Update changes with more details on Linux ARM support

Until https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/issues/1628 is resolved, running cross on Linux ARM also
requires the user to provide a custom Docker image, so this is only sort of usable.

.github/workflows/lint.yml

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   lint:
     name: Check that code is lint clean using precious
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Install mise

.github/workflows/test.yml

@@ -12,209 +12,247 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         platform:
           - platform_name: FreeBSD-x86_64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: x86_64-unknown-freebsd
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "x86-64.+FreeBSD"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: false
+            expect-file-re: "x86-64.+FreeBSD"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: false
 
           - platform_name: Linux-x86_64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            # It's important to use a musl target here to make sure that the step to install
+            # musl-tools works.
             target: x86_64-unknown-linux-musl
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "ELF.+x86-64"
-            expect_cross: ""
-            expect_stripped: "--expect-stripped"
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "ELF.+x86-64"
+            expect-cross: ""
+            expect-stripped: "--expect-stripped"
+            can-execute: true
+
+          - platform_name: Linux-x86_64 (force cross)
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
+            force-use-cross: true
+            cache-cross-binary: true
+            expect-file-re: "ELF.+x86-64"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-aarch64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "aarch64"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "aarch64"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-aarch64 (no cache)
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
             cache-cross-binary: false
-            expect_file_re: "aarch64"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "aarch64"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-aarch64 with cross v0.2.3
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
             cross-version: "v0.2.3"
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "aarch64"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_cross_version: "0.2.3"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "aarch64"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-cross-version: "0.2.3"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-aarch64 with cross v0.2.3 (no cache)
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
             cross-version: "v0.2.3"
             cache-cross-binary: false
-            expect_file_re: "aarch64"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_cross_version: "0.2.3"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "aarch64"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-cross-version: "0.2.3"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-aarch64 with cross 19be834
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
             cross-version: "19be834"
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "aarch64"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_cross_version: "19be834"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "aarch64"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-cross-version: "19be834"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
-          - platform_name: Linux-aarch64 with cross 19be834
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
+          - platform_name: Linux-aarch64 with cross 19be834 (no cache)
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
             cross-version: "19be834"
             cache-cross-binary: false
-            expect_file_re: "aarch64"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_cross_version: "19be834"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "aarch64"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-cross-version: "19be834"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
+
+          - platform_name: Linux-aarch64 with arm64 host
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
+            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
+            cache-cross-binary: true
+            expect-file-re: "aarch64"
+            expect-cross: ""
+            expect-stripped: "--expect-stripped"
+            can-execute: true
+
+          # This fails because of some sort of weird bug in cross. See
+          # https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/issues/1628 for more details. Until that's fixed
+          # cross-compiling on Linux ARM won't work without a custom Docker image, which I don't
+          # want to do just for the sake of testing this.
+          #
+          # - platform_name: Linux-aarch64 with arm64 host compile to x86-64
+          #   runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
+          #   target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
+          #   # Until cross produces arm64 binary releases we _have_ to set this when running on
+          #   # arm64.
+          #   cross-version: "c7dee4d"
+          #   cache-cross-binary: true
+          #   expect-file-re: "ELF.+x86-64"
+          #   expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+          #   expect-stripped: ""
+          #   can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-arm
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-            target: arm-unknown-linux-musleabi
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: arm-unknown-linux-gnueabi
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "32.+ARM"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "32.+ARM"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-i586
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-            target: i586-unknown-linux-musl
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: i586-unknown-linux-gnu
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "ELF.+80386"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "ELF.+80386"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-i686
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-            target: i686-unknown-linux-musl
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+            target: i686-unknown-linux-gnu
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "ELF.+80386"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "ELF.+80386"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-powerpc
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: powerpc-unknown-linux-gnu
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "32.+PowerPC"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "32.+PowerPC"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-powerpc64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: powerpc64-unknown-linux-gnu
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "64.+PowerPC"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "64.+PowerPC"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-powerpc64le
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: powerpc64le-unknown-linux-gnu
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "64.+PowerPC"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "64.+PowerPC"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-riscv64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: riscv64gc-unknown-linux-gnu
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "64.+RISC-V"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "64.+RISC-V"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Linux-s390x
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: s390x-unknown-linux-gnu
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "64.+S/390"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "64.+S/390"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: NetBSD-x86_64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: x86_64-unknown-netbsd
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "x86-64.+NetBSD"
-            expect_cross: "--expect-cross"
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: false
+            expect-file-re: "x86-64.+NetBSD"
+            expect-cross: "--expect-cross"
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: false
 
