FINAL SOLUTION: No Artifacts Approach

🔴 The Real Problem

You’re absolutely right! The split-job approach I initially suggested still uses artifacts, which means:

❌ Still counts against your storage quota
❌ Can still hit quota limits if workflow runs frequently
❌ Only reduces the problem, doesn’t solve it

✅ The Real Solution: ZERO Artifacts

You need a workflow that doesn’t use artifacts at all. Here are your options:

🎯 Recommended Solution Options

Option 1: Use Quarto’s Built-in Publish ⭐ EASIEST & BEST

File: quarto-publish.simple.yml

How it works:

Render → Push directly to gh-pages branch
(No artifacts, no GitHub Actions Pages system)

Command:

quarto publish gh-pages --no-prompt --no-browser

Pros:

✅ ZERO artifacts - No storage quota used
✅ Simplest solution - One command does everything
✅ Official Quarto method
✅ Works natively on Windows
✅ Handles all git operations automatically

Cons:

Uses contents: write permission (needs to push to gh-pages branch)

GitHub Pages Setup Required:

Go to: Settings → Pages
Source: Deploy from a branch
Branch: gh-pages / root

Option 2: Manual Git Push to gh-pages ⭐ FULL CONTROL

File: quarto-publish.direct.yml

How it works:

Render → Manually push docs to gh-pages branch
(No artifacts, custom deployment logic)

Pros:

✅ ZERO artifacts
✅ Full control over deployment process
✅ Works natively on Windows
✅ Can customize deployment logic

Cons:

More complex workflow script
More git commands to maintain

Option 3: Current Approach (NOT RECOMMENDED)

File: quarto-publish.win64.yml (current)

Problems:

❌ Uses upload-artifact@v4 (counts against quota!)
❌ Creates artifact on every run
❌ Even with 1-day retention, can accumulate if you run frequently
❌ This is what’s causing your quota issue

📊 Comparison Table

Approach	Artifacts Used?	Quota Impact	Works on Windows?	Complexity
Quarto built-in	❌ None	✅ Zero	✅ Yes	⭐ Simple
Manual gh-pages push	❌ None	✅ Zero	✅ Yes	⭐⭐ Medium
Split job (current)	✅ Yes (1 day)	⚠️ Low but not zero	✅ Yes	⭐⭐⭐ Complex
Single job with Pages API	✅ Yes	❌ High	❌ Needs WSL	⭐⭐⭐ Complex

🚀 Implementation Steps

To Use Option 1 (Quarto Built-in - RECOMMENDED):

Disable current workflow:

# Rename to disable it
cd "E:\dev.darioa.live\darioairoldi\Learn\.github\workflows"
Rename-Item "quarto-publish.win64.yml" "quarto-publish.win64.yml.disabled"

Enable the simple workflow:

# It's already created as quarto-publish.simple.yml
# Just commit and push

Configure GitHub Pages:
- Go to: https://github.com/darioairoldi/Learn/settings/pages
- Source: Deploy from a branch
- Branch: gh-pages / root
- Save

Commit and test:

cd "E:\dev.darioa.live\darioairoldi\Learn"
git add .github/workflows/
git commit -m "Switch to Quarto built-in publish (no artifacts)"
git push

🎯 Why Quarto Built-in is Best

The quarto publish gh-pages command is specifically designed for this use case:

# This ONE command does everything:
quarto publish gh-pages --no-prompt --no-browser

What it does internally:

Renders your Quarto project
Creates/updates the gh-pages branch
Pushes the rendered content
All without using any GitHub Actions artifacts!

It’s literally the official way to publish Quarto to GitHub Pages.

🧹 Cleaning Up After Switch

After switching to the no-artifact approach:

Run the cleanup script to remove existing artifacts:

cd "E:\dev.darioa.live\darioairoldi\Learn\20251018 ISSUE Github action fails with Artifact storage quota has been hit"
.\cleanup-artifacts.ps1

Monitor that no new artifacts are created:
- Go to: https://github.com/darioairoldi/Learn/actions/artifacts
- Should remain empty after workflows run

📝 Quick Decision Guide

Use Quarto Built-in (quarto-publish.simple.yml) if:

✅ You want the simplest solution
✅ You’re okay with quarto publish handling everything
✅ You want the official Quarto method
✅ You want ZERO artifacts

Use Manual Push (quarto-publish.direct.yml) if:

✅ You need custom deployment logic
✅ You want more control over the git operations
✅ You want ZERO artifacts

Don’t use the split-job approach if:

❌ You’re hitting artifact storage quota limits
❌ You run workflows frequently
❌ You want to avoid artifacts completely

✅ Summary

The issue with the current approach:

Still uses artifacts (even with 1-day retention)
Can accumulate if workflow runs frequently
Not a true solution to the quota problem

The real solution:

Use quarto publish gh-pages command
No artifacts at all
Simple, official, and works perfectly on Windows

Next step:

Replace quarto-publish.win64.yml with quarto-publish.simple.yml
Configure GitHub Pages to use gh-pages branch
Done! No more quota issues, ever.

Ready to implement? I recommend Option 1 (Quarto built-in). 🎉