What is starter-workflows?

actions/starter-workflows — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 11,579TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((starter-workflows))
    What it does
      Workflow templates
      GitHub Actions YAML
      Setup wizard source
    Categories
      CI testing
      Deployments
      Security scanning
      GitHub Pages
    Use cases
      Automate testing
      Deploy to cloud
      Code scanning
    Audience
      All developers
      DevOps teams
      Open source maintainers

mindmap root((starter-workflows)) What it does Workflow templates GitHub Actions YAML Setup wizard source Categories CI testing Deployments Security scanning GitHub Pages Use cases Automate testing Deploy to cloud Code scanning Audience All developers DevOps teams Open source maintainers

Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Copy a ready-made CI template to automatically build and test your Node.js or Python project on every pull request.

USE CASE 2

Use a deployment template to publish your app to Amazon ECS, Azure, or another cloud provider without writing YAML from scratch.

USE CASE 3

Browse security scanning templates to add automated vulnerability checks to your repository in minutes.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptGitHub ActionsYAML

How does it compare?

	actions/starter-workflows	howdyai/botkit	aisouler/gkd_subscription
Stars	11,579	11,579	11,583
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript	TypeScript
Setup difficulty	easy	moderate	easy
Complexity	1/5	3/5	1/5
Audience	developer	developer	general

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

So what is it?

This is the official GitHub repository containing the starter workflow templates that appear when you click the Actions tab in any GitHub repository and choose to set up a new automated workflow. When GitHub shows you suggestions like "Node.js CI" or "Deploy to Amazon ECS," those templates come from this repository. GitHub Actions is GitHub's built-in automation system. You describe what you want to happen (build your code, run tests, deploy to a server) by writing a YAML file inside your repository. The templates here give you pre-written YAML files for common tasks so you do not have to start from scratch. The templates are organized into folders by purpose: ci for continuous integration (building and testing code), deployments for publishing code to hosting platforms, automation for general workflow automation, code-scanning for security analysis, pages for publishing GitHub Pages sites, and agentic for AI agent workflows. Each template consists of a YAML file containing the actual workflow definition, a properties.json file with metadata like the template's name and icon, and an SVG icon file displayed in the GitHub interface. Templates can include placeholder variables such as $default-branch, which GitHub replaces with your repository's actual default branch name when you apply the template. A preview label can be added to a template's metadata to keep it hidden from the general public while it is still being tested. As of the time this README was written, the repository is not accepting outside contributions. GitHub directs bug reports and questions to their Community Discussions area. Security issues are handled separately through GitHub's security disclosure process. The repository still receives security updates and fixes for major breaking changes.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Show me the GitHub Actions YAML for a Node.js CI workflow that installs dependencies and runs tests on every pull request to main.

Prompt 2

I want to deploy a Docker container to Amazon ECS using GitHub Actions. Which starter workflow template should I use and what variables do I fill in?

Prompt 3

Explain how the $default-branch placeholder works in GitHub Actions starter templates and what replaces it when I apply one to my repo.

Prompt 4

What GitHub Actions workflow would I use to publish a static site to GitHub Pages automatically when I push to the main branch?

Frequently asked questions