Best CLI Tools for Working on GitHub Actions

Compare act, zizmor, gh: workflows, strengths and tradeoffs.

Updated

short verdict

Choose act if you need a local run of a GitHub Actions workflow. Choose zizmor if you want static security checks for CI configuration. Choose gh if you want to manage work hosted on GitHub from the terminal.

These tools cover different stages of the job and can be used together.

#1

act

★ 72.5kGo
details

Choose act if you need a local run of a GitHub Actions workflow.

best for

  • You need a local run of a GitHub Actions workflow

strengths

  • Reads workflow definitions from the project
  • Runs workflow jobs using Docker

weaknesses

  • Local containers do not guarantee an exact match to every hosted-runner feature.
#2

zizmor

★ 6.8kRust
details

Choose zizmor if you want static security checks for CI configuration.

best for

  • You want static security checks for CI configuration

strengths

  • Finds workflow security problems
  • Can fix some supported findings

weaknesses

  • Static checks do not execute the workflow or prove that a job behaves correctly.
#3

gh

★ 46.8kGo
details

Choose gh if you want to manage work hosted on GitHub from the terminal.

best for

  • You want to manage work hosted on GitHub from the terminal

strengths

  • Works with pull requests, issues and repositories
  • Integrates with GitHub-hosted workflows

weaknesses

  • Operations against GitHub depend on service access and appropriate authentication.

Choose by workflow

  • act: you need a local run of a GitHub Actions workflow.
  • zizmor: you want static security checks for CI configuration.
  • gh: you want to manage work hosted on GitHub from the terminal.

Before adopting a tool

  • act: Local containers do not guarantee an exact match to every hosted-runner feature.
  • zizmor: Static checks do not execute the workflow or prove that a job behaves correctly.
  • gh: Operations against GitHub depend on service access and appropriate authentication.

FAQ

Are these tools interchangeable?
No. Choose act if you need a local run of a GitHub Actions workflow. Choose zizmor if you want static security checks for CI configuration. Choose gh if you want to manage work hosted on GitHub from the terminal.
What should I check before using one?
Try the workflow on a small fixture and confirm the platform, configuration and permissions you need. Local containers do not guarantee an exact match to every hosted-runner feature.