docker-build-cache-config-action

This action generates cache-from and cache-to inputs of docker/build-push-action for the effective cache strategy in the pull request based development flow.

Problem to solve

docker/build-push-action supports the cache management using Buildx (BuildKit). It can import and export a cache by the following parameters:

cache-from: type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:TAG
cache-to: type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:TAG,mode=max

If a same tag is used in the pull request based development flow, it will cause a cache miss. For example,

Initially, the cache points to main branch
When a pull request B is opened,
- It imports the cache of main branch
- The cache hits
- It exports the cache of pull request B
When a pull request C is opened,
- It imports the cache of pull request B
- The cache misses
- It exports the cache of pull request C
When the pull request B is merged into main,
- It imports the cache of pull request C
- The cache misses
- It exports the cache of main branch

Therefore, it needs to prevent the cache pollution caused by a pull request.

How to solve

Keep a cache tag tracking the corresponding branch.

When the main branch is pushed, it imports a cache from the main tag. It finally exports a cache to the main tag for the future build.

cache-from: type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:main
cache-to: type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:main,mode=max

When a pull request is created or updated, it only imports a cache from the main tag. It does not export a cache to the main tag to prevent the cache pollution.

cache-from: type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:main
cache-to:

If the base branch of the pull request is not main, it imports both base tag and main tag.

cache-from: |
  type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:base
  type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:main
cache-to:

Here is the diagram of this cache strategy.

This action generates the cache parameters by this strategy.

- uses: int128/docker-build-cache-config-action@v1
  id: cache
  with:
    image: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache
- uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
  with:
    cache-from: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-from }}
    cache-to: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-to }}

Examples

Basic usage

Here is an example to manage a cache in GHCR (GitHub Container Registry).

- uses: docker/metadata-action@v3
  id: metadata
  with:
    images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}
- uses: int128/docker-build-cache-config-action@v1
  id: cache
  with:
    image: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache
- uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
  id: build
  with:
    push: true
    tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}
    labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
    cache-from: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-from }}
    cache-to: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-to }}

It will create the following image tags:

ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:main
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:pr-1
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache:main

Store image and cache into a repository

You can set a tag suffix to store both image and cache into the same repository.

- uses: docker/metadata-action@v3
  id: metadata
  with:
    images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}
- uses: int128/docker-build-cache-config-action@v1
  id: cache
  with:
    image: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}
    flavor: suffix=-cache
- uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
  id: build
  with:
    push: true
    tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}
    labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
    cache-from: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-from }}
    cache-to: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-to }}

It will create the following image tags:

ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:main
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:main-cache
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:pr-1

For Amazon ECR

Amazon ECR now supports the cache manifest (aws/containers-roadmap#876). You can pass the extra attribute image-manifest=true. Here is an example to manage a cache in Amazon ECR.

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      id-token: write
      contents: read
    outputs:
      image-uri: ${{ steps.ecr.outputs.registry }}/${{ github.repository }}@${{ steps.build.outputs.digest }}
    steps:
      - uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v4
        with:
          role-to-assume: arn:aws:iam::ACCOUNT:role/ROLE
      - uses: aws-actions/amazon-ecr-login@v1
        id: ecr
      - uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
        id: metadata
        with:
          images: ${{ steps.ecr.outputs.registry }}/${{ github.repository }}
      - uses: int128/docker-build-cache-config-action@v1
        id: cache
        with:
          image: ${{ steps.ecr.outputs.registry }}/${{ github.repository }}
          suffix: -cache
          extra-cache-to: image-manifest=true
      - uses: docker/build-push-action@v5
        id: build
        with:
          push: true
          tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}
          labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
          cache-from: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-from }}
          cache-to: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-to }}

It will create the following image tags:

ACCOUNT.dkr.ecr.REGION.amazonaws.com/${{ github.repository }}:main
ACCOUNT.dkr.ecr.REGION.amazonaws.com/${{ github.repository }}:pr-1
ACCOUNT.dkr.ecr.REGION.amazonaws.com/${{ github.repository }}:main-cache

Advanced cache strategy

Import and export a pull request cache

When a pull request is pushed, it can export a cache to a dedicated tag for the consecutive commits. It imports the cache from the dedicated tag when the pull request is pushed again.

cache-from: |
  type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:pr-1
  type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:main
cache-to: type=registry,ref=REGISTRY/REPOSITORY:pr-1,mode=max

Here is an example to enable the pull request cache feature.

- uses: docker/metadata-action@v3
  id: metadata
  with:
    images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}
- uses: int128/docker-build-cache-config-action@v1
  id: cache
  with:
    image: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache
    pull-request-cache: true
- uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
  id: build
  with:
    push: true
    tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}
    labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
    cache-from: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-from }}
    cache-to: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-to }}

It will create the following image tags:

ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:main
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:pr-1
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache:main
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache:pr-1

Note that it creates an image tag for every pull request. It is recommended to clean it when pull request is closed, or set a lifecycle policy into your container repository.

