Enable docker layer caching for `dry-run` and `nightly` container builds by silverwind · Pull Request #36738 · go-gitea/gitea

silverwind · 2026-02-24T12:17:59Z

Enable Docker BuildKit layer caching for the dry-run and nightly container build workflows using GHCR registry cache.

Dry-run (pull-docker-dryrun.yml): adds cache-from, read-only, PRs can't write cache
Nightly (release-nightly.yml): adds cache-from and cache-to to both read and write cach

Add cache-from/cache-to with GitHub Actions cache backend to all docker/build-push-action steps to speed up container image builds by reusing cached layers across runs. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Enables GitHub Actions cache-backed layer caching for Docker Buildx builds across release and PR container workflows to speed up repeated builds.

Changes:

Added cache-from: type=gha and cache-to: type=gha,mode=max to regular and rootless container build steps in tag-based release workflows.
Added the same GitHub Actions cache configuration to nightly and PR dry-run multi-arch container builds.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

File	Description
.github/workflows/release-tag-version.yml	Adds GitHub Actions cache import/export to release container builds.
.github/workflows/release-tag-rc.yml	Adds GitHub Actions cache import/export to RC container builds.
.github/workflows/release-nightly.yml	Adds GitHub Actions cache import/export to nightly container builds.
.github/workflows/pull-docker-dryrun.yml	Adds GitHub Actions cache import/export to PR dry-run container builds.

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.github/workflows/release-tag-version.yml

.github/workflows/release-tag-rc.yml

.github/workflows/release-nightly.yml

.github/workflows/pull-docker-dryrun.yml

.github/workflows/release-tag-version.yml

The `cache-to: type=gha` directive requires `actions: write` permission to export the BuildKit cache to the GitHub Actions cache. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Fork PRs cannot write to the GHA cache even with actions: write permission. Only keep cache-from since the nightly workflow will keep the cache populated. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

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.github/workflows/release-tag-rc.yml

Only keep layer caching for dry-run and nightly builds where it provides consistent benefit. Release builds happen too infrequently for the cache to be useful and caching could lead to stale Alpine packages in release images. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

TheFox0x7 · 2026-02-26T20:35:15Z

oh btw, why cache to GHA and not registry? Any specific reason?

silverwind · 2026-02-26T20:39:02Z

Which registry would it use? I want this to be reliable so if you suggest a private registry as cache, I don't think it would be as reliable as GHA.

TheFox0x7 · 2026-02-26T20:40:26Z

ghcr? I don't have experience with GHA cache and buildkit so it's mostly a question why that over a registry - not a request to change to one.

silverwind · 2026-02-26T21:05:22Z

No particular reason. I basically asked Claude to suggest a caching and the only thing it suggested was GHA cache.

silverwind · 2026-02-26T22:40:04Z

I checked the registry topic and it's probably the cleaner approach given that GHA cache is shared with other artifacts like dependency caches. So registry is likely a better option given that there is practically no size limit there.

Use registry-type cache stored at ghcr.io/go-gitea/gitea:buildcache instead of GitHub Actions cache. Registry cache has no size limit unlike the 10GB GHA cache. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

silverwind · 2026-02-26T22:45:41Z

Using registry. No auth necessary as the write action already has auth and the read action needs not auth for a public repo.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* giteaofficial/main: (21 commits) Enable docker layer caching for `dry-run` and `nightly` container builds (go-gitea#36738) Add admin badge to navbar avatar (go-gitea#36790) WorkflowDispatch api optionally return runid (go-gitea#36706) upgrade minimatch (go-gitea#36760) Add `never` option to `PUBLIC_URL_DETECTION` configuration (go-gitea#36785) Refactor avatar package, support default avatar fallback (go-gitea#36788) Mark unused&immature activitypub as "not implemented" (go-gitea#36789) Add “Copy Source” to markup comment menu (go-gitea#36726) Update Nix flake (go-gitea#36787) Implements OIDC RP-Initiated Logout (go-gitea#36724) Fix README symlink resolution in subdirectories like .github (go-gitea#36775) [skip ci] Updated translations via Crowdin Correct spelling (go-gitea#36783) refactor: replace legacy tw-flex utility classes with flex-text-block/inline (go-gitea#36778) Fix `no-content` message not rendering after comment edit (go-gitea#36733) Fix typos and grammar in English locale (go-gitea#36751) Move Fomantic dropdown CSS to custom module (go-gitea#36530) Use "Enable Gravatar" but not "Disable" (go-gitea#36771) feat: add branch_count to repository API (go-gitea#35351) (go-gitea#36743) Deprecate RenderWithErr (go-gitea#36769) ...

