| action |
A pre-made, reusable chunk of a workflow (e.g. actions/setup-python@v5) — someone else's tested recipe card |
| actual state |
What is really running right now (GitOps compares this to the desired state) |
| artifact |
The built thing a pipeline produces: a container image, a package, a zip file |
| branch |
A movable label on a commit; main is the official one |
| CD (Continuous Deployment/Delivery) |
The "applying" half of the pipeline — putting the approved change on real servers |
| CI (Continuous Integration) |
The "checking" half of the pipeline — automatically testing every change |
| clone |
Download a repo for the first time (git clone <url>) |
| commit |
One save point — a snapshot of your files plus a message |
| conflict |
Git can't auto-combine two edits to the same lines; a human decides |
| declarative |
Describing what you want ("3 copies running"), not the steps to get there |
| desired state |
What git says should be running |
| drift |
Reality wandered away from the recipe — someone changed something by hand |
| environment |
A separate copy of the system: dev (playground), staging (dress rehearsal), prod (the real thing) |
| event (trigger) |
The thing that starts a workflow: a push, a pull request, a schedule, a manual button |
| fetch |
Ask GitHub "what's new?" without downloading files yet |
| HEAD |
"Where I am right now" — the current commit |
| issue |
A to-do item on a repo: bug report, feature request, question |
| job |
One chunk of work in a workflow; each job runs on its own runner |
| merge |
Fold one branch's commits into another |
| pipeline |
The robot assembly line — automatic steps that check and then apply a change |
| promotion |
Moving a change up the ladder: dev → staging → prod |
| pull request (PR) |
A proposal to fold one branch's commits into another, with review and automated checks |
| reconciliation loop |
The GitOps robot's endless chore: compare desired state to actual state, fix what doesn't match |
| release |
A packaged, labeled version of a repo — often where installers and changelogs live |
| remote |
The shared copy of the repo (GitHub). Nicknamed origin by default |
| repository (repo) |
The project folder plus its full history of commits |
| rollback |
Undo — go back to the earlier commit that worked |
| runner |
The computer that runs a workflow's jobs — GitHub's, or your own (self-hosted) |
| scope |
What a token is allowed to do (read repos, write PRs, …) |
| secret |
A password or token a workflow needs, stored in GitHub — never committed to the repo |
| stash |
Temporarily shelve unfinished changes |
| step |
One instruction inside a job; steps run in order, top to bottom |
| tag |
A labeled snapshot of the repo, e.g. v1.2.3 |
| token |
A long secret string that proves it's you, used instead of your password |
| workflow |
The recipe — a YAML file in .github/workflows/ that says "when X happens, do Y" |
| workflow run |
One execution of a workflow |