           - platform_name: Windows-aarch64
             runs-on: windows-latest
             target: aarch64-pc-windows-msvc
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "Aarch64.+Windows"
-            expect_cross: ""
-            expect_stripped: ""
-            can_execute: false
+            expect-file-re: "Aarch64.+Windows"
+            expect-cross: ""
+            expect-stripped: ""
+            can-execute: false
 
           - platform_name: Windows-i686
             runs-on: windows-latest
             target: i686-pc-windows-msvc
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "80386.+Windows"
-            expect_cross: ""
-            expect_stripped: "--expect-stripped"
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "80386.+Windows"
+            expect-cross: ""
+            expect-stripped: "--expect-stripped"
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: Windows-x86_64
             runs-on: windows-latest
             target: x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "x86-64.+Windows"
-            expect_stripped: "--expect-stripped"
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "x86-64.+Windows"
+            expect-stripped: "--expect-stripped"
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: macOS-x86_64
             runs-on: macOS-latest
             target: x86_64-apple-darwin
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "Mach-O.+x86_64"
-            expect_cross: ""
-            expect_stripped: "--expect-stripped"
-            can_execute: true
+            expect-file-re: "Mach-O.+x86_64"
+            expect-cross: ""
+            expect-stripped: "--expect-stripped"
+            can-execute: true
 
           - platform_name: macOS-aarch64
             runs-on: macOS-latest
             target: aarch64-apple-darwin
             cache-cross-binary: true
-            expect_file_re: "Mach-O.+arm64"
-            expect_cross: ""
-            expect_stripped: "--expect-stripped"
-            can_execute: false
+            expect-file-re: "Mach-O.+arm64"
+            expect-cross: ""
+            expect-stripped: "--expect-stripped"
+            can-execute: false
 