silverwind · 2026-03-08T07:23:55Z

It seems the container build still have uncached go/js dependencies and these regularily fail because of gitea.com/codeberg.org downtime:

https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/actions/runs/22816127536/job/66181314879

I guess we can extract the dependencies into a separate docker layer so they are always cached until go.sum / pnpm-lock.yml changes, eliminating these downloads on every run.

silverwind · 2026-03-08T11:02:22Z

It seems the container build still have uncached go/js dependencies and these regularily fail because of gitea.com/codeberg.org downtime:

https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/actions/runs/22816127536/job/66181314879

I guess we can extract the dependencies into a separate docker layer so they are always cached until go.sum / pnpm-lock.yml changes, eliminating these downloads on every run.

#36864 will fix that.

Enable BuildKit GHA cache for container builds

0629c10

Add cache-from/cache-to with GitHub Actions cache backend to all docker/build-push-action steps to speed up container image builds by reusing cached layers across runs. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

GiteaBot added the lgtm/need 2 This PR needs two approvals by maintainers to be considered for merging. label Feb 24, 2026

github-actions bot added the modifies/internal label Feb 24, 2026

silverwind added the skip-changelog This PR is irrelevant for the (next) changelog, for example bug fixes for unreleased features. label Feb 24, 2026

silverwind changed the title ~~Enable BuildKit GHA cache for container builds~~ Enable GHA cache for container builds Feb 24, 2026

silverwind changed the title ~~Enable GHA cache for container builds~~ Enable layer caching for container builds Feb 24, 2026

silverwind requested a review from Copilot February 24, 2026 12:34

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silverwind and others added 2 commits February 24, 2026 13:40

Add actions: write permission for GHA cache export

743e877

The `cache-to: type=gha` directive requires `actions: write` permission to export the BuildKit cache to the GitHub Actions cache. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Remove cache-to from docker dryrun workflow

73dc7a6

Fork PRs cannot write to the GHA cache even with actions: write permission. Only keep cache-from since the nightly workflow will keep the cache populated. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

silverwind requested a review from Copilot February 24, 2026 12:44

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of silverwind February 24, 2026 12:44 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 24, 2026

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TheFox0x7 reviewed Feb 24, 2026

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.github/workflows/release-tag-rc.yml Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

silverwind changed the title ~~Enable layer caching for container builds~~ Enable GHA layer caching for dry-run and nightly container builds Feb 25, 2026

silverwind changed the title ~~Enable GHA layer caching for dry-run and nightly container builds~~ Enable GHA layer caching for dry-run and nightly container builds Feb 25, 2026

TheFox0x7 approved these changes Feb 25, 2026

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GiteaBot added lgtm/need 1 This PR needs approval from one additional maintainer to be merged. and removed lgtm/need 2 This PR needs two approvals by maintainers to be considered for merging. labels Feb 25, 2026

silverwind and others added 2 commits February 26, 2026 23:40

Merge branch 'main' into docker-gha-cache

73c73c6

Switch Docker build cache from GHA to GHCR registry

f88d7be

Use registry-type cache stored at ghcr.io/go-gitea/gitea:buildcache instead of GitHub Actions cache. Registry cache has no size limit unlike the 10GB GHA cache. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Rename buildcache to buildcache-rootful

9a8cf2d

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

silverwind changed the title ~~Enable GHA layer caching for dry-run and nightly container builds~~ Enable docker layer caching for dry-run and nightly container builds Mar 1, 2026

lunny approved these changes Mar 1, 2026

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GiteaBot added lgtm/done This PR has enough approvals to get merged. There are no important open reservations anymore. and removed lgtm/need 1 This PR needs approval from one additional maintainer to be merged. labels Mar 1, 2026

lunny added topic/build PR changes how Gitea is built, i.e. regarding Docker or the Makefile reviewed/wait-merge This pull request is part of the merge queue. It will be merged soon. labels Mar 1, 2026

Merge branch 'main' into docker-gha-cache

dcbd8b3

lunny enabled auto-merge (squash) March 1, 2026 20:23

Merge branch 'main' into docker-gha-cache

21ea936

lunny merged commit 08254cf into go-gitea:main Mar 1, 2026
26 checks passed

GiteaBot added this to the 1.26.0 milestone Mar 1, 2026

GiteaBot removed the reviewed/wait-merge This pull request is part of the merge queue. It will be merged soon. label Mar 1, 2026

silverwind deleted the docker-gha-cache branch March 2, 2026 04:27

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