Setup buildcache GitHub Action

This GitHub Action installs buildcache and adds it to the PATH for both Windows and Linux runners.

Features

• 🚀 Supports both Linux and Windows runners
• 🔧 Optional version specification (uses latest by default)
• ✅ Automatically adds buildcache to PATH
• 🧹 Cleans up temporary files after installation

Usage

Basic Usage (Latest Version)

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v4
  
  - name: Setup buildcache
    uses: CeetronSolutions/setup-buildcache-action@v1
  
  - name: Build your project
    run: |
      # Your build commands here
      # buildcache will be available in PATH

Specify Version

steps:
  - name: Setup buildcache
    uses: CeetronSolutions/setup-buildcache-action@v1
    with:
      version: v0.31.5

Multi-Platform Build

jobs:
  build:
    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Setup buildcache
        uses: CeetronSolutions/setup-buildcache-action@v1
      
      - name: Configure buildcache
        run: |
          buildcache -s  # Show statistics
          buildcache -z  # Zero statistics
      
      - name: Build
        run: |
          # Your build commands

Inputs

Input	Description	Required	Default
version	buildcache version to install (e.g., v0.31.5, v0.28.5). If not specified, uses latest release.	No	latest

Supported Platforms

• ✅ Linux (ubuntu-latest, ubuntu-22.04, ubuntu-20.04)
• ✅ Windows (windows-latest, windows-2022, windows-2019)

Download URL Compatibility

The action automatically handles different download URL formats based on the buildcache version:

Linux:

• v0.31.4 and later: Uses buildcache-linux-amd64.tar.gz format from releases downloads
• v0.30.0 to v0.31.3: Uses buildcache-linux.tar.gz format from releases downloads
• v0.29.x and earlier: Uses buildcache-linux.tar.gz format from GitLab package registry

Windows:

• v0.30.0 and later: Uses buildcache-windows.zip format from releases downloads
• v0.29.x and earlier: Uses buildcache-windows.zip format from GitLab package registry

This ensures compatibility across all buildcache versions without manual intervention. If a specific version fails to download, the action will provide clear error messages with links to check available releases.

Installation Location

• Linux: $HOME/.local/buildcache-{version}/ or $HOME/.local/buildcache-{version}/bin/ (added to PATH)
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.local\buildcache-{version}\ or %USERPROFILE%\.local\buildcache-{version}\bin\ (added to PATH)

The action extracts buildcache to a version-specific directory in the user's home folder and adds the appropriate binary directory to PATH. This approach:

• Avoids requiring administrator privileges for binary installation
• Supports multiple buildcache versions simultaneously
• Keeps installations isolated and manageable
• Automatically installs required system dependencies (OpenSSL libraries on Linux)

Using buildcache with CMake

After installing buildcache, you can use it with CMake by setting the compiler launcher:

- name: Setup buildcache
  uses: CeetronSolutions/setup-buildcache-action@v1

- name: Configure CMake with buildcache
  run: |
    cmake -B build \
      -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=buildcache \
      -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=buildcache

- name: Build
  run: cmake --build build

Cache Configuration

To persist buildcache between workflow runs, you can use GitHub's cache action:

- name: Cache buildcache
  uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: |
      ~/.buildcache
    key: ${{ runner.os }}-buildcache-${{ github.sha }}
    restore-keys: |
      ${{ runner.os }}-buildcache-

- name: Setup buildcache
  uses: CeetronSolutions/setup-buildcache-action@v1

- name: Configure buildcache
  run: |
    buildcache -M 2G  # Set max cache size to 2GB

Example Output

Getting latest buildcache release...
Latest version: v0.28.1
Installing buildcache v0.28.1 for Linux...
buildcache version 0.28.1

Troubleshooting

Version not found

If you specify a version that doesn't exist, the action will fail. Check the releases page for available versions.

Permission errors on Linux

The action uses sudo to install buildcache to /usr/local/bin on Linux. This should work on GitHub-hosted runners by default.

Testing

This action includes comprehensive tests that run automatically on every push and pull request.

Test Coverage

• ✅ Latest version installation - Tests installation using latest version on Linux and Windows
• ✅ Specific version installation - Tests installation of specific versions (e.g., v0.31.5)
• ✅ Error handling - Tests invalid version formats and non-existent versions
• ✅ Cross-platform support - Tests on both Ubuntu and Windows runners
• ✅ Installation paths - Verifies buildcache is accessible via PATH and installation includes version info
• ✅ Multiple installations - Tests upgrade scenarios
• ✅ URL format compatibility - Tests both legacy (≤v0.31.3) and new (v0.31.4+) download URL formats
• ✅ Version compatibility - Tests with various buildcache versions including older releases
• ✅ API availability - Tests GitLab API accessibility and response format

Running Tests

Automated Testing

Tests run automatically on:

• Push to main or develop branches
• Pull requests to main branch
• Manual workflow dispatch

Local Testing

Run basic validation tests locally:

./test-basic.sh

This validates:

• File structure and completeness
• action.yml syntax and security checks
• Version format validation logic
• URL format detection logic
• Test workflow structure
• Documentation completeness

Manual Testing

Test the action manually in a workflow:

name: Manual Test
on: workflow_dispatch
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: ./
      - run: buildcache --version

Test Results

View test results in the Actions tab of this repository.

Contributing

When making changes to this action:

1. Run local validation: ./test-basic.sh
2. Create a pull request
3. Ensure all automated tests pass
4. Test manually if needed using the manual test workflow above

License

This action is provided as-is. buildcache itself is licensed under the GPLv3 license. See the buildcache repository for details.