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Artifacts

By · Reviewed & last updated · Part of CI/CD Tutorial

Artifacts pass files between jobs in a workflow (or back to you for download). Build once, test the same artefact across matrices, then promote it to deploy.

Upload, download, retention, scope

EXAMPLE
# .github/workflows/build-test-deploy.yml
name: Build → Test → Deploy
on: [push]

jobs:
    build:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
            - uses: actions/checkout@v4
            - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
              with: { node-version: 20, cache: npm }
            - run: npm ci
            - run: npm run build           # → dist/
            - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
              with:
                  name: dist
                  path: dist/
                  retention-days: 7         # default is 90
                  if-no-files-found: error

    test:
        needs: build
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        strategy:
            matrix:
                node: [18, 20, 22]
        steps:
            - uses: actions/checkout@v4
            - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
              with: { node-version: ${{ matrix.node }} }
            - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
              with: { name: dist, path: dist }
            - run: npm ci
            - run: npm test
            - if: failure()
              uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
              with:
                  name: traces-node-${{ matrix.node }}
                  path: test-results/

    deploy:
        needs: test
        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
            - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
              with: { name: dist, path: dist }
            - run: rsync -av dist/ deploy@host:/var/www/

Why it matters

Artifacts make “built once, tested everywhere” trivial. Without them, every job rebuilds — slower, racier, and you can ship a different artefact than you tested.

Tip: Tweak the snippet with Try it Yourself », then sit the quiz at the bottom of the page.

Example

Example
- name: Upload build
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
      name: dist
      path: dist/
# Later job
- uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
  with: { name: dist }
Try it Yourself »

Exercise

Upload a built directory between jobs.

uses: actions/ -artifact@v4

Discussion

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