Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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.
This example uses the Ubuntu runner and the cowsay utility to generate a dragon.txt file. You can adapt it to any file or command.

​
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.
The image shows a GitHub Actions page for "Upload a Build Artifact," detailing version 3.1.3 with features and updates for uploading artifacts in workflows.

​
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
ParameterDescription
nameA unique identifier for the artifact
pathFile or directory to upload
The image shows a GitHub Marketplace page for the "Download a Build Artifact" action, detailing its version, features, and usage instructions. It includes options to use the latest version and shows contributor avatars.

​
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.
The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow interface with a failed job sequence, where "test_job_2" has failed, causing the overall status to be marked as "Failure."
Once all steps are configured correctly, the workflow completes successfully and the artifact persists in the workflow summary.
The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow summary with three completed jobs: build, test, and deploy. The workflow was successful, taking 40 seconds, and produced an artifact named "dragon-text-file."

​
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.
SettingDefaultLocation
Artifact retention period90 daysRepository settings under Actions
Increasing retention beyond 90 days may count against your GitHub storage quota.
The image shows a GitHub repository settings page focused on "Actions permissions," where options for allowing or disabling actions and reusable workflows are displayed. It also includes settings for artifact and log retention and fork pull request workflows.

​
References

Watch Video