GitHub Actions "Unable to download artifact" - download-artifact v4

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

download-artifact could not find the artifact - the name does not match, the producing job has not finished or is in a different run, or you need needs: to order the jobs.

What this error means

A download step fails with "Unable to find an artifact with the name" or downloads nothing, because the artifact does not exist yet in the scope the action looked.

Error: Unable to find an artifact with the name: site
# the producing job had not finished, or the name/run scope is wrong

Common causes

Name mismatch or producer not done

The download name must exactly match the upload, and the producing job must complete first - which requires a needs: dependency.

Cross-run download without run-id

By default v4 downloads artifacts from the current run. To pull from another workflow run you must pass run-id and a token.

How to fix it

Order jobs and match the name

download:
  needs: build           # wait for the producer
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
      with:
        name: site         # exact name from upload

Download from another run explicitly

Set run-id (and a token with actions: read) to fetch an artifact produced by a different workflow run.

- uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: site
    run-id: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.id }}
    github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

How to prevent it

• Add needs: so a download never races the producing job.
• Keep upload and download names identical.
• Pass run-id and a token for cross-run artifact downloads.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions