"Artifact storage quota has been hit"

[KodexDigital]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Question

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Workflow Deployment

Discussion Details

I keep having this error message:
"Failed to CreateArtifact: Artifact storage quota has been hit. Unable to upload any new artifacts. Usage is recalculated every 6-12 hours....". This error keeps showing even after deleting all my artifacts. This is more that 48hours. Please could this be resolved?

[Cre4T3Tiv3]

@KodexDigital

I understand your frustration with the persistent artifact storage quota error. I have encountered this exact issue multiple times in my own projects. Here is a comprehensive solution that has worked for me in the past:

---

Immediate Actions

1. Delete both artifacts and caches
   Deleting artifacts alone is often not enough because GitHub Actions caches are stored separately and also count toward the same quota.

   • Go to Settings → Actions → Storage in your repository and delete both artifacts and caches.

   • Or use the CLI:

     gh cache list
     gh cache delete <CACHE_ID>

2. Understand quota recalculation delays
   GitHub says usage is recalculated every 6 to 12 hours, but in practice it can take 24 to 48 hours or occasionally longer for deletions to be reflected. This delay is normal and cannot be instantly bypassed.

---

Long-Term Prevention

3. Reduce artifact retention

   • Go to Settings → Actions → General and set the retention period to something shorter such as 1 to 7 days instead of the default 90.

   • If you manage an organization, you can enforce retention limits across all repositories.

   • You can also set retention directly in your workflow to prevent bloating storage:

     - name: Upload build artifact (short retention, main branch only)
       if: ${{ success() && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
       uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
       with:
         name: build-${{ github.run_number }}
         path: dist/**
         retention-days: 3

4. Optimize your workflow

   • Only upload artifacts that are truly needed for later jobs.
   • Compress large build outputs before upload.
   • Break large artifacts into smaller, targeted uploads.

   Example with compression and conditional upload:

   - name: Package build output
     run: |
       mkdir -p dist
       tar -czf build-artifact.tgz -C dist .
   
   - name: Upload build artifact
     if: ${{ success() && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
     uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
     with:
       name: build-${{ github.run_number }}
       path: build-artifact.tgz
       retention-days: 3

5. Automate cleanup
   To keep storage under control, schedule a workflow that prunes old artifacts and caches:

   name: housekeeping
   
   on:
     schedule:
       - cron: "17 3 * * *"   # daily at 03:17 UTC
     workflow_dispatch:
   
   permissions:
     actions: write
     contents: read
   
   jobs:
     prune-actions-storage:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - name: Delete caches older than 7 days
           env:
             GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           run: |
             cutoff="$(date -u -d '7 days ago' +%s)"
             gh cache list --repo ${{ github.repository }} | while read -r id key size created rest; do
               ts="$(date -u -d "$created" +%s)"
               if [ "$ts" -lt "$cutoff" ]; then
                 echo "Deleting cache ID $id (key: $key, created $created)"
                 gh cache delete "$id" --repo ${{ github.repository }} || true
               fi
             done

---

Storage Limits by Plan (as of current GitHub documentation)

• Free: 500 MB
• Pro: 2 GB
• Team / Enterprise: higher limits

If you frequently exceed these, consider upgrading your plan or moving large files to external storage such as AWS S3, Azure Blob, or Google Cloud Storage.

---

Alternatives

• Use the GitHub cache action for dependencies instead of artifacts. Caches restore faster but still count toward quota until purged.
• Push non-essential large files to external storage instead of Actions artifacts.

---

Key takeaway:
Clear both artifacts and caches, expect a recalculation delay, and adjust your workflows to avoid hitting the quota again. There is no supported method to force an instant recount. The only immediate change comes from allowing paid overages via a billing plan, but that simply increases the quota rather than speeding up recalculation.

---

Let me know if you need help with any of these steps!

Thanks,
@Cre4T3Tiv3

[KodexDigital]

Thanks. My personal account does not have billing/where to even try to create payment method

[Cre4T3Tiv3]

Hi @KodexDigital,

Not a problem, I understand 🙂

If you do not have billing enabled on your account, you still have a few options to resolve the artifact storage quota issue without adding a payment method.

