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In this guide, you’ll learn how to integrate the actions/checkout step into your GitHub Actions workflow so that the runner can retrieve your repository’s code. This is a fundamental building block for most CI/CD pipelines on GitHub Actions.

Initial Workflow

Begin with a simple workflow that triggers on every push and runs a few basic commands:

name: My First Workflow
on: push

jobs:
  first_job:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Welcome message
        run: echo "My first GitHub Actions Job"

      - name: List files
        run: ls

      - name: Read file
        run: cat README.md

At this point:

The workflow prints a message.
It lists directory contents.
It reads the README.md file.

However, the repository itself has not yet been checked out.

Finding the Checkout Action

To add code checkout functionality:

Open the GitHub Marketplace and select Actions.
Search for checkout.
Locate the official actions/checkout maintained by GitHub (look for the verified badge).
Click through to view its version history and usage details.

The image shows the GitHub Marketplace search results for "checkout" under the Actions category, displaying various actions related to checking out repositories.

The details page provides version information (currently v4) and all supported inputs:

The image shows a GitHub Marketplace page for the "Checkout" GitHub Action, detailing its version, features, and usage instructions. It includes information about the action's functionality, updates, and contributors.

Using the Checkout Action

A minimal checkout step looks like this:

- uses: actions/checkout@v4

You can customize the checkout with these optional inputs:

Input	Description	Default
`repository`	The repo to checkout (owner/repo).	`\${{ github.repository }}`
`ref`	Branch, tag, or SHA to checkout.	`\${{ github.ref }}`
`token`	Token for authentication (PAT or `GITHUB_TOKEN`).	`\${{ github.token }}`
`ssh-key`	SSH private key for SSH-based fetch.	none
`ssh-known-hosts`	Additional SSH hosts (use `ssh-keyscan` to populate).	none

Note

If you need to access private repositories or submodules, set token to a personal access token with appropriate scopes.

Viewing the Action Source

All code for actions/checkout is available on GitHub. You can inspect the v4 README for implementation details and examples:

The image shows a GitHub repository page with a list of files and directories, contributor information, and a section describing "Checkout V4" in the README.md file.

Visit the actions/checkout repository to explore tests, issues, and version history.

Updating the Workflow

Insert the checkout step before any run commands to ensure your code is present on the runner:

name: My First Workflow
on: push

jobs:
  first_job:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Welcome message
        run: echo "My first GitHub Actions Job"

      - name: List files
        run: ls

      - name: Read file
        run: cat README.md

Commit and push your changes. The runner will now fetch your repo first, then execute subsequent commands.

Inspecting the Workflow Run

After pushing, navigate to the GitHub Actions tab to view your workflow run. You should see:

The Checkout repository step downloading your code.
Logs and timestamps for each subsequent step.
Options to download raw logs or archives for debugging.

The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow run interface, displaying logs for a job that has successfully completed.

That’s all it takes to configure and use the Checkout Action in your GitHub Actions workflows. With your repository checked out, you can now build, test, and deploy your code automatically.

Links and References

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