GitHub Actions vs Visual Studio App Center

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GitHub Actions

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Visual Studio App Center

117
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Github Actions vs Visual Studio App Center: What are the differences?

Introduction

GitHub Actions and Visual Studio App Center are both popular tools used in software development to automate tasks and improve productivity. However, they have key differences that set them apart from each other. In this article, we will explore and highlight these differences.

  1. Platform Compatibility: GitHub Actions is specifically designed for GitHub repositories and seamlessly integrates with the GitHub ecosystem. On the other hand, Visual Studio App Center is a more versatile solution that supports multiple platforms including GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, and Azure DevOps. This makes Visual Studio App Center a better choice if you work with repositories hosted on different platforms.

  2. Supported Workflows: GitHub Actions is optimized for CI/CD workflows and provides native support for building, testing, and deploying software. It allows developers to define their workflows as code using YAML files. Visual Studio App Center, on the other hand, provides a comprehensive mobile app lifecycle management solution. It not only supports CI/CD workflows but also provides tools for distribution, crash reporting, and analytics. If you are primarily focused on mobile app development, Visual Studio App Center provides a more specialized set of features.

  3. Community Support: GitHub Actions benefits from the large and active GitHub community. Developers can easily find and share pre-defined workflows, actions, and integrations through the GitHub Marketplace. Visual Studio App Center also has a community, but it may not be as extensive as the GitHub ecosystem. If community support and the availability of ready-to-use workflows are important to you, GitHub Actions is the way to go.

  4. Customizability: GitHub Actions provides a flexible and customizable environment. Developers can use any programming language, runtime, or tool to build their workflows. They can also leverage the vast collection of actions available in the GitHub Marketplace or create their own custom actions. Visual Studio App Center, on the other hand, provides a more opinionated approach with built-in support for popular programming languages, frameworks, and platforms. If you prefer a more customized and flexible setup, GitHub Actions offers more options.

  5. Pricing Model: GitHub Actions offers a generous free tier with a certain limit on usage, and additional paid plans for higher usage requirements. Visual Studio App Center has a similar model, providing a free tier and paid plans based on usage and additional features. The specifics of pricing may vary, so it's important to evaluate the pricing structure of each tool to determine which one is more cost-effective for your specific needs.

  6. Maturity and Integration: GitHub Actions has been around since 2019 and has gained significant adoption in the developer community. It has matured over time and continuously introduces new features and improvements. Visual Studio App Center has a longer history, starting as Xamarin Test Cloud before being integrated into Visual Studio. It has a strong integration with Azure services and Microsoft ecosystem, making it an attractive choice for organizations heavily invested in Microsoft technologies.

In summary, GitHub Actions is more focused on CI/CD workflows for GitHub repositories with extensive community support and customizability, while Visual Studio App Center offers a broader mobile app lifecycle management solution supporting multiple platforms and stronger integration with Azure and Microsoft technologies. The choice between the two tools depends on your specific requirements, platform compatibility, and the level of customization needed.

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Pros of GitHub Actions
Pros of Visual Studio App Center
  • 8
    Integration with GitHub
  • 5
    Free
  • 3
    Easy to duplicate a workflow
  • 3
    Ready actions in Marketplace
  • 2
    Configs stored in .github
  • 2
    Docker Support
  • 2
    Read actions in Marketplace
  • 1
    Active Development Roadmap
  • 1
    Fast
  • 1
    Show error issues for mobile devices
  • 1
    Slack integration
  • 1
    Bug tracking integration
  • 1
    For Mobile apps diagnostics and tracking

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Cons of GitHub Actions
Cons of Visual Studio App Center
  • 5
    Lacking [skip ci]
  • 4
    Lacking allow failure
  • 3
    Lacking job specific badges
  • 2
    No ssh login to servers
  • 1
    No Deployment Projects
  • 1
    No manual launch
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    What is GitHub Actions?

    It makes it easy to automate all your software workflows, now with world-class CI/CD. Build, test, and deploy your code right from GitHub. Make code reviews, branch management, and issue triaging work the way you want.

    What is Visual Studio App Center?

    Automate the lifecycle of your iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS apps. Connect your repo and within minutes build in the cloud, test on thousands of real devices, distribute to beta testers and app stores, and monitor real-world usage with crash and analytics data. All in one place.

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    What are some alternatives to GitHub Actions and Visual Studio App Center?
    CircleCI
    Continuous integration and delivery platform helps software teams rapidly release code with confidence by automating the build, test, and deploy process. Offers a modern software development platform that lets teams ramp.
    Jenkins
    In a nutshell Jenkins CI is the leading open-source continuous integration server. Built with Java, it provides over 300 plugins to support building and testing virtually any project.
    Azure Pipelines
    Fast builds with parallel jobs and test execution. Use container jobs to create consistent and reliable builds with the exact tools you need. Create new containers with ease and push them to any registry.
    GitLab CI
    GitLab offers a continuous integration service. If you add a .gitlab-ci.yml file to the root directory of your repository, and configure your GitLab project to use a Runner, then each merge request or push triggers your CI pipeline.
    GitLab
    GitLab offers git repository management, code reviews, issue tracking, activity feeds and wikis. Enterprises install GitLab on-premise and connect it with LDAP and Active Directory servers for secure authentication and authorization. A single GitLab server can handle more than 25,000 users but it is also possible to create a high availability setup with multiple active servers.
    See all alternatives