GitHub Actions Contexts: Where Each One Is Actually Available

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

Contexts are not available everywhere, and referencing one where it is not available does not fail the run. It resolves to an empty string, so the workflow continues with a silently wrong value.

Almost every confusing GitHub Actions expression bug comes down to one rule: a context that is not available at that key resolves to an empty string rather than raising an error. Your if: condition does not fail, it just evaluates against nothing, and the job silently runs or silently skips.

That is why the same expression can work in a step and break when moved to the job level. This page is the availability table plus the specific mistakes it explains.

Availability by workflow key

The twelve contexts

The four mistakes this table explains

• steps in a job-level if. Not available. The condition evaluates against an empty string and the job runs or skips unconditionally.
• secrets in runs-on or a job if. Not available. Move the check into a step, or surface a non-secret flag through outputs.
• inputs in a workflow with no workflow_call or workflow_dispatch block. The context does not exist, producing Unrecognized named-value: inputs.
• env in a job-level if. Not available at that key. Use vars for configuration, or move the condition into a step.

Confirm what you actually have

- name: Dump contexts
  run: |
    echo 'github:'; echo '${{ toJSON(github) }}'
    echo 'needs:';  echo '${{ toJSON(needs) }}'
    echo 'steps:';  echo '${{ toJSON(steps) }}'
    echo 'matrix:'; echo '${{ toJSON(matrix) }}'
    echo 'inputs:'; echo '${{ toJSON(inputs) }}'

Catch it before it costs a run

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/repo" --workdir /repo rhysd/actionlint:latest -color

Diagnose it: print the context before you change anything

Most workflow-expression bugs are not syntax errors, they are an expression reading something that is empty. GitHub resolves a missing property to an empty string instead of failing the run, so a wrong reference looks like a logic bug rather than a mistake. Dump the contexts first and you will usually see the answer immediately.

- name: Dump contexts
  run: |
    echo '--- github ---'   ; echo '${{ toJSON(github) }}'
    echo '--- needs ---'    ; echo '${{ toJSON(needs) }}'
    echo '--- steps ---'    ; echo '${{ toJSON(steps) }}'
    echo '--- matrix ---'   ; echo '${{ toJSON(matrix) }}'
    echo '--- inputs ---'   ; echo '${{ toJSON(inputs) }}'

Check the context is allowed where you used it

Contexts are not available everywhere. The same expression can be valid in a step if and invalid in a job if, which is why an expression that works in one workflow fails when moved.

Catch it before it reaches CI

Every failure in this cluster is statically detectable. actionlint parses workflow expressions, checks context availability against the same rules above, and validates needs references, so these bugs never need to cost you a run.

# one-off
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/repo" --workdir /repo rhysd/actionlint:latest -color

# as a job, before anything expensive runs
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: |
    bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rhysd/actionlint/main/scripts/download-actionlint.bash)
    ./actionlint -color

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions contexts reference (verified 2026-08-20)
• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions