I can't upload my new Artificate while deploy my project into server using Git action

[pmt-dev-stack]

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Discussion Details

Hi everyone,

Over the past few days, I’ve been trying to deploy my project to the server using GitHub Actions. I created a CI/CD pipeline that uses artifacts for deployment. However, I kept running into an artifact storage error during deployment.

The error message I received was:
"
With the provided path, there will be 77 files uploaded
Artifact name is valid!
Root directory input is valid!
Error: Failed to CreateArtifact: Artifact storage quota has been hit. Unable to upload any new artifacts. Usage is recalculated every 6-12 hours."

I deleted all existing artifacts using the GitHub CLI and verified that they were removed, but I still see the same error when attempting to deploy.

I would like to know how long it typically takes for GitHub to recalculate and update the artifact storage quota after artifacts are deleted.

[shoaibkhan-sde]

Artifact Storage Recalculation Time ⏱️
While the error message you received states that usage is recalculated every 6-12 hours, in practice, it can often take longer.

Official Window: GitHub's documentation and error messages typically state that the usage is recalculated every 6 to 12 hours.

User Experience: Based on community discussions, users often find that the update can take 12 to 24 hours, and sometimes even up to 48 hours, to fully reflect the deleted space and clear the error.

This delay is normal and occurs because the deletion process is separate from the periodic job that updates your account's storage usage metrics. Even if the artifacts are gone from the UI, the space may not be officially "freed up" in the billing system until the recalculation job runs.

Immediate Steps to Take ✅
Since you've already deleted the artifacts, the most direct solution is to wait patiently for the recalculation window to complete.

Wait: Give it a full 12 to 24 hours from the time you completed the deletion. Try the deployment again after that period.

Verify Usage: Double-check your current storage usage to see if the number has decreased. You can usually find this information under your GitHub Account Settings (or Organization Settings) in the Billing section, under Actions and Packages Storage.

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[Shifkan04]

Artifact storage usage isn’t updated in real time. Even after you delete all artifacts (via UI or gh CLI), GitHub recalculates artifact quota usage on a delayed schedule, usually within 6–12 hours, but in some cases it can take up to 24 hours before the quota is fully refreshed.

A few things to keep in mind:

Deleting artifacts only marks them for removal; the backend cleanup + quota update is async

The error will continue until the recalculation job runs, even if no artifacts are visible

Re-running workflows during this window will still fail with the same quota error

Workarounds while waiting:

Temporarily disable artifact upload steps

Reduce artifact size / number of files

Use external storage (S3, GCS, etc.) for deployment artifacts

Add retention-days to artifacts to avoid hitting the quota again

Once the quota refreshes, uploads should start working again without any changes.

[mr-adonis-jimenez]

While the existing answers correctly note the 6-12 hour (sometimes up to 24-48 hour) recalculation window, here's a more actionable approach to resolve this immediately and prevent it in the future:

Immediate Workarounds (Don't Wait 12+ Hours)

1. Check Your Current Quota Status

gh api /user/settings/billing/actions

This shows your exact usage vs. limits. If you're at 100%, the wait is unavoidable, but if there's headroom, there may be another issue.

2. Bypass Artifacts Temporarily

Modify your workflow to skip artifact upload/download steps while quota refreshes:

- name: Upload artifact
  if: false  # Temporarily disable
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: deployment-package

3. Use Direct Deployment (No Artifacts)

Instead of artifact-based deployment, deploy directly in the same job:

deploy:
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
    - name: Build
      run: npm run build
    - name: Deploy directly
      run: |
        rsync -avz ./dist/ user@server:/path/

Prevent This From Happening Again

Set Retention Periods

Add retention-days to all artifact uploads to auto-cleanup:

- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: build-output
    path: dist/
    retention-days: 7  # Auto-delete after 7 days

Use Artifact Cleanup Actions

Add this job to your workflows to automatically delete old artifacts:

cleanup:
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - uses: actions/delete-artifact@v2
      with:
        name: old-artifact-*

Alternative: External Storage

For large deployments, use S3/Azure/GCS instead of GitHub artifacts:

- name: Upload to S3
  run: |
    aws s3 cp ./dist s3://my-bucket/deployments/${{ github.sha }}/ --recursive

Root Cause Analysis

Your issue stems from GitHub's async quota calculation. Even though gh artifact list shows zero artifacts, the billing system hasn't caught up. The quota is calculated by a background job, not in real-time.

Best practice: Always set retention-days on artifacts to avoid hitting quota limits, especially for CI/CD pipelines that run frequently.

Once the recalculation completes (typically within 12-24 hours from deletion), your uploads will resume automatically without workflow changes.