CI/CD with GitHub Actions for ASP.NET Core

Introduction

Every ShopNest push to main should build, test, and deploy automatically — GitHub Actions YAML pipelines replace manual FTP uploads.

After this article you will

• Write build-test-deploy workflow YAML
• Run dotnet test in CI with coverage
• Deploy to Azure App Service on success
• Store secrets in GitHub Secrets
• Require PR checks before merge

Prerequisites

• Article 61 — Azure App Service
• ShopNest solution builds and tests pass locally

Concept deep-dive

# .github/workflows/shopnest-ci.yml
name: ShopNest CI/CD
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          dotnet-version: '8.0.x'
      - run: dotnet restore ShopNest.sln
      - run: dotnet build ShopNest.sln -c Release --no-restore
      - run: dotnet test ShopNest.sln -c Release --no-build --verbosity normal
      - run: dotnet publish ShopNest.Web/ShopNest.Web.csproj -c Release -o ./publish
      - uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v3
        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
        with:
          app-name: shopnest-prod
          publish-profile: ${{ secrets.AZURE_PUBLISH_PROFILE }}

Branch strategy: feature/* → PR → develop → main. PR workflow runs tests only; main deploys.

Hands-on — ShopNest Automated Deployment Pipeline

1. Add workflow file; push to trigger.
2. Store AZURE_PUBLISH_PROFILE in GitHub Secrets.
3. Add branch protection: require build pass.
4. Optional: Codecov upload from test step.
5. Slack/email notify on failure.

Common errors & best practices

• Secrets in YAML — use ${{ secrets.NAME }} only.
• Deploy on PR — gate deploy with if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'.
• Missing EF tools for migration step — add dotnet-ef tool install.

Interview questions

Q: CI vs CD?
A: CI builds/tests; CD deploys artifact to environment.

Q: Where store Azure creds?
A: GitHub Secrets or OIDC federated credentials to Azure.

Summary

• YAML pipeline: restore → build → test → publish → deploy
• PR checks catch breaks before merge
• Secrets never in repository
• Publish profile or OIDC for Azure deploy

Previous: Azure App Service
Next: Azure SQL Database

FAQ