Convert .gitlab-ci.yml to GitHub Actions workflow YAML in your browser. Translates stages, jobs, before_script, cache, artifacts, parallel matrix, and rules. Side-by-side diff, audit log, no upload.
GitLab CI organizes pipelines around stages and scripts; GitHub Actions organizes them around jobs and reusable Actions. Translating between the two is mostly mechanical, with two big exceptions: GitLab's implicit checkout becomes an explicit `actions/checkout@v4`, and GitLab's shell-script-only `script:` blocks must sometimes be split into multiple "step" entries (one per shell command) for clean GitHub Actions output.
The converter handles `stages`, `needs`, `rules`, `only/except`, `parallel:matrix`, `cache`, `artifacts`, `services`, and `variables`. It rewrites GitLab variables (`$CI_*`) to GitHub expressions (`${{ github.* }}`), and translates rule-based branch/tag filtering into the corresponding `on:` triggers and step-level `if:` conditions.
| Concept | GitLab CI | GitHub Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | workflow: rules: - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push" | on: push: |
| Stages | stages: [test, deploy] | (implicit via `needs:`) |
| Job | test: stage: test script: [npm test] | jobs: test: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - run: npm test |
| Image | image: node:20 | container: node:20 |
| Cache | cache: key: foo paths: [node_modules] | - uses: actions/cache@v4 with: key: foo path: node_modules |
| Artifact | artifacts: paths: [dist] | - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4 with: name: dist path: dist |
| Variables | variables: FOO: bar | env: FOO: bar |
| Conditional | rules: - if: $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "main" | if: github.ref_name == 'main' |
Add an explicit checkout
GitLab clones automatically; GitHub Actions does not. The converter prepends `actions/checkout@v4` to every job that lacks one.
Stages disappear
GitHub Actions has no notion of stages. The converter encodes stage order via `needs:` — the resulting graph is equivalent but the visualisation differs.
before_script becomes step lines
GitLab `before_script:` lines are inlined as the first runs of the job's `steps:`, since there is no GitHub-level concept of before_script.
parallel:matrix → strategy.matrix
The converter translates `parallel: matrix:` into GitHub Actions `strategy.matrix`. If you used numeric `parallel: 5`, it becomes `strategy.matrix.shard: [1,2,3,4,5]`.
Manual jobs need workflow_dispatch
A GitLab job with `when: manual` becomes a GitHub Actions trigger of type `workflow_dispatch` plus a step-level conditional. The converter flags this for review.
GitLab job becomes a single GitHub job with explicit checkout.
stages:
- test
test:
stage: test
image: node:20
script:
- npm ci
- npm testname: CI
on:
push: {}
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
container: node:20
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: npm ci
- run: npm testStage order encoded via needs:; rules become a top-level on: trigger plus step-level if:.
stages:
- build
- deploy
build:
stage: build
image: node:20
script:
- npm ci
- npm run build
artifacts:
paths: [dist/]
deploy:
stage: deploy
needs: [build]
rules:
- if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"'
script:
- aws s3 sync dist/ s3://my-bucketname: CI
on:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
container: node:20
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: npm ci
- run: npm run build
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: build
path: dist/
deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
needs: [build]
if: github.ref_name == 'main'
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
with:
name: build
- run: aws s3 sync dist/ s3://my-bucketGitLab `include:` (local files, project includes, remote URLs) is not auto-resolved. The converter operates on a single flattened YAML — paste the resolved YAML if your pipeline uses includes.
Job templates extended via `extends:` are flagged for manual review. Inline the template into the job before converting, or replicate the template via a GitHub composite action after conversion.
GitLab `services:` (e.g. postgres:15) become GitHub `services:` containers. The converter preserves the alias and image; you may need to adjust the env vars consumed by your scripts.
GitLab's `$CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD` has no GitHub equivalent. Use `${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}` for GitHub Container Registry, or create a personal-access-token secret for Docker Hub.
YAML Formatter
Format and validate YAML. Convert YAML to JSON or JSON to YAML. Supports 2 and 4 space indentation.
Cron Builder
Visual builder for cron-job schedules.
Gitignore Generator
Generate .gitignore files for any language, framework, or IDE — 100+ templates, 100% client-side.
JSON Schema Generator
Generate a JSON Schema from one or more sample JSONs — drafts 2020-12, 2019-09, 7, 6, 4. Detects formats (date-time, email, uuid, ipv4, uri), extracts $defs, validates with AJV, and exports to YAML, TypeScript, and Zod. 100% in your browser.
AI Coding Rules
Curated rules-file library and generator for Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Cline, Aider, Continue, and Cody. Browse 20 hand-crafted .cursorrules / CLAUDE.md / copilot-instructions.md files for popular stacks, build a custom one with the wizard, or convert any rules file between AI-tool formats.
lockYour YAML stays in your browser — nothing is uploaded. Share links use the URL fragment, which is never sent to a server.