Failed to CreateArtifact: Artifact storage quota has been hit. Unable to upload

[Dev2-ATS]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Question

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

General

Discussion Details

Our organization has deleted all GitHub Actions artifacts at both repository and organization levels. The API confirms total_count is 0, and there are no GitHub Packages stored. However, Actions & Packages storage still shows 0.5 GB used and workflows cannot upload artifacts. It has been more than 48 hours. Please refresh or correct the storage usage for our organization.

[pratikrath126]

This can happen when artifact storage metrics are cached. First, double-check you don't have any GitHub Packages (in the org's Packages settings) or caches consuming space. Also ensure no running workflows have artifacts in-flight. If everything is truly empty, you'll need to contact GitHub Support — they can manually refresh the storage counters from the backend. Include your org name and the fact that deletions were confirmed >48h ago.

[Farhxn-15]

Yeah, this situation can be really confusing because deleting artifacts does not always immediately free the storage quota.

A few important things to know about Actions storage:

1. Storage usage is recalculated asynchronously

When artifacts are deleted, the quota is not updated instantly. GitHub recalculates usage in the background, and this can take several hours and sometimes more than 48 hours for organization level storage.

2. Storage includes more than workflow artifacts

Even if artifacts show zero, storage usage can still include:

• workflow logs
• caches created with actions cache
• container layers from GitHub Packages or GHCR
• retained artifacts from other repositories in the organization

Caches are a very common hidden source of usage.

3. Check and clear Actions caches

Caches do not appear in artifact lists.

You can list caches:

gh cache list

Delete them:

gh cache delete --all

Or via repository Settings → Actions → Caches.

4. Organization level usage aggregates all repositories

If this is an organization account, usage shown includes storage from every repo. One repo retaining artifacts or caches can block uploads across the org.

5. Verify retention policies

Shortening artifact retention reduces future usage but does not immediately reclaim past storage until recalculation completes.

6. When quota shows stuck after cleanup

If more than 48 to 72 hours have passed and storage still shows used:

• verify caches are cleared
• check other repos in the org
• confirm no package images remain
• then contact GitHub Support to refresh storage metrics

Support can trigger a manual recalculation if the quota appears stuck.

Practical tip

Most cases are caused by caches rather than artifacts. Clearing caches and waiting for the usage recalculation resolves the issue.