GitHub Actions vs. Jenkins: A battle of the gods? Haha! Just to put it on a brighter note. Let’s start by answering some of the queries that may have been bothering you. What steps can be automated in your software development workflow? What software development tools are ideal for my workflow? Jenkins, is it? Do you mean Github Actions?
In this blog, we are going to cover:
- GitHub Actions
- GitHub Actions Advantages
- GitHub Actions Disadvantages
- Jenkins
- Jenkins Advantages
- Jenkins Disadvantages
- GitHub Actions vs. Jenkins
- Conclusion
GitHub Actions
Let’s examine GitHub Actions, a well-liked CI/CD tool. You can automate the procedure for creating, testing, and deploying your apps across a range of settings with the help of GitHub Actions. A Github actions process is said to be event-driven if it reacts to a specific occurrence in your GitHub repository, such as a pull request, a push to a branch, etc.
While Jenkins functions outside of your GitHub repository, GitHub Actions does so. GitHub offers you runners, which are Github-owned servers that may run Linux, Mac OS X, or Windows, and provide you with a workspace where you can develop, test, and publish your apps. In contrast to Jenkins, which uses Groovy script, a Github workflow file is written in YAML. An example of a GitHub Actions workflow file is shown below:
YAML-based Github Actions workflow example
A typical workflow file contains a name, an on parameter that specifies which actions, like a push to master or pull request, trigger the pipeline to start, and one or more jobs that execute in order to build and/or deploy your project.
I won’t go into great detail on how GitHub Actions operate, but here’s a website where you can find out more. Additionally, GitHub actions offer a marketplace where you can buy readymade actions that make creating and deploying your apps easier. From developing a Nodejs application to launching a Google App Engine application, you may discover activities for whatever you need to perform on the marketplace.
GitHub Actions Advantages
Let’s look at the benefits of utilizing GitHub Actions over Jenkins now that we have a fundamental idea of what it is all about.
- GitHub Actions is incredibly user-friendly for beginners. A YAML file is all that is required to get going. For a startup or small business, GitHub Actions is an obvious choice for a CI/CD platform because your engineers may already have some familiarity with YAML.
- Jenkins will be operated on a personal server. This implies that you will need to regularly maintain the Jenkins server. To accomplish your CI/CD processes, however, GitHub Actions offers you, free runners. Although GitHub owns and maintains these runners, you may also add self-hosted runners.
GitHub Actions Disadvantages
- When using GitHub Actions, you are essentially bound to Github’s source code management platform. You may keep your code on any repository, including Gitlab, BitBucket, and others, by using Jenkins.
- Compared to GitHub Actions, Jenkins is more experienced and established. Because Github’s actions are still in their infancy, there is little community support for them.
Jenkins
Let’s have a look at Jenkins, another fantastic tool you can utilize to automate your build process. Jenkins is only an open-source Java automation server that is used to automate a process for continually developing, testing, and deploying software projects.
Jenkins requires plugin integration for optimal use, which enhances functionality (plugins are used based on project requirements). Plugins like the following might help Jenkins perform better, which would improve the build workflow:
Docker Plugin: Jenkins may use this plugin to automatically spin up Docker containers in order to execute builds on them, as executing builds directly on the server can be difficult and resource-intensive. This is comparable to Github Action Runners.
Slack Plugin: Slack may be linked with Jenkins to get build progress notifications for your project. These messages are delivered to Slack special channels that you build.
Jira Plugin: Jira integration in Jenkins allows data about builds, tests, and deployments to be transferred from Jenkins to Jira, allowing issues to be recorded properly in Jira.
Jenkins Pipeline Plugin: The Jenkins pipeline plug-functionality in’s is to assist users in implementing build, test, and deployment procedures into their workflow using only a Jenkinsfile. This Jenkinsfile is SCM-compatible. You can’t use scripts to design your build workflow without the plugin. Rather, you would interact with the UI by pointing and clicking. When the plugin is installed, it searches for a Jenkinsfile to implement the build phases within when the repo is fetched.
Jenkins is supported by approximately 1,700 plugins. Obviously, we can’t cover them all, but with the ones described above, you now have a better understanding of the capabilities plugins add to Jenkins, which helps with your build routine.
The graphic above depicts a basic Jenkins Workflow that pulls code from Github, creates a Docker image from the code, tests it, and then pushes it to the remote repository DockerHub. The developer commits to Github, and the Jenkins Pipeline pulls the code and generates a Docker image using the Docker plugin. The docker image is then checked, and if it fails, a console output is displayed. If it is successful, the image is instantly uploaded to DockerHub. Based on your demands, you may improve your build procedure and add extra functionality with the plugins mentioned above.
Each of the aforementioned Jenkins Workflows can be implemented manually by merely pointing and clicking in the Jenkins UI, but in order to make the most of the time available to you, that build workflow must be made simpler. This is where the Jenkins Pipeline Script or Jenkinsfile, which is used to implement Pipeline-as-Code, comes in. GitHub Actions employ YAML, which is more user-friendly than Groovy, the Groovy scripting language developed by Jenkin. Because it is a good habit to keep logic simple, it is simpler to develop workflows using because of its readability. Since logic is required while writing pipelines, YAML makes this task simpler than Groovy.
