When a pattern matches the `branches-ignore` pattern, the workflow will not run. The patterns defined in `branches-ignore` are evaluated against the Git ref's name. For example, the following workflow would run whenever there is a `pull_request` event unless the pull request is targeting:

* A branch named `mona/octocat` (`refs/heads/mona/octocat`)
* A branch whose name matches `releases/**-alpha`, like `releases/beta/3-alpha` (`refs/heads/releases/beta/3-alpha`)

```yaml
on:
  pull_request:
    # Sequence of patterns matched against refs/heads
    branches-ignore:
      - 'mona/octocat'
      - 'releases/**-alpha'
```