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.platform.runs-on }}
     steps:
@@ -229,60 +267,44 @@ jobs:
         uses: ./
         with:
           command: both
+          force-use-cross: ${{ matrix.platform.force-use-cross || false }}
           cross-version: ${{ matrix.platform.cross-version }}
           cache-cross-binary: ${{ matrix.platform.cache-cross-binary }}
           target: ${{ matrix.platform.target }}
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        if: ${{ matrix.platform.can_execute }}
+        if: ${{ matrix.platform.can-execute }}
       - name: Run test command
         uses: ./
         with:
           command: test
+          force-use-cross: ${{ matrix.platform.force-use-cross || false }}
           cross-version: ${{ matrix.platform.cross-version }}
           cache-cross-binary: ${{ matrix.platform.cache-cross-binary }}
           target: ${{ matrix.platform.target }}
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        if: ${{ matrix.platform.can_execute }}
+        if: ${{ matrix.platform.can-execute }}
       - name: Run test command with args
         uses: ./
         with:
           command: test
+          force-use-cross: ${{ matrix.platform.force-use-cross || false }}
           cross-version: ${{ matrix.platform.cross-version }}
           cache-cross-binary: ${{ matrix.platform.cache-cross-binary }}
           target: ${{ matrix.platform.target }}
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           args: "-- --ignored"
-        if: ${{ matrix.platform.can_execute }}
+        if: ${{ matrix.platform.can-execute }}
       - name: Run build command
         uses: ./
         with:
           command: build
+          force-use-cross: ${{ matrix.platform.force-use-cross || false }}
           cross-version: ${{ matrix.platform.cross-version }}
           cache-cross-binary: ${{ matrix.platform.cache-cross-binary }}
           target: ${{ matrix.platform.target }}
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           strip: true
-      - name: Run build command for subdir
-        uses: ./
-        with:
-          command: build
-          cross-version: ${{ matrix.platform.cross-version }}
-          cache-cross-binary: ${{ matrix.platform.cache-cross-binary }}
-          working-directory: subcrate
-          target: ${{ matrix.platform.target }}
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          strip: true
-      - name: Run bench command
-        uses: ./
-        with:
-          command: bench
-          cross-version: ${{ matrix.platform.cross-version }}
-          cache-cross-binary: ${{ matrix.platform.cache-cross-binary }}
-          target: ${{ matrix.platform.target }}
-          working-directory: bench
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        if: ${{ matrix.platform.can_execute }}
-      - name: Check binary and cross on ${{ matrix.platform.platform_name }}
+      - name: Check binary and cross for main crate on ${{ matrix.platform.platform_name }}
         shell: bash
         run: |
           set -e
@@ -290,14 +312,49 @@ jobs:
           cargo run --manifest-path ./run-tests/Cargo.toml -- \
               --checkout-root "$PWD" \
               --target "${{ matrix.platform.target }}" \
-              --expect-file-re "${{ matrix.platform.expect_file_re }}" \
-              --expect-cross-version "${{ matrix.platform.expect_cross_version }}" \
-              ${{ matrix.platform.expect_cross }} \
-              ${{ matrix.platform.expect_stripped }}
+              --expect-file-re "${{ matrix.platform.expect-file-re }}" \
+              --expect-cross-version "${{ matrix.platform.expect-cross-version }}" \
+              ${{ matrix.platform.expect-cross }} \
+              ${{ matrix.platform.expect-stripped }}
+      - name: Run build command for subdir
+        uses: ./
+        with:
+          command: build
+          force-use-cross: ${{ matrix.platform.force-use-cross || false }}
+          cross-version: ${{ matrix.platform.cross-version }}
+          cache-cross-binary: ${{ matrix.platform.cache-cross-binary }}
+          working-directory: subcrate
+          target: ${{ matrix.platform.target }}
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          strip: true
+      - name: Check binary and cross for subcrate on ${{ matrix.platform.platform_name }}
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          set -x
+          cargo run --manifest-path ./run-tests/Cargo.toml -- \
+              --checkout-root "$PWD" \
+              --target "${{ matrix.platform.target }}" \
+              --expect-file-re "${{ matrix.platform.expect-file-re }}" \
+              --expect-cross-version "${{ matrix.platform.expect-cross-version }}" \
+              ${{ matrix.platform.expect-cross }} \
+              ${{ matrix.platform.expect-stripped }} \
+              --is-subcrate
+      - name: Run bench command
+        uses: ./
+        with:
+          command: bench
+          force-use-cross: ${{ matrix.platform.force-use-cross || false }}
+          cross-version: ${{ matrix.platform.cross-version }}
+          cache-cross-binary: ${{ matrix.platform.cache-cross-binary }}
+          target: ${{ matrix.platform.target }}
+          working-directory: bench
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        if: ${{ matrix.platform.can-execute }}
 
   test-validate-inputs:
     name: Test validate-inputs
-    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4

Changes.md

@@ -1,3 +1,22 @@
+## 1.0.3 - 2025-02-17
+
+- Fixed a bug when running with a Linux ARM host where the action would use a cached `cross`
+  download for x86-64 Linux (or vice versa). Now the cache key for the `cross` binary includes both
+  the runner's architecture in addition to its OS.
+- This release partially support running on Linxu ARM, but see the `README.md` file for details on
+  this.
+
+## 1.0.2 - 2025-02-16
+
+- Added a new `force-use-cross` input, which does what it says. It will force the use of `cross`
+  even when it is not required for given platform/target combination. Note that this only works on
+  Linux hosts.
+
+## 1.0.1 - 2025-01-20
+
+- Fixed a bug where this action would attempt to use `cross` when compiling for an ARM Linux target
+  on an ARM Linux host.
+
 ## 1.0.0 - 2025-01-11
 
