steps

`run:`

Executes a shell command on the runner. Multi-line scripts run in a single shell invocation; the shell is chosen by `shell:` (or workflow `defaults`) and defaults to bash on Linux/macOS and pwsh on Windows.

Syntax

- run: <command> | |
    multi-line script

Common values / subkeys

Value / Subkey	Purpose
shell	bash \| sh \| pwsh \| powershell \| python \| cmd \| custom
working-directory	cd into this directory before running
env	Step-scoped environment variables
continue-on-error	Do not fail the job if the step fails
id	Enable `steps.<id>.outputs`, `.outcome`, `.conclusion`
name	Display label shown in the log
timeout-minutes	Fail the step if it exceeds N minutes

Examples

- name: Test
  run: npm test

Single-line command with a display name

- id: build
  run: |
    npm ci
    npm run build
    echo "dist=out" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
  env:
    NODE_ENV: production
  working-directory: app

Multi-line, id + env + working-directory, emits an output

- run: Write-Host "hello $env:USER"
  shell: pwsh

PowerShell script on any OS

- id: test
  continue-on-error: true
  run: npm test
- if: steps.test.outcome == 'failure'
  run: ./notify.sh

React to a soft-failed step via `outcome`

Gotcha

Bash runs with `set -eo pipefail` by default — a failing command in a pipe fails the step; interpolating `${{ github.event.* }}` directly into a script is a script-injection risk, pass values via `env` instead.

Related keywords

env:

Defines environment variables for a scope. Declared at the workflow, job, or step level and read back via the `env` context or as real environment variables inside `run:` scripts.

outputs:

Declares values a job exposes to downstream jobs that `needs:` it. Values are usually pulled from step outputs written to `$GITHUB_OUTPUT`.

uses:

Runs a published action inside a step. The reference should include an immutable commit SHA or a version tag; inputs are passed via the `with:` block.

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