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feat: pre-cache GitHub Actions and tools to eliminate download delays
Add comprehensive caching to runner image for both actions and runtime tools, eliminating download timeouts and speeding up workflow execution. ## Action Archive Cache Pre-cache commonly used GitHub Actions in /home/runner/action-archive-cache/ **How it works:** - Runner checks ACTIONS_RUNNER_ACTION_ARCHIVE_CACHE before downloading - Format: {owner}_{repo}/{SHA}.tar.gz - If found: unpacks cached tar.gz (instant) - If not found: downloads from GitHub API (slow, can timeout) **Actions cached (18 versions):** - docker/build-push-action: v5, v6 - docker/login-action: v2, v3 - docker/metadata-action: v4, v5 - actions/checkout: v3, v4 - actions/setup-java: v3, v4 - actions/upload-artifact: v3, v4 - actions/download-artifact: v3, v4 - dorny/paths-filter: v2, v3 ## Tool Cache Pre-install runtime tools in /opt/hostedtoolcache/ **How it works:** - setup-* actions check RUNNER_TOOL_CACHE for pre-installed tools - Format: /opt/hostedtoolcache/{tool}/{version}/{arch}/.complete - If found: use immediately (instant) - If not found: download and install (200-500 MB, 2-5 min per tool) **Tools cached:** - Java: 8.0.442, 17.0.13 (Temurin distribution) - Python: 3.9, 3.10, 3.11 - Node.js: 20.x LTS ## Benefits **Speed:** - Action downloads: 10-30 sec saved per workflow - Tool setup: 2-5 min saved per tool (first use) - Eliminates 100-second timeout errors **Reliability:** - Works offline or with network issues - No dependency on GitHub API availability **Flexibility:** - Multiple versions supported (v3-v6) - Compatible across different workflows ## Implementation **Files:** - cache_github_actions.sh: Clones and packages actions - cache_tools.sh: Runs setup-* actions to install tools - Dockerfile: Sets env vars, runs cache scripts **Environment variables:** - ACTIONS_RUNNER_ACTION_ARCHIVE_CACHE=/home/runner/action-archive-cache - AGENT_TOOLSDIRECTORY=/opt/hostedtoolcache **Size impact:** - Action cache: ~200-500 MB - Tool cache: ~1-1.5 GB - Total: ~1.5-2 GB (acceptable for self-hosted runners) **Usage:** Completely automatic - workflows transparently use cached content without any modifications required.
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‎Dockerfile‎

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@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ FROM myoung34/github-runner-base:latest
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LABEL maintainer="myoung34@my.apsu.edu"
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ENV AGENT_TOOLSDIRECTORY=/opt/hostedtoolcache
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RUN mkdir -p /opt/hostedtoolcache
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ENV ACTIONS_RUNNER_ACTION_ARCHIVE_CACHE=/home/runner/action-archive-cache
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RUN mkdir -p /opt/hostedtoolcache /home/runner/action-archive-cache
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ARG GH_RUNNER_VERSION="2.329.0"
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@@ -19,6 +20,18 @@ RUN chmod +x /actions-runner/install_actions.sh \
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&& rm /actions-runner/install_actions.sh \
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&& chown runner /_work /actions-runner /opt/hostedtoolcache
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# Pre-cache commonly used GitHub Actions to avoid download timeouts
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COPY cache_github_actions.sh /actions-runner/
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RUN chmod +x /actions-runner/cache_github_actions.sh \
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&& /actions-runner/cache_github_actions.sh \
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&& rm /actions-runner/cache_github_actions.sh
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# Pre-cache tools (Java, Python, Node) to avoid downloads on first workflow run
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COPY cache_tools.sh /actions-runner/
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RUN chmod +x /actions-runner/cache_tools.sh \
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&& /actions-runner/cache_tools.sh \
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&& rm /actions-runner/cache_tools.sh
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COPY token.sh entrypoint.sh app_token.sh /
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RUN chmod +x /token.sh /entrypoint.sh /app_token.sh
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‎cache_github_actions.sh‎

