cache/CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to @actions/cache

Releasing the package

The cache package has two actively maintained, incompatible release lines:

• v6 is ESM-only and is the default release line. v6 releases are cut from main.
• v5 uses CommonJS and is maintained on a separate v5 release branch. Only backport changes that remain compatible with CommonJS and the v5 support requirements.

Before publishing either release line:

1. Make sure the intended changes and tests are present on the release branch.
2. Update the version in package.json and package-lock.json.
3. Add the release notes to RELEASES.md.
4. Make sure the release branch's required checks pass.

See #2500 for a reference pull request that prepares a cache release, updates dependencies and package metadata, and records the release notes.

Publish workflow

Publish releases with the Publish NPM workflow. For more information about how the repository publishes packages, see the repository release documentation.

The workflow installs dependencies, bootstraps and builds the repository, runs tests, packs @actions/cache, and publishes the resulting package to npm with provenance. When manually running the workflow, choose the inputs for the release line:

Input	v6 release	v5 release
package	cache	cache
branch	main	The v5 release branch containing the release
npm-tag	latest	v5-commonjs
test-all	See Test selection	See Test selection

The npm tag is important because it determines which package line consumers install:

• Always publish v6 with the latest tag.
• Always publish v5 with the v5-commonjs tag. Never publish a v5 release with latest.

Do not use a semantic version such as 5.3.0 as an npm tag. npm dist-tags must not be valid semantic versions.

Test selection

The test-all input controls the scope of the workflow's test step:

• Leave test-all set to false to run only the cache package's Jest tests.
• Set test-all to true to run the entire repository test suite.

The workflow builds all packages in either case. Use the full test suite when the release includes changes that affect shared packages or when broader repository validation is needed.

Verify the release

After the workflow completes, verify the published version and its dist-tag on the @actions/cache npm page.