A sample Jenkinsfile is provided below to give you a basic idea of how one may be built.
An example Jenkins process using Groovy syntax
The pipeline syntax serves as the first block in the aforementioned Jenkinsfile. The agent syntax then provides the executor and workspace for the pipeline. The stages block is made up of several executable stage blocks, and the stage blocks themselves contain the actual execution steps. You may read the Official Documentation to learn more about how Jenkinsfile functions and how to construct your own.
Jenkins Advantages
- Jenkins is Open Source and Free, in contrast to its competitor GitHub Actions, which is “Freemium,” which is among its benefits.
- The ability to cache files from earlier builds and reuse them in fresh builds is supported by plugins.
Jenkins Disadvantages
Here are a few drawbacks of utilizing Jenkins.
- Jenkins offers a wide variety of plugins to customers, however, sadly some of these plugins are not regularly updated by the creators. As a result, before using any plugins, they must be properly supported.
- Because of its reliance on plugins, finding fundamental functions that aren’t plugins may occasionally be challenging.
- Due to the unpredictability of the demands imposed on the server, the cost of operating Jenkins on remote (Cloud) servers may vary. These loads include things like the quantity of code, the number of artifacts, the number of commits, etc.
GitHub Actions vs Jenkins :
Jenkins gives you two different ways to create pipelines: Declarative Pipeline and Scripted Pipeline. On the other hand, YAML is used by GitHub Actions to build workflows and set up files.
Jenkins deployments generally involve self-hosting, where the users oversee servers in their own data centers. On the other hand, GitHub Actions uses a hybrid cloud strategy. It hosts its own job runners and also lets users host their own job runners. Find out more about runners who are on their own.
A more detailed comparison is provided below in the tabular format:
Conclusion
However, it is entirely up to you whether or not you utilize Jenkins or GitHub Actions in your project. GitHub Actions are now free to use for public repositories. A pay-as-you-go system is available for private repositories.
I assume you’ve already come to the conclusion that GitHub Actions is a superior option to Jenkins mostly due to its versatility. Moving toward GitHub Actions is a no-brainer for anyone beginning a new project or utilizing GitHub as their source control platform.
The article was hopefully interesting to you. Gratitude for reading!
FAQs
Can GitHub Actions and Jenkins be used together?
Yes, it's possible to use GitHub Actions and Jenkins together in a hybrid setup, leveraging the strengths of both tools for specific stages of the CI/CD pipeline.
How does pricing compare between GitHub Actions and Jenkins?
GitHub Actions offers free usage for public repositories and provides a certain amount of free minutes for private repositories. Jenkins is open-source and free, but you need to consider hosting and maintenance costs.
Which tool is better for large enterprises with complex pipelines?
Jenkins is often preferred for large enterprises with complex pipelines due to its extensive plugin ecosystem, allowing customization for specific requirements.
Can GitHub Actions or Jenkins be used for deploying to different cloud providers?
Yes, both GitHub Actions and Jenkins can be configured to deploy applications to various cloud providers, depending on the plugins or integrations used.
Which tool provides better integration with third-party services and tools?
Jenkins has a wider range of plugins available, providing better integration with third-party services and tools. However, GitHub Actions can integrate seamlessly with GitHub-based workflows.
Can GitHub Actions and Jenkins be used for other automation tasks beyond CI/CD?
Yes, both tools can be adapted for various automation tasks beyond CI/CD, such as running tests, performing code analysis, and more.
How does GitHub Actions handle scalability compared to Jenkins?
GitHub Actions provides cloud-based scalability, automatically scaling resources based on the workload. Jenkins scalability depends on the hardware and configuration of the server it's running on.
Can GitHub Actions and Jenkins be integrated with other DevOps tools, like Docker or Kubernetes?
Yes, both tools can integrate with Docker and Kubernetes for containerization and orchestration, but Jenkins has a wider range of plugins and integrations for such tools.
Which tool provides better visibility into the CI/CD pipeline and its stages?
Jenkins provides more extensive visualization options through its plugins, whereas GitHub Actions offers a simpler visualization within the GitHub interface.
Related/References
- [DOFD] DevOps Foundation Certification Exam: Everything You Need To Know
- [AZ-400] Microsoft Azure DevOps Certification Exam: Everything You Need To Know
- [AZ-400] Roles and Responsibilities As An Azure DevOps Engineer
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Certification Exam: Everything You Must Know
Next Task For You
Begin your journey towards becoming a DevOps Expert and earn a lot more by landing a high-paying job.
Join FREE CLASS to learn more about the DevOps Roles and Responsibilities, Job opportunities related to DevOps in the market, and what to study Including Hands-On labs and projects you must perform to get your Dream job.
Click on the below image to Register for Our FREE Class on Mastering DevOps on Cloud: How to Build In-Demand Skills and Land High-Paying Jobs
Leave a Reply