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Runner Work Directory - CI/CD Glossary Definition

The runner work directory is where a job checks out code and runs, available as GITHUB_WORKSPACE on GitHub Actions.

The runner work directory is the folder on a CI runner where the repository is checked out and jobs execute, exposed as GITHUB_WORKSPACE on GitHub Actions. Relative paths in a workflow resolve against it.

Knowing the work directory helps you write portable steps and debug "file not found" errors caused by wrong relative paths.

Where it lives

The self-hosted runner stores it under _work/<repo>/<repo>. Set a step's working-directory: to run a command in a subfolder without a manual cd.

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