GitHub released its first large-scale public GraphQL API in 2016, providing developers with robust tools to create integrations, retrieve data, and automate workflows. The GitHub Actions tool, introduced in 2018, allows developers to automate CI/CD and project management using YAML files. Developers can use the GitHub GraphQL API within GitHub Actions workflow files to automate their workflows. GraphQL was originally developed by Facebook as a way to reduce response payload. It allows developers to specify fields needed for a query, receiving only those fields in the response. The GitHub GraphQL API provides access to repository data, including issue numbers and states. Developers can create workflows using YAML files, trigger them by events such as branch or tag creation, and use environment variables to store information. To make calls on the GraphQL API, developers need a GitHub authorization bearer token for their repository. They can set up this token as an Actions secret and use it in their workflow. The GitHub GraphQL API can be used to automate tasks such as reopening issues by creating branches for them. More advanced examples of using the GitHub GraphQL API with GitHub Actions include moving issues into specific columns, connecting branches to issues, and automating PRs.