delete-workflow-runs

Delete old GitHub Actions workflow runs in a repository while keeping the newest runs for each workflow.

This action uses Node 24 and the GitHub REST API to:

• list workflow runs in a repository
• group runs by workflow
• keep the newest keep_minimum_runs runs in each workflow
• delete older completed runs

Queued, in-progress, and current workflow runs are skipped.

Inputs

token

Required. Default: ${{ github.token }}

Token used to call the GitHub API.

For the current repository, github.token works when the workflow grants actions: write:

permissions:
  actions: write
  contents: read

For another repository, use a PAT or GitHub App token that can delete workflow runs in the target repository.

repository

Required. Default: ${{ github.repository }}

Repository that contains the workflow runs. Format: owner/repo.

keep_minimum_runs

Required. Default: 3

Minimum number of newest runs to retain for each workflow.

Examples

Scheduled cleanup

name: Delete old workflow runs

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 1 * *'

permissions:
  actions: write
  contents: read

jobs:
  delete-runs:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Delete workflow runs
        uses: bigbugcc/delete-workflow-runs@main
        with:
          token: ${{ github.token }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          keep_minimum_runs: 3

Manual cleanup

name: Delete old workflow runs

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      min:
        description: 'Minimum runs to keep per workflow'
        required: true
        default: '3'

permissions:
  actions: write
  contents: read

jobs:
  delete-runs:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Delete workflow runs
        uses: bigbugcc/delete-workflow-runs@main
        with:
          token: ${{ github.token }}
          repository: ${{ github.repository }}
          keep_minimum_runs: ${{ github.event.inputs.min }}

Troubleshooting

Resource not accessible by integration

The delete API requires write access to GitHub Actions. Add this to the calling workflow:

permissions:
  actions: write
  contents: read

If repository points to a different repository, github.token from the caller repository is not enough. Use a PAT or GitHub App token with permission to delete workflow runs in the target repository.

License

The scripts and documentation in this project are released under the MIT License.