GH-200 exam domains
The GH-200 exam is weighted across 5 domains. Pick any domain below to drill it — or read the full breakdown in the FAQ.
| Exam domain | Exam weight | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Author and manage workflows | 25% | Practice this topic |
| Consume and troubleshoot workflows | 18% | Practice this topic |
| Author and maintain actions | 18% | Practice this topic |
| Manage GitHub Actions for the enterprise | 25% | Practice this topic |
| Secure and optimize automation | 14% | Practice this topic |
Sample GH-200 questions
A sample of the GH-200 questions on this hub. Each links through to the full question, the correct answer, and an explanation of why every other option is wrong.
- You maintain a public JavaScript action and want to publish it to the GitHub Marketplace with a recognizable icon and color on its listing card. You a…View question
- Your organization builds a container image in CI and generates a build provenance attestation with the actions/attest-build-provenance action. Before…View question
- A workflow has a 'build' job that compiles a binary into the ./dist directory, and a separate 'deploy' job that needs that compiled binary. The two jo…View question
- Your Node.js CI workflow installs dependencies and produces a compiled bundle in dist/. You want two things: (1) speed up repeated dependency installs…View question
- Your CI workflow builds and caches Node dependencies using a key derived from package-lock.json. The workflow triggers on both pull_request from forks…View question
- A Node.js project uses actions/cache to speed up dependency installs. The team wants the cache to be keyed on the exact hash of package-lock.json, but…View question
- Your team maintains an internal action that formats and validates JSON configuration files. It must run identically on GitHub-hosted ubuntu, windows,…View question
- You maintain a composite action that runs a linter and then, only when the linter step fails, uploads a diagnostic report. In the action.yml you add a…View question
- You are packaging a reusable set of shell steps as a composite action inside a repository at the path .github/actions/deploy-helper/. A teammate consu…View question
- You are authoring a composite action that formats code. The action.yml declares an input named `target-path` with a default of `.`. Inside a `run` ste…View question
Key GH-200 terms
Start with these terms, then explore the full glossary. Each links to a plain-English definition written for the GH-200 exam.
GH-200 frequently asked questions
What is the GH-200 certification?+
GH-200 is the GitHub Actions certification in GitHub’s program, distinct from GitHub Foundations (fundamentals), GH-100 (Enterprise Administrator), and the GitHub Copilot certification.
It targets engineers who build and operate CI/CD with GitHub Actions, so success rewards practical knowledge of reusable workflows, matrix strategies, custom actions, runner management, and OIDC-based secretless deployment.
What topics are on the GH-200 exam?+
The GH-200 exam is organised into five weighted domains. GitHub publishes each as a range (20–25%, 15–20%, 15–20%, 20–25%, 10–15%); the single percentages below are our editorial study weights within those ranges, so bias your study toward the heavier domains — Author and manage workflows and Manage GitHub Actions for the enterprise are the largest.
Author and manage workflows (25%)
The joint-largest domain. Covers configuring triggers and events (scheduled, manual workflow_dispatch, webhook, repository), workflow_dispatch inputs and workflow_call, workflow structure (jobs, steps, conditionals, needs), service containers, matrix strategy, YAML anchors/aliases, contexts and ${{ }} expressions, and managing execution and outputs (caching, artifacts, GITHUB_ENV/GITHUB_OUTPUT, job summaries, environment protections).
Consume and troubleshoot workflows (18%)
Covers interpreting workflow behavior from configuration and logs, diagnosing failed runs, expanding YAML anchors and matrix expansions, rerunning individual matrix jobs, accessing artifacts and logs via UI and API, and distinguishing starter workflows, reusable workflows, and composite actions.
Author and maintain actions (18%)
Covers the three action types (JavaScript, Docker, composite), immutable-actions behavior and version pinning, action structure and action.yml metadata, workflow commands within actions, and distributing actions (public/private/Marketplace) with versioning and release strategies.
