# Artifacts Artifacts let you save files produced during a workflow run and make them available for download after the run completes. Common uses include test reports, build outputs, compiled binaries, log files, and any other data you want to persist beyond the lifetime of the job that created it. Artifacts are stored on the Copia server and can be downloaded from the workflow run summary page in the Copia web UI. Each artifact is packaged as an immutable zip archive, so its contents cannot be modified after upload. ## Why Use Artifacts Artifacts are useful any time you need to keep files that a workflow generates. A few examples: * Save test results or coverage reports so your team can review them without re-running the workflow. * Preserve compiled binaries or packaged project exports that were built during CI. * Pass files between jobs in the same workflow. For instance, one job can build an output and upload it as an artifact, and a later job can download and use it. * Archive logs or diagnostic data from long-running validation steps. Without artifacts, any files created during a job are discarded when the job finishes. Artifacts give you a way to hold on to those files. ## Uploading Artifacts To upload an artifact, use the `actions/upload-artifact` action in your workflow. At minimum, you need to provide a `name` for the artifact and a `path` pointing to the file or directory you want to upload. ### Basic Example ```yaml name: Build and Save Output on: [push] jobs: build: runs-on: windows10-S5K steps: - name: Check out repository uses: actions/checkout@v3 - name: Run build script run: ./build.sh - name: Upload build output uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3 with: name: build-output path: dist/ ``` This uploads everything in the `dist/` directory as an artifact named `build-output`. After the workflow run finishes, you can download `build-output` as a zip file from the run summary page. ### Uploading Individual Files ```yaml - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3 with: name: test-report path: results/report.xml ``` ### Uploading with Wildcard Patterns You can use glob patterns and exclusions to control exactly which files are included. ```yaml - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3 with: name: logs path: | output/logs/ !output/logs/*.tmp ``` ### Upload Inputs Reference

Input	Description	Default
`name`	Name of the artifact	`artifact`
`path`	File, directory, or wildcard pattern to upload (required)	-
`if-no-files-found`	Behavior when no files match: `warn`, `error`, or `ignore`	`warn`
`retention-days`	Number of days to keep the artifact (1-90)	Repository default
`compression-level`	Zlib compression level, 0 (none) to 9 (max)	`6`
`overwrite`	Delete any existing artifact with the same name before uploading	`false`

### Upload Outputs After a successful upload, the step exposes the following outputs:

Output	Description
`artifact-id`	Unique ID for the uploaded artifact
`artifact-url`	Direct URL to download the artifact (requires login)

You can reference these outputs in later steps or jobs. For example: ```yaml - name: Upload artifact id: upload-step uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3 with: name: my-artifact path: output/ - name: Print artifact ID run: echo "Artifact ID is ${{ steps.upload-step.outputs.artifact-id }}" ``` ## Downloading Artifacts To download an artifact in a later job within the same workflow, use `actions/download-artifact`. ### Download in a Subsequent Job ```yaml jobs: build: runs-on: windows10-S5K steps: - name: Check out repository uses: actions/checkout@v3 - name: Build project run: ./build.sh - name: Upload build output uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3 with: name: build-output path: dist/ deploy: runs-on: windows10-S5K needs: build steps: - name: Download build output uses: actions/download-artifact@v3 with: name: build-output path: dist/ - name: Deploy run: ./deploy.sh dist/ ``` The `needs: build` line ensures the `deploy` job waits for `build` to finish before running. ### Download Inputs Reference

Input	Description	Default
`name`	Name of the artifact to download. If omitted, all artifacts are downloaded.	-
`path`	Directory to download into	Working directory
`pattern`	Glob pattern to filter which artifacts to download	-
`merge-multiple`	When downloading multiple artifacts, merge them into the same directory instead of creating subdirectories	`false`

## Downloading from the Copia Web UI You do not need to use `actions/download-artifact` to access your artifacts manually. After a workflow run completes, navigate to the run summary page in the **Actions** tab of your repository. A dedicated **Artifacts** section at the bottom of the page lists all artifacts produced by that run. Click on an artifact name to download it as a zip file. Users with write permissions to the repository can also delete artifacts from this page. ## Important Limitations There are a few things to keep in mind when working with artifacts: **Unique names per job.** Each artifact within a workflow run must have a unique name. You cannot upload to the same artifact name twice in the same job. If you need to upload from multiple jobs or matrix runs, include a distinguishing suffix in the name: ```yaml - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3 with: name: results-${{ matrix.os }} path: output/ ``` **Artifact count limit.** Each job can create up to 500 artifacts. **Retention.** Artifacts are retained for 90 days by default. You can set a shorter retention period using the `retention-days` input. After the retention period expires, artifacts are automatically deleted. **Zip format only.** Artifacts are always packaged as zip archives. There is no option to download individual files or use a different archive format. **File permissions are not preserved.** When artifacts are downloaded, any special file permissions\ from the original files (such as executable flags on scripts) are reset to defaults. If you need to\ preserve the original permissions, wrap your files in a tar archive before uploading: ```yaml - name: Tar files to preserve permissions run: tar -cvf my-files.tar path/to/files/ - name: Upload tar archive uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3 with: name: my-artifact path: my-files.tar ``` **Compression tip.** For large files that do not compress well (like binary data), set `compression-level: 0` to skip compression and significantly speed up the upload. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.copia.io/docs/actions/artifacts.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.