`github-action` attestor

Captures metadata about a GitHub Action execution — the action reference, type, inputs/outputs, exit code, and a small slice of GitHub Actions runtime context.

Name	`github-action`
Predicate type	`https://aflock.ai/attestations/github-action/v0.1`
Lifecycle	`execute`
Default binary?	No
Recommended trace	off — no syscall tracing needed
Auto-attaches when	Not auto-detected — attach explicitly with `-a`.

The facts in this box are generated from the cilock binary's own catalog (cilock tools list). Do not hand-edit — run npm run gen:catalog.

What it captures

The attestor records pre-set action metadata supplied by the action runner, plus a few GITHUB_* env vars sampled at Attest() time. Unlike command-run, it does not itself shell out — execution happens via a runner-provided ExecuteFunc.

Top-level fields:

actionref — action reference such as actions/checkout@v4. Also emitted as a subject (actionref:<ref>).
actiontype — javascript, docker, or composite.
actionname — name field from the action's action.yml.
actioninputs — map of user-provided inputs.
actionoutputs — map of captured outputs.
exitcode — exit code returned by the execute function.
actiondir — resolved local path of the action on disk.
refpinned — true if actionref was pinned to a commit SHA.
docker — nested DockerContainerConfig (populated only for docker actions): image, network, workspace, entrypoint, envcount, args.
runid — from GITHUB_RUN_ID.
workflowname — from GITHUB_WORKFLOW.
jobname — from GITHUB_JOB.

The only GITHUB_* env vars consumed are GITHUB_RUN_ID, GITHUB_WORKFLOW, and GITHUB_JOB. Anything else about the workflow (event, actor, ref, sha, runner OS, repository) is not in this attestor — see github for OIDC-derived identity.

When to use

Inside GitHub Actions workflows when an action is being executed under cilock's action runner. cilock-action wires this attestor in by default; you generally don't add it manually.

Flags

None. The attestor is configured by the in-process action runner via functional options (WithActionRef, WithActionType, WithDockerConfig, WithExecuteFunc, etc.), not by CLI flags.

Output shape

{
  "actionref": "actions/checkout@v4",
  "actiontype": "javascript",
  "actionname": "Checkout",
  "actioninputs": { "ref": "main" },
  "actionoutputs": { "ref": "main" },
  "exitcode": 0,
  "actiondir": "/runner/_actions/actions/checkout/v4",
  "refpinned": false,
  "docker": {
    "image": "ghcr.io/example/action:1.2.3",
    "network": "none",
    "workspace": "/github/workspace",
    "entrypoint": "/entrypoint.sh",
    "envcount": 12,
    "args": ["--flag"]
  },
  "runid": "1234567890",
  "workflowname": "release",
  "jobname": "build"
}

Gotchas

The predicate is aflock.ai/attestations/github-action/v0.1 — a cilock-native type, not an upstream in-toto or witness predicate.
Attest() runs the ExecuteFunc (if set) between material and product attestors, so file-system side effects of the action are visible to product. If execution fails, exitcode is still recorded and the error is returned.
Only actionref becomes a subject; if it's empty, the attestation has no subjects.
The three GITHUB_* env vars are only read at Attest() time. Outside Actions they will simply be empty strings.

CLI example

Real GitHub Actions runtime context. Reads canonical GITHUB_* env vars exposed to every Actions job and records them in a predicate.

# Same workflow as the github attestor; both are run together:
cilock run --step github-validation \
  --signer-file-key-path key.pem --outfile attestation.json --workingdir . \
  --attestations environment,git,github,github-action \
  -- echo "real GH Actions run" 

Validated alongside github in the same workflow run. Captures real GITHUB_RUN_ID, GITHUB_WORKFLOW, GITHUB_REPOSITORY, RUNNER_OS, etc. See the full real-data example at https://github.com/aflock-ai/attestor-compliance-examples/tree/main/20-github-action.

What it captures​

When to use​

Flags​

Output shape​

Gotchas​

CLI example​

See also​