Github Actions Practice Exam

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Prepare for GitHub Action Certifications with this Github Actions Practice Exam with more than 50+ question, that are similar to real exam.

Q1: Which matrix job definition is syntactically correct?

jobs:
 example_matrix:
   strategy:
     matrix:
       version: [10, 12, 14]
       os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]

jobs:
 example_matrix:
   matrix:
     version: [10, 12, 14]
     os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]

jobs:
 example_matrix:
   matrix:
     strategy:
       version: [10, 12, 14]
       os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]

jobs:
 matrix:
   version: [10, 12, 14]
   os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]

Reveal Solution

jobs:
 example_matrix:
   strategy:
     matrix:
       version: [10, 12, 14]
       os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]

Here’s why the other options are incorrect:

Option 1 (jobs nested under itself): You can’t nest the same job name (“example_matrix”) under itself.
Option 2 (missing ‘strategy’ key): The matrix definition needs to be under the strategy key.
Option 3 (missing ‘strategy’ key): Same error as option 2.
Option 4 (missing job name): The top-level matrix definition needs to be under a named job.

The correct option defines a job named “example_matrix” with a strategy that uses a matrix for combining different versions and operating systems.

Q2: Which event is triggered by a webhook action from outside of the repository?

workflow_dispatch

webhook_dispatch

api_dispatch

repository_dispatch

remote_dispatch

Reveal Solution

Out of the provided options, the event triggered by a webhook action from outside of the repository is:

repository_dispatch

Here’s why the other options are not relevant:

workflow_dispatch: This event is triggered when a manual workflow run is initiated directly within the repository.
api_dispatch: This event doesn’t exist in most popular CI/CD platforms like GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD.
webhook_dispatch is a broader term and doesn’t necessarily specify the origin of the webhook.
remote_dispatch is not a commonly used term in this context.

repository_dispatch specifically allows external systems to trigger workflows in your repository by sending a webhook notification with a custom event type. This enables communication and automation between your repository and external tools.

Q3: Which keyword allows you to define environment variables in a GitHub Actions workflow?

vars

env

secrets

config

Reveal Solution

The keyword that allows you to define environment variables in a GitHub Actions workflow is:

env

Here’s why the other options are not used for defining environment variables:

vars: While vars is a context used to access environment variables within your workflow steps, it’s not used for defining them.
secrets: This keyword is used to define secrets within your workflow, which are encrypted and not directly accessible in steps. You can reference secrets and use them as environment variables, but they are managed separately.
config: This keyword is generally used for defining the overall configuration of your workflow, not specifically for environment variables.

Q4: Your open-source publicly available repository contains a workflow with a `pull_request` event trigger. How can you require approvals for workflow runs triggered from forks of your repository?

The workflow will not trigger for forks if using pull_request event. If you want to do that you should use fork_pull_request event trigger with require-approval flag.

Setup deployment protection rules for the repository.

Setup branch protection rules for the repository.

Setup required approvals for fork runs in the repository

Reveal Solution

The correct option is:

Setup required approvals for fork runs in the repository

Because of following reasons:

Workflows with the pull_request event trigger only run on the base repository, not forks.
To require approval for workflows triggered by pull requests from forks, you need to specifically configure approval settings for fork runs.

Q5: You defined a matrix job `example_matrix`. How can limit the matrix to run a maximum of 2 jobs at a time?

  jobs:
    example_matrix:
      strategy:
        matrix:
          version: [10, 12, 14]
          os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]

Set jobs.example_matrix.strategy.concurrency to 2

It's not possible, a matrix will always run all of the jobs in parallel if there are runners available

Set jobs.example_matrix.strategy.max-parallel to 2

Use Github's REST API to check if the job count is lesser than 2

Reveal Solution

The correct answer is:

Set jobs.example_matrix.strategy.max-parallel to 2

Here’s why:

jobs.example_matrix.strategy.concurrency is not a valid option for limiting concurrent jobs within a matrix.
While a matrix will attempt to run all jobs in parallel by default, jobs.example_matrix.strategy.max-parallel allows you to specify the maximum number of jobs that can run concurrently. Setting it to 2 will ensure only two jobs from your matrix execute at the same time.
Using the Github REST API is unnecessary for this purpose. The max-parallel option provides a built-in way to control concurrency within your workflow definition.

Q6: What is the default timeout for a GitHub Actions job?

360 minutes

30 minutes

60 minutes

120 minutes

Reveal Solution

The default timeout for a GitHub Actions job is 360 minutes (6 hours).

Q7: Are Github Actions free for public repositories?

No

Yes

Reveal Solution

Yes, GitHub Actions are free for public repositories.

