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Answer: Use jobs.<job_id>.strategy.matrix to define a matrix of different job configurations. A job will run for each possible combination of the variables. (S2)

Shaping the matrix

• Specify multiple variables to create a multi-dimensional matrix. (S2)
• To expand existing matrix configurations or to add new configurations, use jobs.<job_id>.strategy.matrix.include. The value of include is a list of objects. (S1)
• To remove specific configurations defined in the matrix, use jobs.<job_id>.strategy.matrix.exclude. (S1)
• You can use the output from one job to define matrices for multiple jobs. (S1)
• A matrix will generate a maximum of 256 jobs per workflow run, for both GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners. (S2)

Running and failures

• To control how job failures are handled, use jobs.<job_id>.strategy.fail-fast and jobs.<job_id>.continue-on-error. (S1)
• To set the maximum number of jobs that can run simultaneously when using a matrix job strategy, use jobs.<job_id>.strategy.max-parallel. (S1)
• You can allow specific jobs in a job matrix to fail without failing the workflow run. (S2)
• The jobs.<job_id>.if condition is evaluated before jobs.<job_id>.strategy.matrix is applied. (S2)
• Actions does not guarantee the order that matrix jobs will run in. (S2)

Claims

• id: C1 claim: A matrix job runs once per combination of variables. source: S2 evidence: "A job will run for each possible combination of the variables."
• id: C2 claim: include adds or expands matrix configurations. source: S1 evidence: "The value of include is a list of objects."
• id: C3 claim: A matrix generates at most 256 jobs per run. source: S2 evidence: "A matrix will generate a maximum of 256 jobs per workflow run."
• id: C4 claim: The job if condition is evaluated before the matrix is applied. source: S2 evidence: "The jobs.<job_id>.if condition is evaluated before jobs.<job_id>.strategy.matrix is applied."

Sources

• [S1] Running variations of jobs in a workflow - GitHub Docs. GitHub Docs. https://docs.github.com/en/actions/how-tos/writing-workflows/choosing-what-your-workflow-does/running-variations-of-jobs-in-a-workflow . License: CC BY 4.0 (github/docs). Accessed 2026-11-04.
• [S2] Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions - GitHub Docs. GitHub Docs. https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/workflow-syntax . License: CC BY 4.0 (github/docs). Accessed 2026-11-04.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted).

@misc{iil_note_14hr8d06,
  author = {{iinventedlight}},
  title = {{Matrix jobs in GitHub Actions}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-04},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/github-actions-matrix/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:14hr8d06. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}

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