Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GitHub CLI VS GitHub Actions

Compare GitHub CLI VS GitHub Actions and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

GitHub CLI logo GitHub CLI

Official CLI tool for using GitHub from the command-line.

GitHub Actions logo GitHub Actions

Automate your workflow from idea to production
  • GitHub CLI Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-23
  • GitHub Actions Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-25

GitHub CLI features and specs

  • Seamless Integration
    GitHub CLI allows for seamless integration with GitHub, enabling users to perform repository and organization management tasks directly from the command line.
  • Automation
    Enables automation of workflows such as pull requests, issues, and CI/CD pipelines, which can save time and reduce errors.
  • Scriptability
    Command line tools can be scripted, allowing for batch processing and the inclusion of GitHub operations in larger automated scripts and processes.
  • Environment Consistency
    Consistent environments across different development systems can be maintained since command line interfaces are less susceptible to changes than GUI-based tools.
  • Lightweight
    As a CLI tool, GitHub CLI is lightweight and consumes minimal system resources compared to graphical interface alternatives.
  • Offline Access
    Some operations can be prepared or queued up offline and then executed when connectivity is restored, allowing for flexibility in workflows.

Possible disadvantages of GitHub CLI

  • Learning Curve
    Understanding and using a CLI can be challenging for users new to command line operations, requiring them to learn syntax and commands.
  • Limited Visuals
    Command line interfaces lack the visual appeal and ease-of-use provided by graphical user interfaces, potentially making complex operations harder to manage.
  • Manual Errors
    Manual input of commands can lead to human error, such as mistyping commands or arguments, which can result in unintended actions.
  • Feature Parity
    Some advanced features and integrations available in the GitHub web interface may be missing or less accessible in the CLI version.
  • Dependency Management
    Requires users to manage dependencies and versions of other command-line tools and scripting environments, which may add complexity for some setups.

GitHub Actions features and specs

  • Seamless GitHub Integration
    GitHub Actions are natively integrated with GitHub, making it easy to use within repositories and leverage other GitHub features such as issues, pull requests, and releases.
  • Custom Workflows
    Allows for the creation of complex and custom workflows using YAML syntax, providing flexibility to handle a variety of CI/CD processes.
  • Marketplace Access
    Access to GitHub Marketplace where a wide range of pre-built actions are available, allowing users to quickly set up workflows with minimal configuration.
  • Concurrent Execution
    Supports parallel execution of jobs, which can significantly reduce the time needed to run workflows by performing multiple tasks simultaneously.
  • Self-Hosted Runners
    Provides the ability to use self-hosted runners, offering more control over the environment and resources used for running workflows.
  • Cost-Efficient
    Includes a generous free tier, especially for public repositories, which can be cost-effective for projects with limited resource requirements.

Possible disadvantages of GitHub Actions

  • Complexity for Beginners
    Due to its powerful features and flexibility, setting up and managing GitHub Actions can be complex for users who are not familiar with CI/CD processes or YAML.
  • Limited to GitHub
    As a GitHub-specific product, GitHub Actions is tied to repositories hosted on GitHub, limiting its use for projects that are hosted on other version control platforms.
  • Billing for Additional Usage
    While there is a free tier, usage beyond the free limits incurs additional charges, which can become significant for high-frequency or resource-intensive workflows.
  • Resource Limitations
    GitHub Actions has limitations on available resources (such as CPU and memory) for runners, which can be restrictive for very resource-intensive tasks.

