GitHub Actions runner using non-existent file?

[AlinaWan]

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Bug

Body

Has anyone experienced that the GitHub Actions runner is using old icons which no longer exists in the repository as the application icon in the dotnet publish step?

Top: The resulting executable file from running dotnet publish locally.
Bottom: The resulting executable file from running dotnet publish on a GitHub runner.

It is worth noting that when compiling the Inno Setup installer executable file, the correct icon is used, which is inconsistent as the C# project pulls from the same directory.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Ensure that the target icon file exists and is correct
2. Ensure that the C# project icon and Inno Setup icon both use the same directory
3. Dispatch the GitHub Action workflow
4. Observe that the Inno Setup icon uses the currently existing icon while the C# executable icon uses an old version of the icon previously at the same directory, which no longer exists at HEAD.

Logs:

Run dotnet publish -c Release
  dotnet publish -c Release
  shell: C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.EXE -command ". '{0}'"
  env:
    DOTNET_ROOT: C:\Program Files\dotnet
  Determining projects to restore...
  All projects are up-to-date for restore.

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[itxashancode]

I’d start by making sure the runner gets a clean source tree. Add a step before the build that deletes the bin and obj folders:

- name: Clean build artifacts
 run: |
 rm -rf **/bin **/obj

Then run dotnet publish -c Release. If the icon still comes from an old version, check that the icon file isn’t listed in .gitignore or otherwise excluded from the checkout. The runner caches the checkout, so an ignored file won’t be updated when you change branches or commit history.

If you’re using the actions/cache action for NuGet or build outputs, clear that cache or set save-cache: false for a run to see if the problem disappears. A fresh checkout plus a clean bin/obj usually forces MSBuild to pick up the current icon file.

[AlinaWan]

Hi @itxashancode, I've tried that but it causes the action to fail because the directory is non-existent. The old icon would not exist anywhere as it does not exist in the clone. The only thing that has worked is waiting a month before running the action again.

[itxashancode]

That makes sense, on a clean clone those folders won't exist, so rm throws an error before it even tries. The fix is just making the command tolerant of that:

- name: Clean build artifacts
  run: rm -rf **/bin **/obj || true

The || true swallows the exit code if there's nothing there. Should sort it without the action failing.

If the month-of-waiting thing is working well enough for you, it's probably just a runner cache quirk and not worth chasing further.
Feel free to close the discussion if you think it's resolved, helps with badge progress on my end 😄