---

1. Fully clear artifacts and caches
Even without billing, you can manually reclaim storage by removing both artifacts and caches:

• Delete artifacts:

  • In the GitHub UI: Go to Repository → Actions, select a workflow run, and in the Artifacts section click the trash icon for each artifact you want to delete ([GitHub Docs][1]).
  • Or use the REST API: DELETE /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/artifacts/{artifact_id} ([GitHub API Docs][8]).

• Delete caches:

  • In the GitHub UI: Go to Repository → Actions → Caches or open https://github.com/<OWNER>/<REPO>/actions/caches and delete entries as needed.

  • Or use the CLI:

    gh cache list
    gh cache delete <CACHE_ID>

    ([GitHub CLI Docs – cache list][2], [GitHub CLI Docs – cache delete][3])

---

2. Wait for recalculation
After deletion, the quota may still show as full for 24–48 hours. This delay is normal. GitHub’s periodic recalculation must run before the error clears ([GitHub Community Discussion][4]).

---

3. Reduce retention going forward
Lowering retention helps prevent hitting the quota again:

• In the UI: Go to Repository → Settings → Actions → General and set Artifact and log retention to 1–7 days ([GitHub Docs][5]).

• Or set it in your workflow:

  - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
    with:
      path: dist/**
      retention-days: 3

  ([GitHub Docs – upload-artifact action][6])

---

4. Optimize what you store
Only upload artifacts you actually need, compress large files before upload, and avoid storing dependencies as artifacts. For dependencies, use the [GitHub cache action][7].

---

5. Automate cleanup (artifacts and caches)
You can schedule a cleanup workflow that deletes both artifacts and caches older than a set number of days:

name: housekeeping

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: "17 3 * * *"   # daily at 03:17 UTC
  workflow_dispatch:

permissions:
  actions: write
  contents: read

env:
  CUTOFF_DAYS: "7"

jobs:
  prune-actions-storage:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Compute cutoff timestamp
        id: when
        run: |
          echo "cutoff_ts=$(date -u -d '${CUTOFF_DAYS} days ago' +%s)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

      - name: Delete artifacts older than cutoff
        env:
          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          CUTOFF_TS: ${{ steps.when.outputs.cutoff_ts }}
        run: |
          gh api \
            --paginate \
            repos/${{ github.repository }}/actions/artifacts \
            --jq '.artifacts[] | [.id, .name, .created_at] | @tsv' \
          | while IFS=$'\t' read -r id name created; do
              ts="$(date -u -d "$created" +%s)"
              if [ "$ts" -lt "$CUTOFF_TS" ]; then
                echo "Deleting artifact $id ($name) created $created"
                gh api -X DELETE repos/${{ github.repository }}/actions/artifacts/$id || true
              fi
            done

      - name: Delete caches older than cutoff
        env:
          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          CUTOFF_TS: ${{ steps.when.outputs.cutoff_ts }}
        run: |
          gh cache list --repo ${{ github.repository }} \
          | while read -r id key size created rest; do
              ts="$(date -u -d "$created" +%s)"
              if [ "$ts" -lt "$CUTOFF_TS" ]; then
                echo "Deleting cache $id (key: $key) created $created"
                gh cache delete "$id" --repo ${{ github.repository }} || true
              fi
            done

([GitHub API Docs – delete artifact][8], [GitHub CLI Docs – cache list][2], [GitHub CLI Docs – cache delete][3])

This will automatically prune any artifacts and caches older than 7 days (you can change CUTOFF_DAYS to your preferred limit).

---

With these steps, you can prevent hitting the storage quota again without enabling billing or paying for overages.

---

[1]: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/storing-workflow-data-as-artifacts#managing-artifacts "Managing artifacts – GitHub Docs"
[2]: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_cache_list "gh cache list – GitHub CLI Docs"
[3]: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_cache_delete "gh cache delete – GitHub CLI Docs"
[4]: https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/169789 "GitHub Community Discussion – artifact quota delay"
[5]: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/storing-workflow-data-as-artifacts#changing-the-retention-period-for-artifacts-and-logs "Changing the retention period – GitHub Docs"
[6]: https://github.com/actions/upload-artifact "actions/upload-artifact – GitHub Marketplace"
[7]: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/caching-dependencies-to-speed-up-workflows "Caching dependencies to speed up workflows – GitHub Docs"
[8]: https://docs.github.com/en/rest/actions/artifacts?apiVersion=2022-11-28#delete-an-artifact "Delete an artifact – GitHub API Docs"

[KodexDigital]

Yeah, I have deleted all artifacts. Let me wait for next 24/48 hours again and retry. I will update this thread in the next 2 days. Thanks, I appreciate.

[Cre4T3Tiv3]

@KodexDigital, not a problem. Glad we could work together on this discussion, and I hope it points you in the right direction.

[HORACINIS]

@KodexDigital How'd it go after deleting artefacts, and waiting 24/48 hours?

[kgoodwinurt]

That GitHub Actions error is about GitHub Actions artifact storage specifically the Actions & Packages storage quota tied to your account or organization.

The “topic” or “product” you’d pick in a GitHub Discussion or support ticket would be:
GitHub Actions → Workflow Runs → Artifact storage.

Why it’s still happening after deletion

• Deleting artifacts doesn’t immediately free up quota.
• GitHub recalculates usage every 6–12 hours (sometimes longer).
• In rare cases, the recalculation can be delayed or stuck, which is why you’re still seeing the error after 48 hours.

How to fix

1. Double-check where the storage is coming from

• Go to Settings → Billing → GitHub Actions and Packages storage for your account/org.
• See if usage is still high and whether it’s from Actions, Packages, or both.

2. Clear old artifacts and logs

• Delete old workflow runs.
• Make sure to also check Packages (GitHub Packages registry), since they share the same quota.

3. Force recalculation / escalate

• If it’s been more than 48 hours with no update, open a ticket to GitHub Support.
• For Discussions, select: Category: Q&A → Topic: GitHub Actions → Subtopic: Workflow artifacts.

4. Long-term prevention

• Use actions/upload-artifact’s retention-days option to auto-expire artifacts sooner.
• Store large build outputs elsewhere (e.g., S3, Azure Blob, etc.).

[KodexDigital]

Thank you for your response. Please can you share get GitHub support ticket link?

[Macaw-DJP]

I ran into this problem and am 30 hours into the 48 hour wait. It's a shame that the 6-12 hour message does not reflect reality.

As a future preventative, I have used the retention-days property for actions/upload-artefact as follows.

      - name: Upload Docker Image
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: dbt-lint
          path: dbt-lint.tar
          retention-days: 1

Within Settings, under Actions/General I have set the Artefact and log retention period down to 7 days.

I believe this consumption is organisation-wide, so it is somewhat annoying that the GitHub console does not have anywhere that makes it easy to see where these artefacts are.

[github-actions[bot]]

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[fclante]

I Would be greatly appreciated if Github could provide an actual time to wait, so that we could notify our developers about how long they have to wait for a recalculation, or better yet give us a force-recalculate button on Enterprise and Pro subscriptions :-).

[quantuminformation]

been stuck on this 30 hrs now - what a chore

[rodrigoslayertech]

Mine has been blocked for over 24 hours and still hasn't updated. I've already cleared everything from the cache.

[quantuminformation]

we had to wait about a week

[HORACINIS]

Omg!! I've waited for nearly 12 hours, I keep trying to redeploy, and still nothing. I can't believe you had to wait that long!!😅 It's BS!

[quantuminformation]

it gives you a good opportunity to figure out how to deploy locally to prod

…

On Fri, 19 Dec 2025 at 13:16, Horacio ***@***.***> wrote: Omg!! I've waited for nearly 12 hours, I keep trying to redeploy, and still nothing. I can't believe you had to wait that long!!😅 It's BS! — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#169789 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AABU35QNSK7I6AP4SE4DTML4CPUAXAVCNFSM6AAAAACD4PTBTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTKMRZHA2TENA> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[kevske]

72 hours and counting. new record?

[les-cequencedsystems]

Having the same issue here, but with the team plan. I've nuked my cache and removed artifacts so that I'm below 0.7GB of my 2GB action storage and it's been a ~36 hours but still unable to upload new artifacts.

[l3shzn]

The “artifact storage quota has been hit” error means that the repository has reached its limit for stored workflow artifacts. Deleting artifacts does not immediately free up space — GitHub recalculates usage only every 6–12 hours, and sometimes the recalculation can take longer. That’s why you may still see the error even after cleaning up.

In practice, the quota will eventually reset once the recalculation finishes. If it has already been more than 48 hours, it usually indicates that the recalculation is delayed, but it will catch up. There isn’t a manual override to force the reset.

The best approach is to confirm that all large artifacts are deleted, then wait for the next recalculation cycle. Once GitHub updates the usage, new artifacts can be uploaded again.

[les-cequencedsystems]

Turns out it wasn't to do with the artifact amount but the accumulated artifact amount held over time. I wish it was more clearly stated in the Billing/Overview page that when it's showing 2GB maxed out what it can also refer to is you've hit the max number of GB hours for that month too. Removing the artifacts (as I had) in this case didn't do anything to change this, even after approaching 48 hours which makes sense. I added some $ to my Actions budget and it immediately resolved the issue, back in business.

…

On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 12:41 PM l3shzn ***@***.***> wrote: The “artifact storage quota has been hit” error means that the repository has reached its limit for stored workflow artifacts. Deleting artifacts does not immediately free up space — GitHub recalculates usage only every 6–12 hours, and sometimes the recalculation can take longer. That’s why you may still see the error even after cleaning up. In practice, the quota will eventually reset once the recalculation finishes. If it has already been more than 48 hours, it usually indicates that the recalculation is delayed, but it will catch up. There isn’t a manual override to force the reset. The best approach is to confirm that all large artifacts are deleted, then wait for the next recalculation cycle. Once GitHub updates the usage, new artifacts can be uploaded again. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#169789 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/B43PGXSZTTUFOMCNEFGFWQT4LOHW3AVCNFSM6AAAAACD4PTBTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTKNZXGQYDKOA> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[pustinek]

Well that was painful. I believe I hit the same issue that @les-cequencedsystems described. Increasing the actions budget in Settings -> Billing and Licensing -> Budgets and alerts ->> Actions to just 1$ fixed the issue

There really should be more information on github side on how to resolve this issue and workarounds

[TheRealMusawer]

I was almost ready to deploy my project for first release but I can't now and according to these comments up to a week

[Abhirai2006]

Hey 🙃

Mostly, this means that you reached the limit of GitHub Actions' storage/usage, and cleaning up artifacts won't instantly solve the problem.

👁‍🗨 Why this problem is occurring?

• GitHub refreshes usage limits every 6–12 hours, but in some cases, it takes 24–72 hours (even longer)
• Usage/storage consists of artifacts + caches + usage over time (GB-hours)

💪 How to fix it

• Remove caches and artifacts both (not only artifacts)

• Look at Settings -> Billing -> GitHub Actions storage

• Wait at least 24-72 hours for refreshing the limits

• Try to reduce future usage by:

  • Setting retention-days (1-7 days)
  • Uploading only needed files

🆘 Critical

However, if the problem persisted for more than 48-72 hours, this may indicate:

• Delayed limits refreshing process
• Or reaching the monthly usage limit (GB-hours)

👉 In this situation, creating Actions budget ($1) will usually help solve the problem immediately.

[github-actions[bot]]

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This Discussion has been labeled as dormant by an automated system for having no activity in the last 60 days. Please consider one the following actions:

1️⃣ Close as Out of Date: If the topic is no longer relevant, close the Discussion as out of date at the bottom of the page.

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[SriSomanaath]

This counts total stored artifacts + logs, not per-run usage, and it doesn't clear automatically until artifacts hit their retention expiry. Two fixes: (a) lower retention- set retention-days on actions/upload-artifact, or drop the repo/org default in Settings -> Actions; (b) actively delete existing artifacts via the REST API (DELETE /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/artifacts/{id}) or a cleanup action like geekyeggo/delete-artifact. Note the quota is billing-plan-bound, so for private repos check whether you've hit the included GB before assuming it's a bug.

[digvijayad]

Looks like the usage limit resets in 5 days not 6-12 hours.

[djpirra]

I have billing on , removed artifacts and cache and still giving same error... Not sure what to do now.