Here’s why:

GitHub offers a “pay-as-you-go” pricing model for Actions.
Public repositories benefit from free usage of standard GitHub-hosted runners. This means you can automate your workflows without incurring any costs.
Private repositories require paid plans for exceeding the free minutes allotment.

Q8: How can you override an organization-level GitHub Secret `API_KEY` with a different value when working within a repository? (Select two.)

By creating a repository secret with the name REPOSITORY_API_KEY

By creating a repository secret with the same name API_KEY

By creating a environment secret with the name ENVIRONMENT_API_KEY

By creating a environment secret with the same name API_KEY

By creating a repository secret with the name OVERRIDE_API_KEY

By creating a enterprise secret with the same name API_KEY

By creating a environment secret with the name OVERRIDE_API_KEY

By creating a enterprise secret with the name OVERRIDE_API_KEY

Reveal Solution

There are two ways to override an organization-level GitHub Secret with a different value when working within a repository:

Creating a repository secret with the same name (API_KEY)
Creating an environment secret with the same name (API_KEY)

Here’s why these options work:

Same name repository secret: When a secret name exists at both the organization and repository level, GitHub Actions prioritizes the repository-level secret. This allows you to have a default value for the organization but override it for specific needs within a repository.
Environment secret: While environment secrets are typically used for different values across environments (staging, production), they can also be used to override organization secrets within a repository. Similar to repository secrets, environment secrets take precedence over organization secrets if they share the same name.

Q10: Which of the following are default environment variables in GitHub Actions? (Select three.)

GITHUB_WORKFLOW

GITHUB_USER

GITHUB_ORGANIZATION

GITHUB_TOKEN

GITHUB_REPOSITORY

GITHUB_ACTOR

Reveal Solution

There are three default environment variables in GitHub Actions:

GITHUB_WORKFLOW
GITHUB_REPOSITORY
GITHUB_ACTOR

Here’s why the other options are not default environment variables:

GITHUB_USER: This variable is not provided by default. It might be available in specific contexts or custom setups.
GITHUB_ORGANIZATION: Similar to GITHUB_USER, this is not a default variable but could be available depending on the workflow context.
GITHUB_TOKEN: This is a sensitive token that provides elevated access and is not exposed by default for security reasons. You can access a limited-permission token using secrets or environment variables, but it won’t be identical to the full token.

Q11: How can organizations which are using GitHub Enterprise Server enable automatic syncing of third party GitHub Actions hosted on GitHub.com to their GitHub Enterprise Server instance?

GitHub Enterprise Server cannot use GitHub.com Actions because of it's on-premise nature and no internet access.

Using actions-sync tool

GitHub Enterprise Server has access to all GitHub.com Actions by default

Using GitHub Connect

Reveal Solution

The correct answer is: Using GitHub Connect

Here’s why:

GitHub Enterprise Server limitations: While GitHub Enterprise Server can’t directly access GitHub.com Actions due to its on-premise nature and potential lack of internet access, GitHub Connect bridges this gap.
actions-sync tool: This tool is helpful for manually syncing actions from GitHub.com to a limited set of actions, but it’s not suitable for automatic syncing of a large collection of third-party actions.
Default access: By default, GitHub Enterprise Server instances don’t have automatic access to all GitHub.com Actions.

Github Actions Practice Exam

Q1: Which matrix job definition is syntactically correct?

Q2: Which event is triggered by a webhook action from outside of the repository?

Q3: Which keyword allows you to define environment variables in a GitHub Actions workflow?

Q4: Your open-source publicly available repository contains a workflow with a pull_request event trigger. How can you require approvals for workflow runs triggered from forks of your repository?

Q5: You defined a matrix job example_matrix. How can limit the matrix to run a maximum of 2 jobs at a time?

Q6: What is the default timeout for a GitHub Actions job?

Q7: Are Github Actions free for public repositories?

Q8: How can you override an organization-level GitHub Secret API_KEY with a different value when working within a repository? (Select two.)

Q10: Which of the following are default environment variables in GitHub Actions? (Select three.)

Q11: How can organizations which are using GitHub Enterprise Server enable automatic syncing of third party GitHub Actions hosted on GitHub.com to their GitHub Enterprise Server instance?

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Q4: Your open-source publicly available repository contains a workflow with a `pull_request` event trigger. How can you require approvals for workflow runs triggered from forks of your repository?

Q5: You defined a matrix job `example_matrix`. How can limit the matrix to run a maximum of 2 jobs at a time?

Q8: How can you override an organization-level GitHub Secret `API_KEY` with a different value when working within a repository? (Select two.)