How to Cache the Maven and Gradle Caches in GitHub Actions

Cache ~/.m2/repository for Maven or ~/.gradle/caches for Gradle, keyed on your build files.

Maven downloads into ~/.m2/repository; Gradle caches into ~/.gradle/caches and ~/.gradle/wrapper. Key on the build definition so a dependency change refreshes the cache.

Maven

- uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: ~/.m2/repository
    key: maven-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/pom.xml') }}
    restore-keys: maven-${{ runner.os }}-
- run: mvn -B verify

Gradle

- uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: |
      ~/.gradle/caches
      ~/.gradle/wrapper
    key: gradle-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/*.gradle*', '**/gradle-wrapper.properties') }}
- run: ./gradlew build

Gotchas

• The setup-java action can cache the Maven and Gradle homes via its cache input.
• Avoid caching ~/.m2/settings.xml; it can hold credentials you do not want stored.

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