GitHub Actions Workshop

Master GitHub Actions with hands-on labs and exercises. Learn how to automate workflows, run tests, deploy applications, and more using GitHub's powerful automation platform. This repository has everything you need to get started with continuous integration and continuous deployment.

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Project maintained by prasadhonrao Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham

Lab: Temp Folder Cleanup

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Introduction

In this lab, you will create a GitHub Actions workflow that automatically cleans up the C:\temp folder on a self-hosted Windows runner. The workflow will:

• Check if the runner is operating on a Windows OS.
• List the directories in the C:\temp folder if it exists.
• Delete the directories in C:\temp.
• Skip the cleanup if C:\temp doesn’t exist.

Estimated Duration: 10-15 minutes

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lab, you will:

• Understand how to create and configure a GitHub Actions workflow to perform system maintenance tasks on a self-hosted Windows runner.
• Learn how to use PowerShell in GitHub Actions workflows for file system management.
• Gain experience in conditionally executing steps based on the environment (in this case, the OS).
• Understand how to skip steps in workflows when certain conditions are not met, ensuring smooth execution.

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Directory Structure

In your repository, you will create the following directory structure if it does not already exist:

.github/
└── workflows/
    └── misc-temp-folder-cleanup.yml

This folder will contain the workflow file where you will define the steps for cleaning up the C:\temp directory on the self-hosted runner.

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Workflow File

Create the workflow file .github/workflows/misc-temp-folder-cleanup.yml with the following content:

name: Misc - Temp Folder Cleanup

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
    paths:
      - '.github/workflows/misc-temp-folder-cleanup.yml'
  workflow_dispatch: # Allows manual triggering of the workflow

jobs:
  cleanup-temp:
    runs-on: self-hosted # Uses the self-hosted runner

    steps:
      - name: Checkout Repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      # Step 1: Check if the runner is on Windows OS using PowerShell
      - name: Check OS
        run: |
          echo "Running on OS: $env:RUNNER_OS"
        shell: pwsh

      # Step 2: List all folders in C:\temp (only on Windows, and if C:\temp exists)
      - name: List all folders in C:\temp
        if: $ && (exists 'C:\temp')
        run: |
          echo "Listing all folders in C:\temp..."
          # PowerShell command to list directories in C:\temp
          Get-ChildItem -Path C:\temp -Directory | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name
        shell: pwsh

      # Step 3: Delete all folders in C:\temp
      - name: Delete all folders in C:\temp
        if: $ && (exists 'C:\temp')
        run: |
          echo "Deleting all folders in C:\temp..."
          # PowerShell command to remove all directories in C:\temp
          Get-ChildItem -Path C:\temp -Directory | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force
        shell: pwsh

      # Step 4: If C:\temp doesn't exist, log a message and skip
      - name: Skip Cleanup if C:\temp doesn't exist
        if: $ && !(exists 'C:\temp')
        run: |
          echo "C:\temp does not exist. Skipping cleanup step."
        shell: pwsh

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Workflow Details

This workflow performs the following tasks:

1. Checkout Repository:

   • The actions/checkout@v3 action is used to check out the repository so that subsequent steps can execute correctly.

2. Check OS:

   • The Check OS step ensures the runner is running on Windows by using PowerShell ($env:RUNNER_OS).

3. List Folders in C:\temp:

   • The workflow checks if C:\temp exists and, if it does, lists all the directories within it using the Get-ChildItem cmdlet.

4. Delete Folders in C:\temp:

   • If the C:\temp directory exists, the workflow recursively deletes all directories inside it.

5. Skip Cleanup if C:\temp Doesn’t Exist:

   • If C:\temp is not found, the workflow logs a message and skips the cleanup process.

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Steps to Execute

1. Set Up the Workflow:

   • Create the file .github/workflows/misc-temp-folder-cleanup.yml in your repository.
   • Copy the YAML content provided into the newly created file.

2. Run the Workflow:

   • Trigger the workflow manually using the workflow_dispatch event or by pushing changes to the workflow file in the main branch.

3. Review the Logs:

   • Navigate to the Actions tab in your repository to monitor the workflow run.
   • Check the logs for the outputs from each step. Look for confirmation of listed folders, deletion of directories, or a message about skipping cleanup.

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Expected Outputs

• If C:\temp exists and contains folders, the workflow will:
  1. List all the directories.
  2. Delete the directories.
• If C:\temp does not exist:
  • The workflow will log a message and skip the cleanup process.

Example log output for the List all folders in C:\temp step:

Listing all folders in C:\temp...
folder1
folder2
folder3

Example log output for the Delete all folders in C:\temp step:

Deleting all folders in C:\temp...
Successfully deleted folder1
Successfully deleted folder2
Successfully deleted folder3

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Additional Notes

• Self-Hosted Runners:

  • Ensure that the self-hosted runner has proper permissions to access and modify the C:\temp directory.
  • If the runner is running on a non-Windows OS, the steps will not execute as the workflow is configured specifically for Windows.

• Skipping Steps:

  • The workflow uses if: $ && !(exists 'C:\temp') to skip the cleanup step if C:\temp doesn’t exist, preventing failure and ensuring smooth execution.

• Debugging:

  • If any step fails, check the logs for errors related to file permissions or missing directories.

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Conclusion

In this lab, you have created a GitHub Actions workflow that automates the cleanup of the C:\temp folder on a self-hosted Windows runner. By using conditional checks and PowerShell commands, the workflow ensures efficient management of the file system, including listing and deleting directories while skipping steps when necessary. This demonstrates the power of GitHub Actions in automating system maintenance tasks.