# codespaces-precache
**Repository Path**: mirrors_github/codespaces-precache
## Basic Information
- **Project Name**: codespaces-precache
- **Description**: No description available
- **Primary Language**: Unknown
- **License**: Not specified
- **Default Branch**: main
- **Homepage**: None
- **GVP Project**: No
## Statistics
- **Stars**: 0
- **Forks**: 0
- **Created**: 2021-07-22
- **Last Updated**: 2026-02-14
## Categories & Tags
**Categories**: Uncategorized
**Tags**: None
## README
## **Warning:** This action will be deprecated after 4/22/2022. Please see [Codespace Prebuilds](https://docs.github.com/en/codespaces/prebuilding-your-codespaces/about-codespaces-prebuilds) to switch to the new experience.
# codespaces-precache
Experimental feature. A limited number of organizations/repositories will be admitted into a closed private beta. You can learn more and ask to sign up for the private preview [here](https://docs.github.com/en/codespaces/customizing-your-codespace/prebuilding-codespaces-for-your-project).
## Prerequisites
Your organization must have been granted access to this experimental feature in order to use this action.
## Step 1: Set up access token
In order to use this action, you will need to create a valid access token and set it in your [codespace repository secrets](https://docs.github.com/en/codespaces/managing-your-codespaces/managing-encrypted-secrets-for-your-codespaces) under the name `EXPERIMENTAL_CODESPACE_CACHE_TOKEN`. The token will need access to your target repository for precached codespaces.
### Step 1a: Generate access token
The token can be generated for any user. However, we highly recommend using a bot user with permission only to your target repository, or creating a new user and granting them permission to the target repository. This is because the access token `repo` permission grants access to all repositories the user has access to.
Once you have a target user with narrowly-scoped repository permissions, [Create a personal access token](https://docs.github.com/en/github/authenticating-to-github/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token) with only the `repo` permission selected.
### Step 1b: Add the access token as a repository secret
[Create a repository secret](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/encrypted-secrets#creating-encrypted-secrets-for-a-repository). In repository settings, under the Secrets tab and Codespaces sub-menu option, create a secret with a name of `EXPERIMENTAL_CODESPACE_CACHE_TOKEN` and a value of the token you just created. This secret value will be used in the precaching process to set up your precached codespaces. The url to create the secret is `https://github.com/[organization name]/[repository name]/settings/secrets/codespaces/new`.
## Step 2: Create the workflow file
[Create a workflow file](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions) in your repo that uses the `github/codespaces-precache` action. The file should be in the `.github/workflows` directory.
### Properties
#### Environment properties
The `GITHUB_TOKEN` variable needs to be added in the `env` to use this action. `GITHUB_TOKEN` is a token automatically generated by GitHub to authenticate the action. [Read more about `GITHUB_TOKEN` here](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/authentication-in-a-workflow#about-the-github_token-secret).
```
env:
GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```
#### Input properties
The following properties can be added as input properties using [jobs..steps[*].with](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions#jobsjob_idstepswith)
| name | required? | description
-------|-----------|------------
|`regions` | yes | Separated region(s) to create cached codespaces in. Multiple regions can be specified, separated by spaces. Valid regions are: `WestUs2` `EastUs` `WestEurope` `SouthEastAsia`|
|`sku_name` | yes | Machine type for the cached codespaces. Example: `standardLinux32gb`|
##### Valid Sku names
|Cores | Sku name
-------|--------
|2-core | basicLinux32gb|
|4-core | standardLinux32gb|
|8-core | premiumLinux|
|16-core | largePremiumLinux|
|32-core | xLargePremiumLinux*|
*_Contact us to get access_
See [sku pricing info for more](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/managing-billing-for-github-codespaces/about-billing-for-codespaces#codespaces-pricing).
##### Other input properties
There are 2 additional input parameters for GitHub Codespaces developer use only: `target` and `target_url`. Access is required to use these parameters.
### Standard Template
```yml
name: precache codespace
on:
push:
branches:
- main
workflow_dispatch:
permissions:
contents: write
jobs:
createPrebuild:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v2
- uses: github/codespaces-precache@v1-stable
with:
regions: WestUs2
sku_name: standardLinux32gb
env:
GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```
We recommend you use the `v1-stable` version of the action, which will include the latest stable features, fixes, and patches.
## Troubleshooting
### I set up the action, how do I know if it worked?
Check the action logs for an error message or a success response. It may take some time to set up the first time, so wait a few minutes after seeing a success and try creating a codespace to see if it is created from a prebuild. Note that if you have multiple regions listed, each will be set up separately, so a partial failure is possible if some succeed and some fail.
#### Action failure looks like:
#### Action success response looks like:
### How do I know if my new codespace was created from a prebuild?
There's an environment value set when you first create the codespace. You can paste this command into the built-in terminal:
```
$ cat /workspaces/.codespaces/shared/environment-variables.json | jq '.ACTION_NAME'
"createFromPrebuild"
```
If the output is `"createFromPrebuild"` it was newly created from a prebuild.
### Can my `postCreateCommand` be run as part of the prebuild process?
We recommend updating your [devcontainer.json](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/devcontainerjson-reference) to use `onCreateCommand` for any commands you want to run as part of the prebuild process, which will happen before the codespace gets assigned to a user. `postCreateCommand` will still run after a codespace is created and is therefore a good place to do any initialization that's specific to the user to whom the codespace is assigned.