# GitHub Actions Artifact Expired - "artifact has expired" on Download

> Fix GitHub Actions downloads failing because the artifact expired - artifacts have a retention period (default 90 days) after which they are deleted.

Source: https://latchkey.dev/learn/github-actions/gha-artifact-retention-expired  
Updated: 2026-06-25

A download of an older artifact fails because it has passed its retention period and was deleted. Artifacts are retained for a configurable window (90 days by default, less if overridden) and then removed.

## Diagnose it: was the cache hit, and was it the right one?

Cache bugs split into three shapes and they need different fixes: the cache never saved, it saved but the key never matches on restore, or it restored a stale entry through a `restore-keys` prefix and is now poisoning the build. The step output tells you which one you have.

```.github/workflows/ci.yml
- uses: actions/cache@v4
  id: cache
  with:
    path: ~/.npm
    key: ${{ runner.os }}-npm-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
    restore-keys: |
      ${{ runner.os }}-npm-

- name: What happened
  run: |
    echo "exact hit: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit }}"
    echo "key used:  ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-matched-key }}"
```

> `cache-hit` is only `true` on an exact key match. A `restore-keys` prefix match reports `cache-hit: false` while still restoring files, which is exactly how a stale cache gets mistaken for no cache at all.

## Cache limits that produce confusing failures

- Repository cache is capped at 10 GB. Past that, GitHub evicts least-recently-used entries, so a large cache can silently stop persisting.
- Caches are scoped by branch. A cache written on a feature branch is not visible to another feature branch, only to its base and its own descendants.
- An entry not read for 7 days is evicted, so a rarely-run workflow effectively never has a warm cache.
- Restoring a cache built for a different tool version is worse than a cold start, because you get a corrupted tree instead of a clean install. Always include the tool version in the key.

## FAQ

### What causes GitHub Actions artifact expired?

There are 2 common causes: retention period elapsed and relying on artifacts for long-term storage. Artifacts are deleted after their retention window.

### How do I fix GitHub Actions artifact expired?

There are 2 fixes depending on which cause you have: set retention-days to what you need and use durable storage for long-lived outputs. Work through them in order, since the first is the most common.

### What does GitHub Actions artifact expired actually mean?

Re-running an old workflow, or downloading an artifact from a past run, fails because the artifact no longer exists - it expired and was garbage-collected.

### How do I stop GitHub Actions artifact expired happening again?

Treat artifacts as short-lived run outputs, not archives. The prevention section lists 3 changes that keep it from recurring.

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Latchkey runs CI/CD that repairs its own failures. Agent entry points: https://latchkey.dev/agent.txt, https://latchkey.dev/openapi.json, https://latchkey.dev/llms.txt