 The addition of caching is a significant behavior change for this action, so the version has been
@@ -27,7 +46,7 @@ bumped to v1.0.0 because of this change.
 - This action will now configure and use `Swatinem/rust-cache` by default for you. It will include
   the `target` parameter as part of the cache key automatically. Suggested by @jennydaman (Jennings
   Zhang). GH #23.
-- This action now validates its input and will exit early if they are not valid. GH #35.
+- This action now validates its inputs and will exit early if they are not valid. GH #35.
 
 ## 0.0.17 - 2024-11-23
 

README.md

@@ -14,20 +14,19 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         platform:
           - os-name: FreeBSD-x86_64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: x86_64-unknown-freebsd
-            skip_tests: true
 
           - os-name: Linux-x86_64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: x86_64-unknown-linux-musl
 
           - os-name: Linux-aarch64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
 
           - os-name: Linux-riscv64
-            runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
             target: riscv64gc-unknown-linux-gnu
 
           - os-name: Windows-x86_64
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ jobs:
 Note that for Linux or BSD targets, you should always set the `runs-on` key to a Linux x86-64
 architecture runner.
 
-If you _only_ want to do native ARM compilation, for example using the `ubuntu-latest-arm` runner,
+If you _only_ want to do native ARM compilation, for example using the `ubuntu-24.04-arm` runner,
 then there's no need to use this action. However, if you want to compile for _many_ platforms,
 including Linux ARM, using this action will simplify your config. This action is only tested on
 Ubuntu x86-64, Windows, and macOS runners.
@@ -80,9 +79,30 @@ This action takes the following parameters:
 | `args`                  | string                                                               | no        | A string-separated list of arguments to be passed to `cross build`, like `--release --locked`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
 | `strip`                 | boolean (`true` or `false`)                                          | no        | If this is true, then the resulting binaries will be stripped if possible. This is only possible for binaries which weren't cross-compiled.                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
 | `cross-version`         | string                                                               | no        | This can be used to set the version of `cross` to use. If specified, it should be a specific `cross` release tag (like `v0.2.3`) or a git ref (commit hash, `HEAD`, etc.). If this is not set then the latest released version will always be used. If this is set to a git ref then the version corresponding to that ref will be installed. |
+| `force-use-cross`       | boolean (`true` or `false`)                                          | no        | If this is true, then the action will use `cross` even if it is not needed for the given target. If this is set to `true`, then the resulting binary will not be stripped, regardless of whether `strip` is `true` or not. This only works on Linux hosts. Forcing the use of `cross` on other hosts is not supported.                        |
 | `use-rust-cache`        | boolean                                                              | no        | Whether or not to use [the `Swatinem/rust-cache@v2` action](https://github.com/Swatinem/rust-cache). This defaults to true.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
 | `rust-cache-parameters` | string (containing JSON)                                             | no        | This must be a string containing valid JSON. The JSON should be an object where the keys are the parameters for [the `Swatinem/rust-cache@v2` action](https://github.com/Swatinem/rust-cache).                                                                                                                                                |
 
+### Setting Environment Variables
+
+By default, `cross` passes most rust-related environment variables through when it runs `cargo` in a
+Docker image. This means you can simply set an `env` key in the workflow step that uses this action.
+
+```
+- name: Run build command
+  uses: houseabsolute/actions-rust-cross@v1
+  env:
+    CARGO_LOG: debug
+    RUSTFLAGS: "-g"
+  with:
+    command: build
+```
+
+If you want to pass other environment variables through, you will need to configure `cross` to do
+see. See the
+[`cross` docs](https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/blob/main/docs/environment_variables.md#environment-variable-passthrough)
+for more details.
+
 ## How it Works
 
 Under the hood, this action will compile your binaries with either `cargo` or `cross`, depending on
@@ -99,13 +119,6 @@ build `cross`.
 When compiling on Windows, it will do so in a Powershell environment, which can matter in some
 corner cases, like compiling the `openssl` crate with the `vendored` feature.
 
