claylo/actionista

GitHub Actions agent skill - helps create, review, and optimize workflows with up-to-date action versions and best practices

100

Quality

100%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

Pending

No eval scenarios have been run

Securityby

Passed

No known issues

Caching

Name: claylo/actionista
Rating: 100 (1 reviews)
Author: claylo

Speed up workflows by caching dependencies and build outputs.

Built-in Caching

Many setup actions include built-in caching:

Node.js

- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
  with:
    node-version: '20'
    cache: 'npm'           # Also: 'yarn', 'pnpm'
    cache-dependency-path: '**/package-lock.json'

Python

- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
  with:
    python-version: '3.12'
    cache: 'pip'           # Also: 'pipenv', 'poetry'
    cache-dependency-path: '**/requirements*.txt'

Go

- uses: actions/setup-go@v5
  with:
    go-version: '1.22'
    cache: true            # Caches go mod and build cache

Java

- uses: actions/setup-java@v4
  with:
    java-version: '21'
    distribution: 'temurin'
    cache: 'maven'         # Also: 'gradle', 'sbt'

actions/cache

For custom caching needs:

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: npm-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
    restore-keys: |
      npm-${{ runner.os }}-

Required Inputs

Input	Description
`path`	Path(s) to cache
`key`	Unique cache key

Optional Inputs

Input	Description	Default
`restore-keys`	Fallback keys	None
`enableCrossOsArchive`	Cross-OS restore	`false`
`fail-on-cache-miss`	Fail if no match	`false`
`lookup-only`	Check without restore	`false`
`save-always`	Save even on failure	`false`

Cache Keys

Hash Files

key: npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
key: pip-${{ hashFiles('**/requirements.txt', '**/setup.py') }}
key: cargo-${{ hashFiles('**/Cargo.lock') }}
key: go-${{ hashFiles('**/go.sum') }}

OS-Specific

key: npm-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

Branch-Specific

key: build-${{ github.ref }}-${{ github.sha }}

Matrix-Specific

key: npm-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.node }}-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

Restore Keys

Fallback to partial matches:

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: npm-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
    restore-keys: |
      npm-${{ runner.os }}-
      npm-

Keys are tried in order until a prefix match is found.

Cache Hit Detection

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  id: cache
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

- name: Install dependencies
  if: steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
  run: npm ci

Common Cache Paths

Node.js

path: |
  ~/.npm
  node_modules

pnpm

- run: pnpm store path
  id: pnpm-store

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  with:
    path: ${{ steps.pnpm-store.outputs.stdout }}
    key: pnpm-${{ hashFiles('**/pnpm-lock.yaml') }}

Python

path: |
  ~/.cache/pip
  .venv

Rust

path: |
  ~/.cargo/bin/
  ~/.cargo/registry/index/
  ~/.cargo/registry/cache/
  ~/.cargo/git/db/
  target/

Or use Swatinem/rust-cache:

- uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2

Go

path: |
  ~/go/pkg/mod
  ~/.cache/go-build

Gradle

path: |
  ~/.gradle/caches
  ~/.gradle/wrapper

Maven

path: ~/.m2/repository

Multiple Paths

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  with:
    path: |
      ~/.npm
      ~/.cache/Cypress
      node_modules
    key: deps-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

Save on Failure

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
    save-always: true  # Save even if job fails

Separate Save/Restore

For more control:

- uses: actions/cache/restore@v5
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

# ... do work ...

- uses: actions/cache/save@v5
  if: always()
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

Cache Limits

Size limit: 10 GB per repository
Retention: 7 days unused
Eviction: LRU when limit reached

Cross-OS Caching

Enable for portable caches:

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
    enableCrossOsArchive: true  # Works across OS

Best Practices

1. Use Specific Keys

# Good: Specific to content
key: npm-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

# Bad: Too broad
key: npm-cache

2. Include OS in Key

key: build-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/*.go') }}

3. Use Restore Keys

restore-keys: |
  npm-${{ runner.os }}-
  npm-

4. Cache After Install

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  id: cache
  with:
    path: node_modules
    key: modules-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

- run: npm ci
  if: steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'

5. Don't Cache Source

Cache dependencies, not source code.

6. Consider Build Outputs

- uses: actions/cache@v5
  with:
    path: |
      ~/.npm
      dist/       # Cached build output
    key: build-${{ github.sha }}

Troubleshooting

Cache Not Restoring

Check key matches exactly
Verify path exists
Check for typos in hashFiles pattern

Cache Size Too Large

Cache only essential directories

Exclude unnecessary files:

path: |
  node_modules
  !node_modules/.cache

Cache Key Conflicts

Include more context in key (OS, matrix values)
Use more specific hash patterns

claylo/actionista

patterns-caching.md.css-3qkkll{font-size:var(--chakra-font-sizes-sm);font-weight:var(--chakra-font-weights-normal);color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-300);}skills/actionista/references/

Caching

Built-in Caching

Node.js

Python

Go

Java

actions/cache

Required Inputs

Optional Inputs

Cache Keys

Hash Files

OS-Specific

Branch-Specific

Matrix-Specific

Restore Keys

Cache Hit Detection

Common Cache Paths

Node.js

pnpm

Python

Rust

Go

Gradle

Maven

Multiple Paths

Save on Failure

Separate Save/Restore

Cache Limits

Cross-OS Caching

Best Practices

1. Use Specific Keys

2. Include OS in Key

3. Use Restore Keys

4. Cache After Install

5. Don't Cache Source

6. Consider Build Outputs

Troubleshooting

Cache Not Restoring

Cache Size Too Large

Cache Key Conflicts

patterns-caching.mdskills/actionista/references/