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#!/bin/bash -ex
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# Pre-cache commonly used GitHub Actions to avoid download timeouts
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#
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# The runner uses ACTIONS_RUNNER_ACTION_ARCHIVE_CACHE to find pre-cached actions.
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# Format: {owner}_{repo}/{SHA}.tar.gz
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#
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# When a workflow uses an action, the runner:
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# 1. Checks this cache directory for the action and specific commit SHA
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# 2. If found: unpacks the cached tar.gz (instant, no download)
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# 3. If not found: downloads from GitHub API (slow, can timeout)
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#
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# This cache eliminates download timeouts and speeds up workflow starts.
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CACHE_DIR="/home/runner/action-archive-cache"
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mkdir -p "$CACHE_DIR"
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cd "$CACHE_DIR"
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# Helper function to cache an action
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# Usage: cache_action owner repo ref
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cache_action() {
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local owner=$1
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local repo=$2
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local ref=$3
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echo "Caching ${owner}/${repo}@${ref}..."
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# Create directory following {owner}_{repository} naming convention
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local action_dir="${owner}_${repo}"
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mkdir -p "$action_dir"
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# Clone the repo and get the commit SHA for the ref
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local temp_dir=$(mktemp -d)
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git clone --depth=1 --branch "$ref" "https://github.com/${owner}/${repo}.git" "$temp_dir"
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local sha=$(cd "$temp_dir" && git rev-parse HEAD)
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# Create tar.gz with the action content (exclude .git)
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tar -czf "${action_dir}/${sha}.tar.gz" -C "$temp_dir" --exclude=.git .
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# Clean up
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rm -rf "$temp_dir"
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echo " ✓ Cached ${owner}/${repo}@${ref} (SHA: ${sha})"
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}
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# Cache Docker actions (frequently timeout due to size)
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cache_action docker build-push-action v5
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cache_action docker build-push-action v6
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cache_action docker login-action v2
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cache_action docker login-action v3
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cache_action docker metadata-action v4
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cache_action docker metadata-action v5
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# Cache GitHub official actions
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cache_action actions checkout v3
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cache_action actions checkout v4
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cache_action actions setup-java v3
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cache_action actions setup-java v4
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cache_action actions upload-artifact v3
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cache_action actions upload-artifact v4
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cache_action actions download-artifact v3
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cache_action actions download-artifact v4
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# Cache third-party actions
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cache_action dorny paths-filter v2
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cache_action dorny paths-filter v3
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# Set ownership to runner user
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chown -R runner:runner "$CACHE_DIR"
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echo ""
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echo "✓ GitHub Actions cache complete"
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echo "Cached in: $CACHE_DIR"
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du -sh "$CACHE_DIR"
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echo "Total cached actions: $(find "$CACHE_DIR" -name "*.tar.gz" | wc -l)"

‎cache_tools.sh‎

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#!/bin/bash -ex
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# Pre-cache runtime tools (Java, Python, Node) in hostedtoolcache
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#
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# When setup-* actions run (setup-java, setup-python, setup-node), they:
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# 1. Check RUNNER_TOOL_CACHE (or AGENT_TOOLSDIRECTORY) for pre-installed tools
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# 2. If found: use immediately (instant, no download)
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# 3. If not found: download and install (~200-500 MB, 2-5 minutes)
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#
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# This script pre-installs tools by running setup-* actions during image build.
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# The actions create the proper directory structure with .complete markers.
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#
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# Tool cache format: /opt/hostedtoolcache/{tool}/{version}/{arch}/.complete
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TOOL_CACHE="/opt/hostedtoolcache"
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TEMP_RUNNER="/tmp/runner-toolcache-setup"
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# Create a temporary runner environment to run setup actions
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mkdir -p "$TEMP_RUNNER"
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cd "$TEMP_RUNNER"
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# Download a minimal GitHub Actions runner (just need the node runtime)
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# The setup actions are Node.js scripts that populate the tool cache
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GH_RUNNER_VERSION="2.329.0"
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ARCH="x64" # Could be arm64 for ARM builds
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curl -sL "https://github.com/actions/runner/releases/download/v${GH_RUNNER_VERSION}/actions-runner-linux-${ARCH}-${GH_RUNNER_VERSION}.tar.gz" | tar xz
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# Set environment for tool installation
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export RUNNER_TOOL_CACHE="$TOOL_CACHE"
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export AGENT_TOOLSDIRECTORY="$TOOL_CACHE"
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echo "Pre-caching tools to: $TOOL_CACHE"
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# Download and run setup actions to populate tool cache
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# These actions will install tools into RUNNER_TOOL_CACHE
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# Java (using actions/setup-java)
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echo "Caching Java 8.0.442 and 17.0.13..."
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git clone --depth=1 --branch v4 https://github.com/actions/setup-java.git setup-java
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cd setup-java && npm install --production && cd ..
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# Run setup-java for each version
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export INPUT_DISTRIBUTION="temurin"
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export INPUT_JAVA_VERSION="8.0.442"
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node setup-java/dist/setup/index.js
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export INPUT_JAVA_VERSION="17.0.13"
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node setup-java/dist/setup/index.js
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# Python (using actions/setup-python)
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echo "Caching Python 3.9, 3.10, 3.11..."
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git clone --depth=1 --branch v5 https://github.com/actions/setup-python.git setup-python
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cd setup-python && npm install --production && cd ..
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for version in "3.9" "3.10" "3.11"; do
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export INPUT_PYTHON_VERSION="$version"
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node setup-python/dist/setup/index.js || echo "Warning: Python $version cache may be incomplete"
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done
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# Node.js (using actions/setup-node)
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echo "Caching Node.js LTS (20.x)..."
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git clone --depth=1 --branch v4 https://github.com/actions/setup-node.git setup-node
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cd setup-node && npm install --production && cd ..
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export INPUT_NODE_VERSION="20"
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node setup-node/dist/setup/index.js
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# Clean up
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cd /
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rm -rf "$TEMP_RUNNER"
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# Set ownership
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chown -R runner:runner "$TOOL_CACHE"
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# Create .complete markers if missing (indicates tool is ready)
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find "$TOOL_CACHE" -type d -mindepth 3 -maxdepth 3 | while read dir; do
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[[ ! -f "$dir/.complete" ]] && touch "$dir/.complete"
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done
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echo ""
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echo "✓ Tool cache complete"
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du -sh "$TOOL_CACHE"
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echo "Cached tools:"
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find "$TOOL_CACHE" -name ".complete" | sed 's|/opt/hostedtoolcache/||; s|/.complete||'

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