Action Version Validation Reference

This reference provides current recommended action versions and validation procedures for GitHub Actions workflows.

Current Recommended Versions (December 2025)

Version Validation Process

Step 1: Extract Action References

For each uses: statement in the workflow, extract:

• Action name (e.g., actions/checkout)
• Version (e.g., v4, v4.1.1, or SHA like b4ffde65f46...)

Step 2: Compare Against Recommended Versions

For each action found:

1. Look up the action in the table above
2. Compare the workflow version against the Current Version
3. Flag if using a version older than Minimum Supported

Step 3: Report Findings

Generate warnings for:

• OUTDATED: Action using older major version (e.g., checkout@v4 when v6 is current)
• DEPRECATED: Action using version below minimum supported
• UP-TO-DATE: Action using current or acceptable version

Example Version Validation Output

=== Action Version Check ===

actions/checkout@v6.0.0 - UP-TO-DATE (current: v6)
actions/setup-java@v4.2.1 - UP-TO-DATE (current: v4)
docker/build-push-action@v5.3.0 - OUTDATED (current: v6, using: v5)
actions/upload-artifact@v3 - DEPRECATED (minimum: v4, using: v3)

Recommendation: Update docker/build-push-action to v6 for provenance attestation support
Recommendation: Update actions/upload-artifact to v4 (v3 is deprecated)

Using the Version Check Flag

# Check action versions in workflow
bash scripts/validate_workflow.sh --check-versions .github/workflows/ci.yml

# Full validation including version check
bash scripts/validate_workflow.sh .github/workflows/ci.yml

Node.js Runtime Deprecation Timeline

GitHub Actions runtime requirements:

• Node.js 12: EOL April 2022 - Actions using this are deprecated
• Node.js 16: EOL September 2023 - Actions using this are deprecated
• Node.js 20: EOL April 2026 - Current runtime for most actions
• Node.js 22/24: Current LTS - Newer actions support these

SHA Pinning Best Practice

For security, pin actions to specific commit SHAs:

# Recommended: SHA pinning with version comment
- uses: actions/checkout@1af3b93b6815bc44a9784bd300feb67ff0d1eeb3  # v6.0.0
- uses: actions/setup-node@2028fbc5c25fe9cf00d9f06a71cc4710d4507903  # v6.0.0

# Acceptable: Major version tag
- uses: actions/checkout@v6

# Not recommended: Branch reference
- uses: actions/checkout@main

Cache Storage Updates (November 2025)

GitHub Actions cache storage expanded beyond the 10 GB limit:

New Features:

• Pay-as-you-go model: Repositories can store more than 10 GB of cache data
• Free tier: All repositories continue to receive 10 GB at no additional cost
• New management policies:
  • Cache size eviction limit (GB): Control maximum cache size
  • Cache retention limit (days): Set how long caches are retained

Pricing:

• First 10 GB per repository: FREE
• Additional storage: Comparable to Git LFS and Codespaces storage
• Requires Pro, Team, or Enterprise account to exceed 10 GB limit

Cache best practices:

• Monitor cache usage in repository settings
• Configure eviction limits to control costs
• Use appropriate retention periods for your workflow
• Clean up old caches regularly
• Consider cache key strategies to avoid cache bloat

Validation Checklist

When validating workflows, ALWAYS:

1. Run the validation script
2. Manually review uses: statements against the version table
3. Warn about any outdated or deprecated versions
4. Suggest specific upgrade paths with SHA pinning