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metdata syntax page should be renamed to clarify that it's the actions syntax page #44006

Description

@jsoref

Code of Conduct

What article on docs.github.com is affected?

https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/metadata-syntax

What part(s) of the article would you like to see updated?

The title and enough bits to make it easy to distinguish the actions syntax from the workflow syntax. Otherwise, you're stuck wondering "Metadata syntax reference" for what?

Additional information

https://docs.github.com/?search-overlay-open=true&search-overlay-input=actions+syntax+metadata

Image

It's really hard to be sure that the first hit is the one I want. Often I end up with the second one which is not what I want.

View more results yields a slightly better page, but the breadcrumbs show just how confusing this is:

GitHub Actions / Reference / Workflows and actions /

Metadata syntax reference
Metadata syntax reference You can create actions to perform tasks in your repository. If you're making a custom action, it will require a metadata file

GitHub Actions / Reference / Workflows and actions /

Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions
Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions A workflow is a configurable automated process made up of one or more jobs. You must create a YAML file to define your

GitHub Actions / Tutorials / Create actions /

Creating a JavaScript action
Creating a JavaScript action In this tutorial, you'll learn how to build a JavaScript action using the actions toolkit. Introduction In this guide, you'll

GitHub Actions / Tutorials / Use containerized services /

Creating a Docker container action
Creating a Docker container action In this tutorial, you'll learn how to build a Docker container action. Introduction In this guide, you'll learn about

GitHub Actions / Tutorials / Migrate to GitHub Actions / Manual migrations /

Migrating from Travis CI to GitHub Actions
Migrating from Travis CI to GitHub Actions GitHub Actions and Travis CI share multiple similarities, which helps make it relatively straightforward to

Security and code quality / Tutorials / Secure your dependencies /

Automating Dependabot with GitHub Actions
Automating Dependabot with GitHub Actions Examples of how you can use GitHub Actions to automate common Dependabot related tasks. This article explains

GitHub Actions / Concepts / Workflows and actions /

About custom actions
About custom actions Actions are individual tasks that you can combine to create jobs and customize your workflow. You can create your own actions, or

Activity

  1. added
    contentThis issue or pull request belongs to the Docs Content team
    on Apr 28, 2026
  2. added
    triageDo not begin working on this issue until triaged by the team
    on Apr 28, 2026
  3. added
    github_actionsPull requests that update GitHub Actions content
    and removed
    triageDo not begin working on this issue until triaged by the team
    on Apr 29, 2026
  4. Sharra-writes commented on Apr 29, 2026

    @Sharra-writes
    Contributor

    @jsoref I'll ask about changing the title to be clearer. The team's usually pretty open to reworking titles.

  5. Sharra-writes commented on May 6, 2026

    @Sharra-writes
    Contributor

    @jsoref The docs team doesn't care that much either way, but I realized we already talked to the Actions team about this article, because they're more directly involved in references like this, and they didn't want it changed. Sorry, this is one where we have to defer to them.

  6. essicajaybarron-stack commented on May 6, 2026

    @essicajaybarron-stack
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