I tried to learn GitHub Actions twice: I failed the first time, but AI helped me succeed the second time
The first time I tried to deploy a static site using GitHub Actions, I gave up halfway through the tutorials. The second time, with the help of an AI agent, I had the site deployed in several hours — and I finally understood how it all worked. The first time, I gave up I first encountered GitHub Actions while reading Hugo static site deployment tutorials. Most showed the classic approach: run…
In an attempt to deploy a static site using GitHub Actions, the author initially gave up after struggling with tutorials. The first failure occurred because the tutorials were too brief, leaving the author confused about file placement and settings. After a three-year break, the author decided to try again with the help of an AI agent.
The author began by chatting with the AI to understand the differences between the two deployment approaches. The AI explained that the classic approach builds locally and pushes the output, while GitHub Actions builds on GitHub's servers, requiring only the push of new posts. Armed with this knowledge, the author then asked the AI to set up GitHub Actions for them.
When given the task, the AI proposed an action plan and presented two choices: placing the Hugo source code in the same repository on a new branch or in a separate repository. The author chose to keep the source code in the same repository on a new branch to avoid switching between repositories later. They also opted to track the theme as a Git submodule, allowing for easy updates.
The AI then added the Git submodule, a .gitignore file, and the workflow file (hugo.yml) to the local project. However, the push to GitHub failed with an error message stating that GitHub was unreachable.
With the AI's assistance, the author identified the issue as the use of HTTPS instead of SSH, which was corrected, and the push succeeded. The author also learned that a branch named 'main' could not deploy to GitHub Pages due to environment protection rules. After changing the branch settings, the next build was successful. The author attributes their success to the AI removing barriers that hindered their learning.
The AI handled the tedious setup tasks, allowing the author to focus on understanding GitHub Actions. The author also gained confidence through the AI's guidance, realizing that they could start a project and ask for help when needed. In the end, the author understood the big picture: GitHub builds the site on its own servers, requiring only the push of Markdown posts.
While the author still needs to learn how to write a workflow file from scratch, they now have a better understanding of the overall process.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
