GitHub Actions if condition always runs (string vs expression)

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

GitHub Actions treats a non-empty if value as a truthy string unless it is a real expression. Writing if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' without \${{ }} can still evaluate, but a malformed or quoted condition silently becomes "always run".

What this error means

A step or job that should be conditional runs on every event. There is no error; the condition is just always true because it is parsed as a constant string.

# This ALWAYS runs - the whole thing is a literal string, not evaluated
if: "github.event_name == 'push' && success()"

Common causes

Condition wrapped so it reads as a literal

Quoting the entire condition or omitting expression syntax can turn it into a constant truthy string.

Non-empty string is truthy

Any non-empty if value that is not a false expression evaluates as true.

How to fix it

Write a proper expression condition

1. Use the bare expression form: if: github.event_name == 'push'.
2. Or wrap explicitly: if: \${{ github.event_name == 'push' && success() }}.
3. Do not quote the whole condition string.

steps:
  - name: Deploy
    if: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && success() }}
    run: ./deploy.sh

How to prevent it

• Prefer the \${{ }} form for non-trivial conditions to make intent explicit.
• Test conditions on a branch and confirm the step skips when expected.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions