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Context (GitHub Actions) - CI/CD Glossary Definition

A context is a named object of run data (like github or steps) read inside expressions.

A context is a named object of run data available in expressions, such as github, env, job, steps, needs, matrix, and secrets, that you read with ${{ }}.

Contexts expose information about the run: github holds event and repo data, steps holds prior step outputs, needs holds upstream job outputs, and secrets holds secret values.

Common contexts

ContextHolds
githubevent, ref, sha, actor
stepsoutputs of previous steps
needsoutputs of dependency jobs
secretsencrypted secret values

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