GHA Cache Server

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Getting Started ​

The cache server is available as a Docker image and can be deployed via Docker Compose or Kubernetes.

1. Deployment ​

Docker ​

docker-compose.yml
yaml
services:
  cache-server:
    image: ghcr.io/falcondev-oss/github-actions-cache-server:latest
    ports:
      - '3000:3000'
    environment:
      API_BASE_URL: http://localhost:3000
    volumes:
      - cache-data:/app/.data

volumes:
  cache-data:

Kubernetes with Helm ​

You can deploy the cache server in Kubernetes using the Helm chart hosted in a OCI repository.

Prerequisites ​

  • Helm version 3.8.0 or later (required for OCI support)
  • A running Kubernetes cluster

Steps ​


1. Install the Helm chart ​
bash
helm install <release-name> oci://ghcr.io/falcondev-oss/charts/github-actions-cache-server

Replace <release-name> with your desired release name (e.g., cache-server). This will deploy the cache server with all default values.

2. Verify the deployment ​
bash
kubectl get deployments
kubectl get svc

Ensure the deployment <release-name>-github-actions-cache-server is running and the service is accessible.

Customization ​

To customize the deployment, you can override the default values by creating a values.yaml file.

For all possible configuration options, refer to the values.yaml file.

For more details on customizing Helm charts, see the Customizing the Chart Before Installing.

Then install the chart with your custom values:

bash
helm install <release-name> oci://ghcr.io/falcondev-oss/charts/github-actions-cache-server -f values.yaml

Environment Variables ​

API_BASE_URL ​

  • Example: http://localhost:3000

The base URL of your cache server. This needs to be accessible by your runners as it is used for making API requests and downloading cached files.

STORAGE_DRIVER ​

  • Default: filesystem

The storage driver to use for storing cache data. For more information, see Storage Drivers.

DB_DRIVER ​

  • Default sqlite

The database driver to use for storing cache metadata. For more information, see Database Drivers.

ENABLE_DIRECT_DOWNLOADS ​

  • Default: false

If set to true, will send a signed URL to the runner. The runner can then download the cache directly from the storage provider. This is useful if you have a large cache and don't want to proxy the download through the cache server.

WARNING

The actions runner needs to be able to reach the storage provider directly to use direct downloads.

CACHE_CLEANUP_OLDER_THAN_DAYS ​

  • Default: 90

The number of days to keep stale cache data and metadata before deleting it. Set to 0 to disable cache cleanup.

CACHE_CLEANUP_CRON ​

  • Default: 0 0 * * *

The cron schedule for running the cache cleanup job.

UPLOAD_CLEANUP_CRON ​

  • Default: */10 * * * *

The cron schedule for running the upload cleanup job. This job will delete any dangling (failed or incomplete) uploads.

NITRO_PORT ​

  • Default: 3000

The port the server should listen on.

TEMP_DIR ​

  • Default: os temp dir

The directory to use for temporary files.

2. Self-Hosted Runner Setup ​

Set the environment variable ACTIONS_RESULTS_URL on your runner to the Cache Server API URL.

WARNING

Ensure ACTIONS_RESULTS_URL ends with a trailing slash.

Because the runner does not allow setting the ACTIONS_RESULTS_URL yourself, we need to patch the runner binary/source to allow configuring it.

You can patch the runner binary yourself or use our forked runner image that has its source code modified.

We provide a forked runner image that has the source code modified to allow setting ACTIONS_RESULTS_URL without patching the binary.

Binary Patch ​

dockerfile
FROM ghcr.io/actions/actions-runner:latest
# Modify runner binary to retain custom ACTIONS_RESULTS_URL
RUN sed -i 's/\x41\x00\x43\x00\x54\x00\x49\x00\x4F\x00\x4E\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x52\x00\x45\x00\x53\x00\x55\x00\x4C\x00\x54\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x55\x00\x52\x00\x4C\x00/\x41\x00\x43\x00\x54\x00\x49\x00\x4F\x00\x4E\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x52\x00\x45\x00\x53\x00\x55\x00\x4C\x00\x54\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x4F\x00\x52\x00\x4C\x00/g' /home/runner/bin/Runner.Worker.dll
bash
sed -i 's/\x41\x00\x43\x00\x54\x00\x49\x00\x4F\x00\x4E\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x52\x00\x45\x00\x53\x00\x55\x00\x4C\x00\x54\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x55\x00\x52\x00\x4C\x00/\x41\x00\x43\x00\x54\x00\x49\x00\x4F\x00\x4E\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x52\x00\x45\x00\x53\x00\x55\x00\x4C\x00\x54\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x4F\x00\x52\x00\x4C\x00/g' /path_to_your_runner/bin/Runner.Worker.dll
bash
gsed -i 's/\x41\x00\x43\x00\x54\x00\x49\x00\x4F\x00\x4E\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x52\x00\x45\x00\x53\x00\x55\x00\x4C\x00\x54\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x55\x00\x52\x00\x4C\x00/\x41\x00\x43\x00\x54\x00\x49\x00\x4F\x00\x4E\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x52\x00\x45\x00\x53\x00\x55\x00\x4C\x00\x54\x00\x53\x00\x5F\x00\x4F\x00\x52\x00\x4C\x00/g' /path_to_your_runner/bin/Runner.Worker.dll
bash
[byte[]] -split (((Get-Content -Path ./bin/Runner.Worker.dll -Encoding Byte) | ForEach-Object ToString X2) -join '' -Replace '41004300540049004F004E0053005F0052004500530055004C00540053005F00550052004C00','41004300540049004F004E0053005F0052004500530055004C00540053005F004F0052004C00' -Replace '..', '0x$& ') | Set-Content -Path /path_to_your_runner/bin/Runner.Worker.dll -Encoding Byte

This patch prevents the runner from overwriting your custom ACTIONS_RESULTS_URL.

For more information, see How it works.

INFO

It is recommended to install zstd on your runners for faster compression and decompression.

3. Usage ​

There is no need to change any of your workflows! 🔥

If you've set up your self-hosted runners correctly, they will automatically use the cache server for caching.