Storing workflow data as artifacts

Sharing data files across jobs in a multi-job GitHub Actions workflow is easy with the upload and download artifact actions. In this guide, you'll learn how to create a simple ASCII art file in one job, upload it as an artifact, then download and use it in subsequent test and deploy jobs.

1. Initial Workflow Structure

Below is a basic workflow that generates a dragon.txt file but does not yet share it between jobs:

name: Generate ASCII Artwork
on:
  push:
jobs:
  build_job_1:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Install Cowsay Program
        run: sudo apt-get install cowsay -y

      - name: Execute Cowsay
        run: cowsay -f dragon "Run for cover, I am a DRAGON....RAWR" >> dragon.txt

  test_job_2:
    # ...
  deploy_job_3:
    # ...

To pass files from build_job_1 to downstream jobs, use the actions/upload-artifact and actions/download-artifact actions.

2. Uploading Artifacts

Use actions/upload-artifact@v3 to upload files or directories as build artifacts. Here’s the minimal syntax:

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v3
  - run: mkdir -p path/to/artifact
  - run: echo hello > path/to/artifact/world.txt
  - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
    with:
      name: my-artifact
      path: path/to/artifact/world.txt

3. Downloading Artifacts

In downstream jobs, invoke actions/download-artifact@v3 to retrieve the artifact:

steps:
  - uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
    with:
      name: my-artifact
      path: path/to/artifact

4. Integrate Upload in the Build Job

Modify build_job_1 to upload the generated dragon.txt:

name: Generate ASCII Artwork
on:
  push:
jobs:
  build_job_1:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Install Cowsay Program
        run: sudo apt-get install cowsay -y

      - name: Execute Cowsay
        run: cowsay -f dragon "Run for cover, I am a DRAGON....RAWR" >> dragon.txt

      - name: Upload Dragon text file
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: dragon-text-file
          path: dragon.txt

5. Download in the Test Job

Ensure test_job_2 depends on build_job_1 and downloads the artifact before running assertions:

test_job_2:
  needs: build_job_1
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - name: Download Dragon text file
      uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
      with:
        name: dragon-text-file

    - name: Verify Content
      run: grep -i "dragon" dragon.txt

6. Download in the Deploy Job

Similarly, pull the artifact in deploy_job_3 to read and then deploy:

deploy_job_3:
  needs: test_job_2
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - name: Download Dragon text file
      uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
      with:
        name: dragon-text-file

    - name: Display File
      run: cat dragon.txt

    - name: Deploy
      run: echo "Deploying ......"

7. Workflow in Action

When you push these changes, GitHub Actions uploads and downloads the artifact across jobs.

Once all steps are configured correctly, the workflow completes successfully and the artifact persists in the workflow summary.

Sample Download Log

Run actions/download-artifact@v3
Starting download for dragon-text-file
Directory structure has been setup for the artifact
Total number of files that will be downloaded: 1
Artifact dragon-text-file was downloaded to /home/runner/work/actions-1/actions-1
Artifact download has finished successfully

Run cat dragon.txt
Run for cover, i am a DRAGON... RAWR

8. Artifact Retention Policy

By default, uploaded artifacts are retained for 90 days. To adjust this setting:

• Go to your repository’s Settings → Actions → Artifact and log retention.
• Update the retention period as needed.

References

• actions/upload-artifact
• actions/download-artifact
• GitHub Actions Documentation
• Managing retention settings