content/admin/managing-github-actions-for-your-enterprise/managing-access-to-actions-from-githubcom/setting-up-the-tool-cache-on-self-hosted-runners-without-internet-access.md

metadata

title: Setting up the tool cache on self-hosted runners without internet access
intro: >-
  To use the included `actions/setup` actions on self-hosted runners without
  internet access, you must first populate the runner's tool cache for your
  workflows.
redirect_from:
  - >-
    /enterprise/admin/github-actions/setting-up-the-tool-cache-on-self-hosted-runners-without-internet-access
  - >-
    /admin/github-actions/setting-up-the-tool-cache-on-self-hosted-runners-without-internet-access
  - >-
    /admin/github-actions/managing-access-to-actions-from-githubcom/setting-up-the-tool-cache-on-self-hosted-runners-without-internet-access
versions:
  ghes: '*'
type: tutorial
topics:
  - Actions
  - Enterprise
  - Networking
  - Storage
shortTitle: Tool cache for offline runners

{% data reusables.actions.enterprise-github-hosted-runners %}

About the included setup actions and the runner tool cache

{% data reusables.actions.enterprise-no-internet-actions %}

Most official {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-authored actions are automatically bundled with {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %}. However, self-hosted runners without internet access require some configuration before they can use the included actions/setup-LANGUAGE actions, such as setup-node.

The actions/setup-LANGUAGE actions normally need internet access to download the required environment binaries into the runner's tool cache. Self-hosted runners without internet access can't download the binaries, so you must manually populate the tool cache on the runner.

You can populate the runner tool cache by running a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %} that uploads a {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runner's tool cache as an artifact, which you can then transfer and extract on your internet-disconnected self-hosted runner.

You can only use a {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runner's tool cache for a self-hosted runner that has an identical operating system and architecture. For example, if you are using a ubuntu-22.04 {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runner to generate a tool cache, your self-hosted runner must be a 64-bit Ubuntu 22.04 machine. For more information on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runners, see AUTOTITLE.

Prerequisites

• Determine which development environments your self-hosted runners will need. The following example demonstrates how to populate a tool cache for the setup-node action, using Node.js versions 14 and 16.
• Access to a repository on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %} that you can use to run a workflow.
• Access to your self-hosted runner's file system to populate the tool cache folder.

Populating the tool cache for a self-hosted runner

1. On {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}, navigate to a repository that you can use to run a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow.

2. Create a new workflow file in the repository's .github/workflows folder that uploads an artifact containing the {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-hosted runner's tool cache.

   The following example demonstrates a workflow that uploads the tool cache for an Ubuntu 22.04 environment, using the setup-node action with Node.js versions 14 and 16.

   name: Upload Node.js 14 and 16 tool cache
   on: push
   jobs:
     upload_tool_cache:
       runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
       steps:
         - name: Clear any existing tool cache
           run: |
             mv "{% raw %}${{ runner.tool_cache }}" "${{ runner.tool_cache }}.old"{% endraw %}
             mkdir -p "{% raw %}${{ runner.tool_cache }}{% endraw %}"
         - name: Setup Node 14
           uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-setup-node %}
           with:
             node-version: 14.x
         - name: Setup Node 16
           uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-setup-node %}
           with:
             node-version: 16.x
         - name: Archive tool cache
           run: |
             cd "{% raw %}${{ runner.tool_cache }}{% endraw %}"
             tar -czf tool_cache.tar.gz *
         - name: Upload tool cache artifact
           uses: {% data reusables.actions.action-upload-artifact %}
           with:
             path: {% raw %}${{runner.tool_cache}}/tool_cache.tar.gz{% endraw %}
   

3. Download the tool cache artifact from the workflow run. For instructions on downloading artifacts, see AUTOTITLE.

4. Transfer the tool cache artifact to your self hosted runner and extract it to the local tool cache directory. The default tool cache directory is RUNNER_DIR/_work/_tool. If the runner hasn't processed any jobs yet, you might need to create the _work/_tool directories.

   After extracting the tool cache artifact uploaded in the above example, you should have a directory structure on your self-hosted runner that is similar to the following example:

   RUNNER_DIR
   ├── ...
   └── _work
       ├── ...
       └── _tool
           └── node
               ├── 14.21.3
               │   └── ...
               └── 16.16.0
                   └── ...
   

Your self-hosted runner without internet access should now be able to use the setup-node action. If you are having problems, make sure that you have populated the correct tool cache for your workflows. For example, if you need to use the setup-python action, you will need to populate the tool cache with the Python environment you want to use.