-By default, it will use
-[the `Swatinem/rust-cache@v2` action](https://github.com/Swatinem/rust-cache) to cache compiled
-dependencies for this crate. Note that per the documentation for this action, it has fairly limited
-value for crates without a `Cargo.lock` file. The `key` parameter passed to this action will always
-include the value of the `target` input. If you specify a `key` parameter in
-`rust-cache-parameters`, then the `target` input will be appended to the value you specify.
-
 When running `cargo` on a Linux system, it will also include the output of running
 `lsb_release --short --description` in the cache key. This is important for crates that link against
 system libraries. If those library versions change across OS versions (e.g. Ubuntu 20.04 to 22.04),
@@ -118,3 +131,73 @@ that we do not re-use the cache across changes when these images change.
 Finally, it will run `strip` to strip the binaries it builds if the `strip` parameter is true. This
 is only possible for builds that are not done via `cross`. In addition, Windows builds for `aarch64`
 cannot be stripped either.
+
+### Caching
+
+By default, this action will use
+[the `Swatinem/rust-cache@v2` action](https://github.com/Swatinem/rust-cache) to cache compiled
+dependencies for a crate. Note that per the documentation for the `rust-cache` action, it has fairly
+limited value for crates without a `Cargo.lock` file. The `key` parameter passed to this action will
+always include the value of the `target` input. If you specify a `key` parameter in
+`rust-cache-parameters`, then the `target` input will be appended to the value you specify.
+
+#### Weird Caching Issue with Multiple Crates
+
+In my testing, it seemed like in some cases restoring the cache would delete existing files in a
+`target` directory. This manifested with this sequence of actions:
+
+1. Run `actions-rust-cross` to compile a crate in a top-level directory.
+2. Run `actions-rust-cross` to compile a crate in a subdirectory.
+
+After step 2, the compiled binaries from step 1 were no longer present, _sometimes_. I'm not sure
+exactly what's going on here, but my recommendation is to structure your workflows so that this
+cannot affect you.
+
+For example, if you have multiple crates, each of which builds a binary you want to release, then
+you can avoid this issue by structuring your workflow as follows:
+
+1. Run `actions-rust-cross` to compile crate A.
+2. Run the release steps for crate A.
+3. Run `actions-rust-cross` to compile crate B.
+4. Run the release steps for crate B.
+
+When structured this way, it does not matter if the output of crate A is deleted in step 3.
+
+## Cross-Compiling from Linux ARM Runners
+
+In theory, this should work, and this action does implement some of the necessary work for this.
+However, there are a couple issues with this:
+
+1. As of 2025-02-17, the `cross` project does not publish Linux ARM binary releases. That means that
+   in order to use `cross` on a Linux ARM runner as part of this action, you must set
+   `cross-version` to a more recent commit from the `cross` repo.
+2. There is
+   [a bug in `cross` that means you must use a custom Docker image](https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/issues/1628)
+   when cross-compiling from a Linux ARM runner. See
+   [this other `cross` issue](https://github.com/cross-rs/cross/issues/751) for more details.
+
+## Linting and Tidying this Code
+
+The code in this repo is linted and tidied with
+[`precious`](https://github.com/houseabsolute/precious). This repo contains a `mise.toml` file.
+[Mise](https://mise.jdx.dev/) is a tool for managing dev tools with per-repo configuration. You can
+install `mise` and use it to run `precious` as follows:
+
+```
+# Installs mise
+curl https://mise.run | sh
+# Installs precious and other dev tools
+mise install
+```
+
+Once this is done, you can run `precious` via `mise`:
+
+```
+# Lints all code
+mise exec -- precious lint -a
+# Tidies all code
+mise exec -- precious tidy -a
+```
+
+If you want to use `mise` for other projects, see [its documentation](https://mise.jdx.dev/) for
+more details on how you can configure your shell to always activate `mise`.