GitHub CLI videos

NEW GitHub CLI 1.0 is here! | GitHub CLI Tutorial - Demo & Commands

More videos:

  • Review - New GitHub CLI Crash Course - First Look
  • Demo - GitHub CLI demo

GitHub Actions videos

Introducing GitHub Package Registry

More videos:

  • Tutorial - 5 Ways to DevOps-ify your App - Github Actions Tutorial
  • Review - Automatic Deployment With Github Actions
  • Review - GitHub Actions - Now with built-in CI/CD! Live from GitHub HQ

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GitHub CLI and GitHub Actions)
Git
100 100%
0% 0
DevOps Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
23 23%
77% 77
Continuous Integration
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GitHub CLI and GitHub Actions

GitHub CLI Reviews

We have no reviews of GitHub CLI yet.
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GitHub Actions Reviews

Top 10 Most Popular Jenkins Alternatives for DevOps in 2024
GitHub Actions is the CI/CD solution that’s built into GitHub, the most popular version control platform. It’s specifically designed to provide an intuitive experience for developers who want to run pipelines quickly without having to configure any separate software. Because it’s a managed SaaS service that’s specifically focused on CI/CD, there are no self-hosting...
Source: spacelift.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GitHub Actions should be more popular than GitHub CLI. It has been mentiond 306 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GitHub CLI mentions (118)

  • Easing the start at a new company with glab or gh
    I wanted to look at another big platform that I use in my free time. GitHub does have a CLI-tool called gh. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Getting Started with Go and the Web: Deploy to Railway
    Git and the GitHub CLI should be installed on your machine. Download and install Git from here: Downloads - Git. Download and install the GitHub CLI from here: Download and Install GitHub CLI. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • How to Use Two GitHub Profiles on One Machine
    GitHub CLI is a command-line tool that allows you to interact with GitHub from the terminal. You can install GitHub CLI by following the instructions on the GitHub CLI website. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Detecting and Analyzing Comment Quality Using Vector Search
    Navigate to this GitHub repository in your web browser and clone the repository to your computer. If you have the GitHub CLI you can run the following from your command line:. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Creating and Paying a Freight Invoice with the Rapyd API and FX
    Node.js and git CLI, a code editor and a browser, installed on your local machine. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
View more

GitHub Actions mentions (306)

  • Getting started with FrankenPHP, Laravel and Docker
    My base target is used for development use, but my production target is used for production use. I'm using a GitHub Actions workflow to checkout my code, installing dependencies without development dependencies, and building my application. When that's done, I build the Docker image and send it to my container registry. - Source: dev.to / 11 days ago
  • Automating Voicebot Deployments for Amazon Connect
    In this post, I will share WebRTC.ventures' best practices in automating the deployment of AI-powered voice assistants for Amazon Connect, moving beyond manual, click-by-click setups to a robust, scalable Infrastructure as Code (IaC) approach. We’ll explore how to manage both static and dynamic resources, leverage tools like Terraform and AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM), and even set up an automated... - Source: dev.to / 17 days ago
  • Deploying a static Website with Pulumi
    The Python Pulumi code is deployed with GitHub Actions. This leverages static credentials for AWS embedded as repository secrets. I have implemented two workflows:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • As Visual Studio App Center closes, a look back, and what to use now?
    When Microsoft announced the App Center shutdown last year, they recommended an array of alternative tools from elsewhere in their developer toolkit and beyond to replace its capabilities. Users seeking an alternative to App Center's hosted build automation, or App Store deployment, capabilities can look to Azure DevOps Pipelines or GitHub Actions. For cloud-based on-device testing, they recommend external tool... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • The Tech Stack of a Cloud Computing Startup
    We manage infrastructure with Terraform and lean heavily on GitHub Actions for CI/CD. Very simple but it works! Oh and a lot of bash scripts of course. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GitHub CLI and GitHub Actions, you can also consider the following products

Git - Git is a free and open source version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. It is easy to learn and lightweight with lighting fast performance that outclasses competitors.

CircleCI - CircleCI gives web developers powerful Continuous Integration and Deployment with easy setup and maintenance.

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS

GitHub - Originally founded as a project to simplify sharing code, GitHub has grown into an application used by over a million people to store over two million code repositories, making GitHub the largest code host in the world.

GitHub Desktop - GitHub Desktop is a seamless way to contribute to projects on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise.

Jenkins - Jenkins is an open-source continuous integration server with 300+ plugins to support all kinds of software development