Practice Exams

Timed quizzes with answer explanations tied to the GitHub Actions certification syllabus.

Practice Exams

This module simulates the GitHub Actions certification exam. Work through the question sets, check your answers, and review the explanations for anything you miss.

Certification tip: The real exam is scenario-based — you’ll read a workflow snippet and determine what happens. Practice reading YAML quickly and spotting the one thing that’s wrong.

How to Use This Module

1. Attempt each quiz without looking at notes.
2. Check answers and read every explanation — even for questions you got right.
3. Review weak modules — go back to the relevant study module and re-read.
4. Time yourself — the exam has a time limit; practice pacing.

Quiz 1: Foundations

Q1. What is the minimum valid GitHub Actions workflow?

A.

name: CI
on: push
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo hi

B.

on: push
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

C.

name: CI
on: push
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

D.

name: CI
on: push
steps:
  - run: echo hi

Q2. Which runner label runs on GitHub-hosted Ubuntu?

A. self-hosted B. ubuntu-latest C. ubuntu-22.04 D. ubuntu

Q3. What does actions/checkout@v4 do?

A. Installs Node.js B. Checks out your repository code into the runner C. Runs your test suite D. Deploys to production

Quiz 2: Triggers & Scheduling

Q4. You want a workflow to run only when a pull request is merged into main. Which configuration is correct?

A.

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

B.

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [closed]
    branches: [main]

C.

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [closed]
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  deploy:
    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true

D.

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

Q5. What is the minimum interval for a schedule trigger?

A. 1 minute B. 5 minutes C. 15 minutes D. 1 hour

Q6. workflow_dispatch inputs of type boolean are passed as:

A. JavaScript booleans (true/false) **B. Strings ("true"/"false") C. Integers (1/0) D. Not supported

Quiz 3: Job Control

Q7. Jobs run in parallel unless:

A. They use continue-on-error B. They use needs: C. They use if: D. They use matrix:

Q8. A matrix with os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest] and node-version: [18.x, 20.x] creates how many jobs?

A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 8

Q9. How do you access a job output from a downstream job?

A. ${{ steps.step-id.outputs.name }} B. ${{ needs.job-id.outputs.name }} C. ${{ jobs.job-id.outputs.name }} D. ${{ matrix.outputs.name }}

Quiz 4: Environments & Deployment

Q10. When can a job with environment: production start running?

A. Immediately when the workflow starts B. After all protection rules pass (reviewers, wait timer, branch policy) C. After the previous job succeeds D. When the environment is created in settings

Q11. Environment secrets are accessible to:

A. All jobs in the workflow B. Only jobs referencing that environment C. Only the job that created the secret D. No jobs — they’re just for display

Quiz 5: Secrets & Variables

Q12. Which is the best practice for passing a secret to a step?

A. run: echo ${{ secrets.MY_TOKEN }} B. env: TOKEN: ${{ secrets.MY_TOKEN }} then run: echo $TOKEN C. run: curl -H "token: ${{ secrets.MY_TOKEN }}" ... D. Store it in a variable (vars.)

Q13. secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN is:

A. A secret you must create manually B. Automatically provided by GitHub for each workflow run C. Only available in public repositories D. The same as a personal access token

Quiz 6: Reusable Workflows & Custom Actions

Q14. A reusable workflow must declare which trigger?

A. on: push B. on: workflow_call C. on: workflow_dispatch D. on: repository_dispatch

Q15. Which action type runs inside a Docker container?

A. Composite B. JavaScript C. Docker container D. Reusable

Quiz 7: Self-Hosted Runners

Q16. You should NOT use self-hosted runners for:

A. Internal network access B. Pull requests from public forks C. Specialized hardware D. Cost savings

Q17. --ephemeral means the runner:

A. Runs only one job then is removed B. Is deleted after the workflow finishes C. Runs in the cloud only D. Cannot use labels

Quiz 8: Security & OIDC

Q18. To use OIDC with AWS, which permission is required?

A. contents: write B. id-token: write C. deployments: write D. packages: write

Q19. Which is NOT a valid way to handle secrets?

A. Repository secrets B. Organization secrets C. Environment secrets D. Plain text in the workflow YAML

Quiz 9: Caching & Artifacts

Q20. What’s the difference between key and restore-keys in actions/cache?

A. key is required, restore-keys is optional fallback keys B. key restores, restore-keys saves C. They’re the same thing D. restore-keys is required, key is optional

Q21. How long are GitHub Actions artifacts retained by default?

A. 7 days B. 30 days C. 90 days D. 1 year

Quiz 10: Debugging & ACT

Q22. Which runs a step regardless of whether the previous step failed?

A. continue-on-error: true B. if: always() C. Both A and B D. Neither

Q23. ACT is used for:

A. Running workflows locally with Docker B. Measuring workflow performance C. Validating YAML syntax D. Creating GitHub repositories

Full Practice Exam (10 Questions, Timed)

Simulate the real exam: 10 questions, ~15 minutes, no notes.

Answer Key Summary

Final Exam Readiness Checklist

• I can write a minimal valid workflow from memory
• I know when pull_request vs push fires
• I understand needs vs parallel jobs
• I can configure matrix builds with include/exclude
• I know environment protection rules and secrets scoping
• I understand OIDC and id-token: write
• I can distinguish cache vs artifacts
• I know how to debug with ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG and ACT
• I’ve taken the timed practice exam and reviewed all explanations

You’re ready. Go clear the certification! 🚀