action.yml

@@ -1,55 +1,74 @@
 name: "Build Rust Projects with Cross"
 author: "Dave Rolsky <autarch@urth.org>"
+
 branding:
   icon: home
   color: gray-dark
+
 description: |
   Cross compile your Rust projects with cross (https://github.com/cross-rs/cross).
+
 inputs:
   target:
     description: The target platform
     required: true
+
   command:
     description: |
       The commands to run. This must be one of "build", "test", "both" (build and test), or "bench".
     default: build
+
   toolchain:
     description: |
       The target toolchain to use (one of "stable", "beta", or "nightly").
     default: stable
+
   working-directory:
     description: The working directory for each step
     default: "."
+
   GITHUB_TOKEN:
     description: |
       A GitHub token, available in the secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN working-directory variable.
     default: ${{ github.token }}
+
   args:
     description: |
       The arguments to be passed to cross or cargo when building, as a
       space-separated string.
     default: ""
+
   strip:
     description: Strip the compiled binary
     default: false
+
   cross-version:
     description: |
       The version of cross to use. If not specified, then the latest version
       will be used.
+
   cache-cross-binary:
     description: |
       Cache the cross binary if one is installed. This is primarily for use in
       tests of this action.
     default: true
+
+  force-use-cross:
+    description: |
+      If this is true, the action will use cross even for targets where it is not needed.
+    default: false
+
   use-rust-cache:
     description: |
       Use `Swatinem/rust-cache@v2`. Defaults to true.
     default: true
+
   rust-cache-parameters:
     description: |
       A JSON string containing parameters to pass to `Swatinem/rust-cache@v2`. You can use the
       `toJSON()` function in your action to make passing this easier.
     default: "{}"
+
 runs:
   using: composite
   steps:
@@ -57,9 +76,11 @@ runs:
       shell: bash
       run: |
         echo '${{ toJSON(inputs) }}'
+
     - name: Add this action's path to PATH
       shell: bash
       run: echo "${{ github.action_path }}" >> $GITHUB_PATH
+
     - name: Validate inputs
       shell: bash
       run: |
@@ -71,17 +92,30 @@ runs:
         INPUTS_working_directory: ${{ inputs.working-directory }}
         INPUTS_strip: ${{ inputs.strip }}
         INPUTS_cache_cross_binary: ${{ inputs.cache-cross-binary }}
+        INPUTS_force_use_cross: ${{ inputs.force-use-cross }}
         INPUTS_use_rust_cache: ${{ inputs.use-rust-cache }}
         INPUTS_rust_cache_parameters: ${{ inputs.rust-cache-parameters }}
+
     - name: Determine whether we need to cross-compile
       id: determine-cross-compile
       shell: bash
-      run: set-cross-compile.sh ${{ inputs.target }}
+      run: set-cross-compile.py ${{ inputs.target }} ${{ inputs.force-use-cross }}
+
     - name: Install toolchain
       uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@master
       with:
         targets: ${{ inputs.target }}
         toolchain: ${{ inputs.toolchain }}
+
+    - name: Install qemu-user emulator binaries if cross-compiling on arm64 host
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        set -e
+        set -x
+
+        docker run --privileged --rm tonistiigi/binfmt --install all
+      if: steps.determine-cross-compile.outputs.needs-cross == 'true' && runner.os == 'Linux' && contains(runner.arch, 'ARM')
+
     - name: Determine cross version
       id: determine-cross-version
       shell: bash
@@ -89,6 +123,7 @@ runs:
       env:
         GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ inputs.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       if: steps.determine-cross-compile.outputs.needs-cross == 'true'
+
     # We need to access this in both this YAML config and shell scripts. It
     # doesn't seem like using ${{ env.RUNNER_TEMP }} works in the YAML config.
     - name: Set directory for installing cross
@@ -96,19 +131,22 @@ runs:
       shell: bash
       run: set-cross-dir.sh
       if: steps.determine-cross-compile.outputs.needs-cross == 'true'
+
     - name: Cache cross
       id: cache-cross
       uses: actions/cache@v4
       with:
         path: ${{ steps.set-cross-dir.outputs.cross-dir }}/cross
