Instruction file imported from cmlccie/agentic (.github/instructions/github_actions.instructions.md). Copyright stays with the author.

GitHub Actions Workflow Instructions

Python Container Build Workflows

Naming Convention

• Use build-<image-name>.yml for container build workflows
• Use descriptive names that clearly identify the service being built

Using the Reusable Workflow

For Python container builds, use the reusable workflow .github/workflows/build-python-container-image.yml.

Required Inputs

• image-name: The name of the container image (will be prefixed with repository name)
• context-path: Path to the build context relative to repository root

Optional Inputs

• containerfile-path: Path to the Containerfile relative to context-path (defaults to "Containerfile")
• platforms: Target platforms for the build (defaults to "linux/amd64,linux/arm64")

Example Workflow

See .github/workflows/build-tools-mcp-weather-server.yml for a complete working example of a Python container build workflow using the reusable workflow.

Benefits of the Reusable Workflow

• Consistency: All Python container builds use the same standardized process
• Maintainability: Updates to the build process only need to be made in one place
• Best Practices: Automatically includes security features like build attestations
• Performance: Built-in caching and multi-platform support

Image Tagging Strategy

The reusable workflow automatically handles image tagging with:

• Semantic versioning patterns for releases ({{version}}, {{major}}.{{minor}}, {{major}})
• Branch names for development builds ({{branch}})
• Commit SHA for traceability ({{branch}}-{{sha}})
• latest tag only for default branch builds
• Pull request references for PR builds

Automatic Features

The reusable workflow includes:

• Multi-platform builds: Supports both AMD64 and ARM64 architectures by default
• GitHub Actions caching: Optimizes build performance with layer caching
• Build attestations: Provides supply chain security
• Proper permissions: Includes all necessary permissions for container registry operations
• Registry authentication: Automatically handles GitHub Container Registry login