GitHub Enterprise Server 3.4 is generally available

March 15, 2022: GitHub Enterprise Server 3.4 has moved from release candidate to general availability! We’ve updated this announcement accordingly.

GitHub Enterprise Server 3.4 is now generally available. With a host of improvements for security, compliance, and administration teams, this update makes developing software even easier for everyone.

It brings more than 60 new features, including:

• Reusable workflows for GitHub Actions (#257)
• Dependabot security updates (#343)
• Ruby support for GitHub Advanced Security’s code scanning feature (#136)
• Productivity enhancements for developers, including keyboard shortcuts, auto-generated release notes, and more

Are you using the latest GitHub Enterprise Server version? Use the Upgrade Assistant to find the upgrade path from your current version of GitHub Enterprise Server to your desired version.

Dependabot keeps code secure and dependencies fresh

Dependabot is now available in GitHub Enterprise Server 3.4 as a public beta. Dependabot security updates and Dependabot version updates for popular ecosystems helps your organization stay secure. Here’s more:

• With Dependabot version updates, users can add a Dependabot configuration file to the repository to enable Dependabot to create pull requests when a new version of a tracked dependency is released.
• With Dependabot security updates, users can toggle a repository setting to enable Dependabot to create pull requests when GitHub detects a vulnerability in one of the dependencies within the dependency graph for the repository.

Read more about setting up Dependabot security and version updates.

GitHub Advanced Security enhancements

GitHub Advanced Security’s code scanning now supports Ruby analysis and is available in public beta. The depth of the Python, Java, and JavaScript analysis has improved significantly by recognising more libraries and frameworks. These libraries and frameworks are carefully selected and prioritized based on their popularity and through user feedback.

There are some helpful updates to the GitHub APIs too. The new enterprise-level secret scanning REST API now supports reporting the location of secrets, and the new endpoint will surface details of a secret’s first detection within a file, including the secret’s location and commit SHA. There are also various improvements to the code scanning API.

Build a library of reusable workflows

With the introduction of reusable workflows, users can use the entire workflow as if it were a GitHub Action, so they can build even faster. Instead of copying and pasting workflow definitions across repositories, users can reference an existing workflow with a single line of configuration. Reusable workflows also help your organization achieve standardization and compliance benefits across the enterprise.

Learn more about reusable workflows, or check out this awesome guide on how to start using reusable workflows with GitHub Actions.

Administrator updates

A new “Manage Access” tab in repository settings simplifies the user and team access management and helps admins maintain the right role assignments. Performance enhancements mean repository access management works effectively on even the biggest repositories.

What else is new?

Review not required

Requiring pull requests and requiring approving reviews are now separate options for protecting a branch, giving you flexibility to choose what is best for you and your branches.

Participants go to the top

The @mention suggester now makes smarter recommendations. Users who have participated will be listed ahead of other suggestions making it faster for you to find the right people.

Give your organization a README page

Organizations can now publish a README.md to talk about the work they are doing, invite contributions, or guide readers to specific repositories.

Try it out today

To learn more about GitHub Enterprise Server 3.4, read the release notes, and download it now.

Not using GitHub Enterprise Server already? Start a free trial to innovate faster with the platform developers know and love.

Written by

Ian Marsh

@i-marsh