-        key: ${{ runner.os }}-${{ steps.determine-cross-version.outputs.cross-version }}
+        key: ${{ runner.os }}-${{ runner.arch }}-${{ steps.determine-cross-version.outputs.cross-version }}
       if: steps.determine-cross-compile.outputs.needs-cross == 'true' && inputs.cache-cross-binary == 'true'
+
     - name: Install cross if cross-compiling (*nix)
       shell: bash
       run: install-cross-nix.sh ${{ steps.set-cross-dir.outputs.cross-dir }} ${{ steps.determine-cross-version.outputs.cross-version }}
       if: steps.determine-cross-compile.outputs.needs-cross == 'true' && steps.cache-cross.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
       env:
         GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ inputs.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
     - name: Install musl-tools on Linux if target includes "musl"
       shell: bash
       run: |
@@ -118,14 +156,17 @@ runs:
         sudo apt-get update --yes && \
             sudo apt-get install --yes musl-tools
       if: steps.determine-cross-compile.outputs.needs-cross != 'true' && contains(inputs.target, 'musl')
+
     - name: Set build command
       id: set-build-command
       shell: bash
       run: set-build-command.sh ${{ steps.set-cross-dir.outputs.cross-dir }}
+
     - name: Determine which cargo commands to run
       id: determine-cargo-commands
       shell: bash
       run: determine-cargo-commands.sh ${{ inputs.command }}
+
     - name: Parse `rust-cache-parameters` and set inputs for `Swatinem/rust-cache@v2`
       id: parse-rust-cache-parameters
       shell: bash
@@ -144,16 +185,19 @@ runs:
       env:
         RUST_CACHE_PARAMETERS: ${{ inputs.rust-cache-parameters }}
       if: inputs.use-rust-cache == 'true'
+
     - name: Cache cargo & target directories
       uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
       with: ${{ steps.parse-rust-cache-parameters.outputs }}
       if: inputs.use-rust-cache == 'true'
+
     - name: Run tests (*nix)
       working-directory: ${{ inputs.working-directory }}
       shell: bash
       run: |
         ${{ steps.set-build-command.outputs.build-command }} +${{inputs.toolchain}} test --target ${{ inputs.target }} ${{ inputs.args }}
       if: steps.determine-cargo-commands.outputs.test == 'true' && runner.os != 'Windows'
+
     # We want to run in Powershell on Windows to make sure we compile in a
     # native Windows environment. Some things won't compile properly under
     # msys, notably OpenSSL, which is compiled locally when using the
@@ -164,30 +208,35 @@ runs:
       run: |
         & ${{ steps.set-build-command.outputs.build-command }} +${{inputs.toolchain}} test --target ${{ inputs.target }} ${{ inputs.args }}
       if: steps.determine-cargo-commands.outputs.test == 'true' && runner.os == 'Windows'
+
     - name: Run benchmarks (*nix)
       working-directory: ${{ inputs.working-directory }}
       shell: bash
       run: |
         ${{ steps.set-build-command.outputs.build-command }} +${{inputs.toolchain}} bench --target ${{ inputs.target }} ${{ inputs.args }}
       if: steps.determine-cargo-commands.outputs.bench == 'true' && runner.os != 'Windows'
+
     - name: Run benchmarks (Windows)
       working-directory: ${{ inputs.working-directory }}
       shell: powershell
       run: |
         & ${{ steps.set-build-command.outputs.build-command }} +${{inputs.toolchain}} bench --target ${{ inputs.target }} ${{ inputs.args }}
       if: steps.determine-cargo-commands.outputs.bench == 'true' && runner.os == 'Windows'
+
     - name: Build binary (*nix)
       working-directory: ${{ inputs.working-directory }}
       shell: bash
       run: |
         ${{ steps.set-build-command.outputs.build-command }} +${{inputs.toolchain}} build ${{ inputs.args }} --target ${{ inputs.target }}
       if: steps.determine-cargo-commands.outputs.build == 'true' && runner.os != 'Windows'
+
     - name: Build binary (Windows)
       working-directory: ${{ inputs.working-directory }}
       shell: powershell
       run: |
         & ${{ steps.set-build-command.outputs.build-command }} +${{inputs.toolchain}} build ${{ inputs.args }} --target ${{ inputs.target }}
       if: steps.determine-cargo-commands.outputs.build == 'true' && runner.os == 'Windows'
+
     - name: Strip binary
       working-directory: ${{ inputs.working-directory }}
       shell: bash

