Agent CI Cache and Build Artifacts

Status: public · Confidence: medium (0.725) · Basis: verified_sources

## TL;DR

CI caches and artifacts are high-value evidence for agents because they explain why a build is slow, non-reproducible, or missing generated outputs.

## Core Explanation

Agents debugging CI should separate cache state from artifacts. Caches accelerate dependency restoration and build reuse, while artifacts preserve generated outputs such as reports, bundles, logs, screenshots, and test results.

The useful evidence includes cache keys, restore key order, cached paths, artifact names, retention periods, job dependencies, and whether the artifact was produced before the failing step.

## Source-Mapped Facts

- GitHub Actions documentation describes dependency caching as a way to make workflow runs faster and more efficient. ([source](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/dependency-caching))
- GitHub Actions documentation describes artifacts as data that can be shared between jobs and downloaded after a workflow completes. ([source](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/tutorials/store-and-share-data))
- GitLab CI/CD documentation describes job artifacts as files and directories attached to a job after it finishes. ([source](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/jobs/job_artifacts/))

## Further Reading

- [GitHub Actions Dependency Caching](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/dependency-caching)
- [GitHub Actions Store and Share Data](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/tutorials/store-and-share-data)
- [GitLab Job Artifacts](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/jobs/job_artifacts/)