Lab: Upload and Download Artifacts in GitHub Actions

Introduction

In this lab, you will learn how to upload and download artifacts using GitHub Actions. You’ll create a workflow with two jobs:

1. Build and Upload – Builds the ASP.NET Web App and uploads the publish output as an artifact.
2. Download – Downloads the artifact and lists its contents.

Estimated Duration: 25–30 minutes Prerequisites: Your repo should have a sample ASP.NET Core Web App in src/dotnet/WebApp.

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Instructions

Step 1: Set up your repository

1. Navigate to your repository on GitHub.

2. Ensure your ASP.NET Core Web App project is located at: src/dotnet/WebApp

   • If not present, scaffold a minimal web app using the following CLI:

     dotnet new webapp -o src/dotnet/WebApp
     

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Step 2: Create the workflow file

1. Go to your repository’s Code tab.

2. Click Add file > Create new file.

3. Enter the filename: .github/workflows/aspnet-webapp-download-artifact.yml

4. Paste the following content:

   name: ASP.NET Web App - Upload Download Artifact
   
   on:
     push:
       paths:
         - '.github/workflows/aspnet-webapp-download-artifact.yml'
         - 'src/dotnet/WebApp/**'
     workflow_dispatch:
   
   jobs:
     build-and-upload:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       defaults:
         run:
           working-directory: ./src/dotnet/WebApp
       steps:
         - name: Checkout Code
           uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.7
   
         - name: Set up .NET Core
           uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4.0.1
           with:
             dotnet-version: '8.x'
   
         - name: Build Code
           run: dotnet build --configuration Release
   
         - name: Publish Code
           run: dotnet publish -c Release --property:PublishDir="$/webapp"
   
         - name: Upload Artifact
           uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4.3.6
           with:
             name: aspnet-web-app
             path: $/webapp
             retention-days: 7
   
     download:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       needs: build-and-upload
       steps:
         - name: Download Artifact
           uses: actions/download-artifact@v4.1.8
           with:
             name: aspnet-web-app
   
         - name: List Files in Artifact
           run: |
             ls -al
           shell: bash
   

5. Click Commit new file to save the workflow.

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Step 3: Understand the workflow

• Triggers:

  • On push to the workflow or web app directory.
  • On manual execution via workflow_dispatch.

• Job 1: build-and-upload:

  • Checks out the code
  • Sets up .NET 8 SDK
  • Builds and publishes the ASP.NET app
  • Uploads the published app folder as an artifact

• Job 2: download:

  • Waits for Job 1 to complete
  • Downloads the uploaded artifact
  • Lists its contents using the ls command

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Step 4: Run and verify the workflow

1. Make a small change in any file under src/dotnet/WebApp/ or the workflow file itself.
2. Push the changes to trigger the workflow.
3. Go to the Actions tab and select the workflow run.

4. Check that both jobs:

   • build-and-upload completes successfully and uploads the artifact.
   • download downloads the artifact and prints the file list.

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Step 5: View the uploaded artifact

1. In the build-and-upload job, scroll to the step Upload Artifact.
2. You should see a link to aspnet-web-app.
3. You can download it directly from there to inspect the contents manually if needed.

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Summary

In this lab, you:

• Created a two-job GitHub Actions workflow.
• Uploaded a build artifact using actions/upload-artifact.
• Downloaded the artifact in another job using actions/download-artifact.
• Verified artifact sharing between jobs in the same workflow.

This approach is useful when you want to reuse outputs between jobs, such as for deployment or analysis.

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Additional Resources

1. Uploading artifacts - GitHub Docs
2. Downloading artifacts - GitHub Docs
3. Publish in .NET CLI