Azure Pipelines vs GitHub Actions v1

Published on 08 . 11 . 2025 • 3 min read •

Azure DevOps (ADO) to GitHub Actions: Direct 1:1 Mapping

Here’s the direct 1:1 mapping from Azure DevOps (ADO) Pipelines to GitHub Actions:

ADO concept	GitHub Actions equivalent	What it does	YAML key
Pipeline	Workflow	The whole CI/CD file that runs on a trigger	`.github/workflows/your-name.yml`
Stage	Separate workflow file (or `needs:` + reusable workflows)	Logical phase (build → test → deploy). No built-in `stages:` keyword. Chain workflows with `workflow_run` or `needs:`.	`jobs:<job>.needs:`
Job	Job	Unit of work that gets its own runner (VM/container)	`jobs:<job_id>:`
Task	Action (or script step)	Reusable building block (`PublishTestResults@2` → `actions/upload-artifact@v4`)	`uses: owner/action@vX`
Step	Step	One command or one action inside a job	`steps:` list

Quick Side-by-Side Example

ADO (YAML)

stages:
- stage: Build
  jobs:
  - job: Compile
    steps:
    - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2   # ← task
      inputs:
        command: build
    - script: echo Hello     # ← script step

- stage: Deploy
  dependsOn: Build
  jobs:
  - job: AzureWebApp
    steps:
    - task: AzureWebApp@1
      inputs:
        appName: 'my-app'

GitHub Actions (YAML)

name: CI/CD Pipeline
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
jobs:
  Compile:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - name: Build .NET Core   # ← action
      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v3
      with:
        dotnet-version: '6.0.x'
    - name: Echo Hello        # ← script step
      run: echo Hello
  AzureWebApp:
    needs: Compile
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - name: Deploy to Azure Web App
      uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v2
      with:
        app-name: 'my-app'

Summary Mapping

ADO pipeline → GitHub Actions
ADO pipeline → .github/workflows/your-workflow.yml
ADO stage  → split into separate workflow files
ADO job    → jobs: myjob:
ADO task   → uses: some/action@v4
ADO step   → steps:
               - run: echo hello
               - uses: actions/checkout@v4