Build multi-architecture images

You can set a tag suffix to isolate caches for each architecture.

jobs:
  build:
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        platform:
          - linux/amd64
          - linux/arm64
    steps:
      - uses: docker/metadata-action@v3
        id: metadata
        with:
          images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}
          flavor: suffix=-${{ matrix.platform }}
      - uses: int128/docker-build-cache-config-action@v1
        id: cache
        with:
          image: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache
          flavor: suffix=-${{ matrix.platform }}
      - uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
        id: build
        with:
          push: true
          tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}
          labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
          cache-from: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-from }}
          cache-to: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-to }}
          platforms: ${{ matrix.platform }}

It will create the following image tags:

ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:main-linux-amd64
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:main-linux-arm64
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:pr-1-linux-amd64
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:pr-1-linux-arm64
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache:main-linux-amd64
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache:main-linux-arm64

For monorepo

You can set a tag prefix to store caches of multiple images into a single repository.

- uses: docker/metadata-action@v3
  id: metadata
  with:
    images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/microservice-name
- uses: int128/docker-build-cache-config-action@v1
  id: cache
  with:
    image: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache
    flavor: prefix=microservice-name--
- uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
  id: build
  with:
    push: true
    tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}
    labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
    cache-from: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-from }}
    cache-to: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-to }}

It will create the following image tags:

ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/microservice-name:main
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/microservice-name:pr-1
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache:microservice-name--main

Build multiple image tags from a branch

For a complex project, it needs to build multiple image tags from a branch. For example, it builds the following images when the main branch is pushed:

Build an image tag development with the build-args of development environment
Build an image tag staging with the build-args of staging environment

In this case, it needs to separate the cache for each environment as follows:

When the main branch is pushed,
- A job builds an image for the development environment. It imports and exports a cache from/to development tag.
- A job builds an image for the staging environment. It imports and exports a cache from/to staging tag.
When a pull request is created or updated,
- A job builds an image for the pull request environment. It imports a cache from development tag.

You can set a suffix to separate the caches for each environment.

jobs:
  build:
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        environment:
          - development
          - staging
    steps:
      - uses: docker/metadata-action@v3
        id: metadata
        with:
          images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}
          flavor: suffix=-${{ matrix.environment }}
      - uses: int128/docker-build-cache-config-action@v1
        id: cache
        with:
          image: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache
          cache-key: ${{ matrix.environment }}
          cache-key-fallback: development
      - uses: docker/build-push-action@v2
        id: build
        with:
          push: true
          tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}
          labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
          cache-from: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-from }}
          cache-to: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-to }}

It will create the following image tags:

ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:development
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:staging
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache:development
ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/cache:staging

Specification

Inputs

Name	Default	Description
`image`	(required)	Image repository to import/export cache
`flavor`	-	Flavor (multiline string)
`extra-cache-from`	-	Extra flag to `cache-from`
`extra-cache-to`	-	Extra flag to `cache-to`
`pull-request-cache`	-	Import and export a pull request cache
`cache-key`	-	Custom cache key
`cache-key-fallback`	-	Custom cache key to fallback

flavor is mostly compatible with docker/metadata-action except this action supports only prefix and suffix.

extra-cache-to is added to cache-to parameter only when it needs to export cache.

Note that cache-key and cache-key-fallback are experimental. The specification may change in the future.

Outputs

Name	Description
`cache-from`	Parameter for docker/build-push-action
`cache-to`	Parameter for docker/build-push-action

Events

This action exports a cache on the following events:

push event to a branch
- Export a cache to the tag corresponding to the pushed branch
pull_request event
- Export a cache to the tag corresponding to the pull request number (only if pull-request-cache is set)
issue_comment event to a pull request
- Export a cache to the tag corresponding to the pull request number (only if pull-request-cache is set)
Other events
- Export nothing

It imports a cache on the following events:

push event to a branch
- Import a cache from the tag corresponding to the pushed branch
pull_request event
- Import a cache from the tag corresponding to the pull request number
- Import a cache from the tag corresponding to the base branch
- Import a cache from the tag corresponding to the default branch
issue_comment event to a pull request
- Import a cache from the tag corresponding to the pull request number
- Import a cache from the tag corresponding to the base branch
- Import a cache from the tag corresponding to the default branch
Other events
- Import a cache from the tag corresponding to the default branch

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 742 Commits
.github		.github
src		src
tests		tests
.eslintrc.js		.eslintrc.js
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
.prettierignore		.prettierignore
.prettierrc.json		.prettierrc.json
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
action.yaml		action.yaml
effective-build-cache-diagram.drawio.svg		effective-build-cache-diagram.drawio.svg
jest.config.js		jest.config.js
package.json		package.json
pnpm-lock.yaml		pnpm-lock.yaml
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json

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docker-build-cache-config-action

Problem to solve

How to solve

Examples

Basic usage

Store image and cache into a repository

For Amazon ECR

Advanced cache strategy

Import and export a pull request cache

Build multi-architecture images

For monorepo

Build multiple image tags from a branch

Specification

Inputs

Outputs

Events

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intellum/docker-build-cache-config-action

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Repository files navigation

docker-build-cache-config-action

Problem to solve

How to solve

Examples

Basic usage

Store image and cache into a repository

For Amazon ECR

Advanced cache strategy

Import and export a pull request cache

Build multi-architecture images

For monorepo

Build multiple image tags from a branch

Specification

Inputs

Outputs

Events

About

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License

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