[EDI] Actions variables (#56456)

Co-authored-by: Ben Ahmady <[email protected]>

Author: jc-clark

content/actions/concepts/workflows-and-actions/about-custom-actions.md

@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ Many people access {% data variables.product.github %} at a domain other than {%
 
 To ensure that your action is compatible with other platforms, do not use any hard-coded references to API URLs such as `https://api.github.com`. Instead, you can:
 
-* Use environment variables (see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/learn-github-actions/variables#default-environment-variables)):
+* Use environment variables (see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/reference/variables-reference#default-environment-variables)):
 
   * For the REST API, use the `GITHUB_API_URL` environment variable.
   * For GraphQL, use the `GITHUB_GRAPHQL_URL` environment variable.

content/actions/concepts/workflows-and-actions/index.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ versions:
   ghec: '*'
 children:
   - /about-workflows
+  - /variables
   - /avoiding-duplication
   - /about-custom-actions
   - /about-monitoring-workflows

content/actions/concepts/workflows-and-actions/variables.md

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: Variables
+intro: 'Learn about variables in {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflows.'
+versions:
+  fpt: '*'
+  ghes: '*'
+  ghec: '*'
+type: overview
+topics:
+  - Action development
+  - Fundamentals
+---
+
+## About
+
+Variables provide a way to store and reuse non-sensitive configuration information. You can store any configuration data such as compiler flags, usernames, or server names as variables. Variables are interpolated on the runner machine that runs your workflow. Commands that run in actions or workflow steps can create, read, and modify variables.
+
+You can set your own custom variables or use the default environment variables that {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} sets automatically.
+
+You can set a custom variable in two ways.
+
+* To define an environment variable for use in a single workflow, you can use the `env` key in the workflow file. For more information, see [Defining environment variables for a single workflow](/actions/how-tos/writing-workflows/choosing-what-your-workflow-does/store-information-in-variables#defining-environment-variables-for-a-single-workflow).
+* To define a configuration variable across multiple workflows, you can define it at the organization, repository, or environment level. For more information, see [Defining configuration variables for multiple workflows](/actions/how-tos/writing-workflows/choosing-what-your-workflow-does/store-information-in-variables#defining-configuration-variables-for-multiple-workflows).
+
+> [!WARNING]
+> By default, variables render unmasked in your build outputs. If you need greater security for sensitive information, such as passwords, use secrets instead. For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/security-for-github-actions/security-guides/about-secrets).
+
+For reference documentation, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/reference/variables-reference).

content/actions/how-tos/hosting-your-own-runners/managing-self-hosted-runners/running-scripts-before-or-after-a-job.md

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ The following scripting languages are supported:
 
 Your custom scripts can use the following features:
 
-* **Variables:** Scripts have access to the default variables. The full webhook event payload can be found in `GITHUB_EVENT_PATH`. For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/learn-github-actions/variables#default-environment-variables).
+* **Variables:** Scripts have access to the default variables. The full webhook event payload can be found in `GITHUB_EVENT_PATH`. For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/reference/variables-reference#default-environment-variables).
 * **Workflow commands:** Scripts can use workflow commands. For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/using-workflows/workflow-commands-for-github-actions). Scripts can also use environment files. For more information, see [Environment files](/actions/using-workflows/workflow-commands-for-github-actions#environment-files).
 
 Your script files must use a file extension for the relevant language, such as `.sh` or `.ps1`, in order to run successfully.

content/actions/how-tos/migrating-to-github-actions/manually-migrating-to-github-actions/migrating-from-circleci-to-github-actions.md

@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ For more information about the tools and packages available on {% data variables
 
 CircleCI and {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} support setting variables in the configuration file and creating secrets using the CircleCI or {% data variables.product.github %} UI.
 
-For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/learn-github-actions/variables#default-environment-variables) and [AUTOTITLE](/actions/security-guides/using-secrets-in-github-actions).
+For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/reference/variables-reference#default-environment-variables) and [AUTOTITLE](/actions/security-guides/using-secrets-in-github-actions).
 
 ## Caching
 

content/actions/how-tos/migrating-to-github-actions/manually-migrating-to-github-actions/migrating-from-travis-ci-to-github-actions.md

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ Travis CI lets you set variables and share them between stages. Similarly, {% da
 
 ### Default variables
 
-Travis CI and {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} both include default environment variables that you can use in your YAML files. For {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, you can see these listed in [AUTOTITLE](/actions/learn-github-actions/variables#default-environment-variables).
+Travis CI and {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} both include default environment variables that you can use in your YAML files. For {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}, you can see these listed in [AUTOTITLE](/actions/reference/variables-reference#default-environment-variables).
 
 ### Parallel job processing
 

content/actions/how-tos/using-github-hosted-runners/using-github-hosted-runners/about-github-hosted-runners.md

@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ To ensure proper communications for {% data variables.product.github %}-hosted r
 | `workspace` | `GITHUB_WORKSPACE` | Actions and shell commands execute in this directory. An action can modify the contents of this directory, which subsequent actions can access. |
 | `workflow/event.json` | `GITHUB_EVENT_PATH` | The `POST` payload of the webhook event that triggered the workflow. {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} rewrites this each time an action executes to isolate file content between actions.
 
-For a list of the environment variables {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} creates for each workflow, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/learn-github-actions/variables#default-environment-variables).
+For a list of the environment variables {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} creates for each workflow, see [AUTOTITLE](/actions/reference/variables-reference#default-environment-variables).
 
 ### Docker container filesystem