GitHub Actions: multi-line shell commands

There are two different ways to run shell commands in GitHub actions: the Literal Block Scalar (run: |) and the Folded Block Scalar (run: >). Here’s the difference.

Prerequisites

GitHub

Solution

literal block scalar

This one being run: | where each line is treated as a separate command in the shell. For instance:

- name: Literal Block Scalar step
  run: |
    echo "first line"
    echo "second line"
    echo "third line"

Readable, maintainable, cleaner (IMO) and preserves formatting.

folded block scalar

Basically the lines are concatenated into a single one before being executed. Example:

- name: Folded Block Scalar step
  run: >
    echo "first command";
    echo "second command";
    echo "third command"

Conclusion

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