Setup ccache in Github Actions workflow

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Basic usage

If you have a simple workflow, the action can be used like this:

- name: Checkout repository
  uses: actions/checkout@v2

- name: Setup ccache
  uses: Chocobo1/setup-ccache-action@v1

- name: Build C++ program
  run: |
    ./configure
    make

Advanced usage

This action provides a few flags for customizing the behavior.
For description of all options, take a look at action.yml.

update_packager_index
By default, this action will update packager's indexes to avoid installation issues (apt/brew on linux/macOS respectively).
You can disable it to save some time however you are then responsible for ensuring the packager's indexes are up-to-date before using this action.

- name: Checkout repository
  uses: actions/checkout@v2

- name: Install dependencies
  run: |
    sudo apt update  # ensure indexes are up-to-date
    sudo apt install \
      libboost-dev

- name: Setup ccache
  uses: Chocobo1/setup-ccache-action@v1
  with:
    update_packager_index: false

- name: Build C++ program
  run: |
    cmake -B build ./
    cmake --build build

install_ccache
By default, this action will install ccache with package manager.
You can omit installation if you've already installed ccache and it is accessible from the shell. If you use false for this option, it is likely you also want to set update_packager_index to false too.

- name: Checkout repository
  uses: actions/checkout@v2

- name: Install dependencies
  run: |
    sudo apt update  # ensure indexes are up-to-date
    sudo apt install \
      ccache \
      libboost-dev

- name: Setup ccache
  uses: Chocobo1/setup-ccache-action@v1
  with:
    install_ccache: false
    update_packager_index: false

- name: Build C++ program
  run: |
    cmake -B build ./
    ninja -C build

prepend_symlinks_to_path
By default, this action will prepend ccache's compiler symlinks directory to PATH so that compiler invocations will be handled by ccache transparently. If you wish to handle it manually then you can set this option to false. Also see: https://ccache.dev/manual/latest.html#_run_modes
Note that the symlinks directory is different for each OS and to simplify this the action provides a handy environment variable that you can use: ${{ env.ccache_symlinks_path }}. This variable is only available after the setup ccache step.
```
- name: Setup ccache
  uses: Chocobo1/setup-ccache-action@v1
  with:
    prepend_symlinks_to_path: false

- name: Build C++ program
  run: |
    export PATH="${{ env.ccache_symlinks_path }}:$PATH"
    cmake -B build ./
    make -C build
```
ccache_options
You are able to pass/configure ccache's options with this flag.
Accepts multiline key=value.
See: https://ccache.dev/manual/latest.html#_configuration_options
```
- name: Setup ccache
  uses: Chocobo1/setup-ccache-action@v1
  with:
    ccache_options: |
      max_size=200M
      compression=false
```

windows_compile_environment
Specify which compiler environment you are going to use on Windows image.
This field is mandatory if you intend to use this action on a Windows image!
Refer to action.yml for available options.

If you are using msvc, first make sure you are informed of its limitations and usage tips:

- name: Setup ccache
  uses: Chocobo1/setup-ccache-action@v1
  with:
    windows_compile_environment: msvc  # this field is required

- name: Build program
  run: |
    cmake `
      -B _build `
      -G "Ninja" `
      -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release `
      -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER:FILEPATH="${{ env.ccache_symlinks_path }}" `
      .
    cmake --build _build

If you are uinsg msys2, note that as of October 2021, cmake have some problems when using the default "Ninja" generator. I would suggest using "MSYS Makefiles" generator along with the make package (without mingw-w64-*- prefix in package name).

# run this action before setting up ccache
- name: Setup msys2
  uses: msys2/setup-msys2@v2
  with:
    install: |
      make
      mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain

- name: Setup ccache
  uses: Chocobo1/setup-ccache-action@v1
  with:
    windows_compile_environment: msys2  # this field is required

- name: Build program
  shell: msys2 {0}
  run: |
    cmake \
      -B _build \
      -G "MSYS Makefiles" \
      .
    cmake --build _build

Limitations

This action support running on Ubuntu (ubuntu-*) and macOS (macos-*).
On Windows it has primitive support for msvc and msys2.

Github Actions Permissions

By default, this action will remove previous/stale cache entries which would require actions: write permission. If you use the following configuration, then this action doesn't need any permissions:

- name: Setup ccache
  uses: Chocobo1/setup-ccache-action@v1
  with:
    remove_stale_cache: false

If your workflow doesn't need any permissions then you might want to specify the following at the top level for maximum security:

permissions: {}

References:

zhongfly/setup-ccache-action

Setup ccache in Github Actions workflow

Basic usage

Advanced usage

Limitations

Github Actions Permissions