Manage GitHub Actions for the enterprise (25%)
The joint-largest domain. Covers governing actions and workflows with organizational use policies and allow/deny lists, managing GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners at scale (runner groups, IP allow lists, networking), preinstalled runner tooling, and scoping encrypted secrets and variables at org/repo/environment levels including via REST API.
Secure and optimize automation (14%)
Covers environment protections and approval gates, mitigating script injection with least-privilege permissions and input sanitization, the ephemeral scoped GITHUB_TOKEN vs PATs, OIDC federation for secretless cloud deploys, pinning third-party actions to full commit SHAs, artifact attestations/provenance (SLSA), and optimizing workflow cost and performance.
Is the GH-200 hard?+
GH-200 is challenging because it spans workflow authoring, custom-action development, enterprise governance, and pipeline security — you must know current GitHub Actions syntax and behavior precisely, not just at a conceptual level.
The heavy weighting on workflow authoring and enterprise management rewards hands-on experience building and operating real pipelines. The difficulty is breadth and precision, not obscure trivia.
How many questions are on the GH-200 exam and how long is it?+
GH-200 is a proctored multiple-choice exam of roughly 75 questions in 100 minutes, covering the full lifecycle of automating with GitHub Actions.
Our full-length practice mock uses a 60-question, 90-minute session so you can rehearse pacing across all five domains before test day.
What score do you need to pass the GH-200?+
GH-200 is scored on a scale of 100 to 1000, and you need 700 to pass. Because it is scaled, questions are not all worth the same and there is no penalty for guessing, so answer everything. Our practice mock uses a 70% threshold as a study checkpoint; aim comfortably beyond it before test day.
How much does the GH-200 exam cost?+
The GH-200 exam fee is set by GitHub and varies by region — check the GitHub certification site for current pricing. Everything on this hub is free.
Who should take the GH-200?+
GH-200 is aimed at engineers who automate software delivery with GitHub Actions — DevOps engineers, platform engineers, and developers who own CI/CD.
GitHub recommends familiarity with CI/CD, GitHub repositories, GitHub Packages, and integrating third-party services before attempting it.
What jobs and salaries can the GH-200 lead to?+
GH-200 maps to roles such as DevOps engineer, platform engineer, build/release engineer, and developer-experience engineer.
How much any certification affects pay depends heavily on geography, seniority, and experience, so treat any single salary figure with caution. GH-200 is best viewed as proof that you can build and operate secure, efficient automation with GitHub Actions.
How long does it take to study for the GH-200?+
Candidates with CI/CD experience often need three to five weeks, spent building real workflows — reusable workflows, matrix jobs, custom actions, and OIDC-based deployments — in a GitHub organization.
Review every explanation, including for questions you answered correctly, because GH-200 distractors are built from plausible but incorrect workflow syntax and automation choices. Use the per-domain results here to find your weakest area, then finish with full-length timed mocks.
How should you prepare for the GH-200?+
Study the five domains above, giving the heaviest weight to workflow authoring and enterprise management, then drill scenario questions domain by domain while building real pipelines in a GitHub organization. Every MockAPI question reveals a full explanation and tells you why each wrong answer is wrong.
When you can author reusable workflows, custom actions, and secure OIDC deployments comfortably, move to full-length timed mocks. Use the glossary to keep concepts like workflow_call, matrix, composite actions, GITHUB_TOKEN, and OIDC straight, and aim to score consistently above the checkpoint before you book.
Can you take the GH-200 exam online?+
Yes. GitHub certification exams are delivered through Pearson VUE, which offers both an online-proctored option (take it remotely) and in-person test centers. For the online option you need a private, quiet room, a clear workspace, a webcam and microphone, a stable connection, and government-issued photo ID, with a proctor monitoring you and a room scan before you start.
If you do not pass, GitHub lets you retake the exam after a waiting period — check the current policy before rebooking.
What certification should you take after the GH-200?+
After GH-200, related GitHub certifications include GitHub Advanced Security, GH-100 (Enterprise Administrator), and the GitHub Copilot certification, depending on your focus.
For many, the real next step is owning CI/CD for a large organization. Pairing GH-200 with hands-on pipeline engineering is what turns the certificate into a career.