secrets in GitHub Secrets
• Use workflow dispatch for manual triggers

References

• GitHub Actions Documentation