mise.toml

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 node = "22.11.0"
 "npm:prettier" = "3.4.1"
 ruff = "0.8.3"
-shellcheck = "v0.10.0"
+shellcheck = "0.10.0"
 shfmt = "v3.10.0"
 taplo = "0.9.3"
 typos = "1.28.1"

run-tests/src/main.rs

@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ struct Args {
     expect_cross_version: Option<String>,
     #[arg(long)]
     expect_stripped: bool,
+    #[arg(long)]
+    is_subcrate: bool,
 }
 
 fn main() {
@@ -39,24 +41,27 @@ fn main() {
     );
 
     let checkout_root_path = PathBuf::from(args.checkout_root);
-    let bin_paths = vec![
-        checkout_root_path
-            .join("target")
-            .join(&args.target)
-            .join("debug")
-            .join("bin1"),
-        checkout_root_path
-            .join("target")
-            .join(&args.target)
-            .join("debug")
-            .join("bin2"),
-        checkout_root_path
+    let bin_paths = if args.is_subcrate {
+        vec![checkout_root_path
             .join("subcrate")
             .join("target")
             .join(&args.target)
             .join("debug")
-            .join("subcrate"),
-    ];
+            .join("subcrate")]
+    } else {
+        vec![
+            checkout_root_path
+                .join("target")
+                .join(&args.target)
+                .join("debug")
+                .join("bin1"),
+            checkout_root_path
+                .join("target")
+                .join(&args.target)
+                .join("debug")
+                .join("bin2"),
+        ]
+    };
 
     for mut bin_path in bin_paths {
         if cfg!(windows) {
@@ -74,7 +79,11 @@ fn check_cross(bin_dir: &Path, expect_cross: bool, expect_cross_version: Option<
     let cross_path = bin_dir.join("cross");
 
     if expect_cross {
-        assert!(cross_path.is_file(), "`cross` exists");
+        assert!(
+            cross_path.is_file(),
+            "`cross` exists at {}",
+            cross_path.display()
+        );
 
         if let Some(expected_version) = expect_cross_version {
             let output = Command::new(&cross_path)
@@ -85,7 +94,7 @@ fn check_cross(bin_dir: &Path, expect_cross: bool, expect_cross_version: Option<
                 .expect("`cross --version` stdout was not valid UTF-8");
             assert!(
                 version.contains(expected_version),
-                "`cross` version matches expected version"
+                "`cross` version matches expected version: {expected_version}",
             );
         }
     } else {
@@ -131,25 +140,29 @@ fn check_binary(bin_path: &PathBuf, expect_file_re: Option<&str>, expect_strippe
     if expect_stripped {
         assert!(
             !file_output.contains("not stripped"),
-            "`file` does not report {} as not stripped",
+            "`file` does not report {} as 'not stripped': `{}`",
             bin_path.display(),
+            file_output,
         );
         assert!(
             file_output.contains("stripped"),
-            "`file` reports {} as stripped",
+            "`file` reports {} as 'stripped': `{}`",
             bin_path.display(),
+            file_output,
         );
     } else if cfg!(windows) {
         assert!(
             !file_output.contains("stripped"),
-            "`file` does not report {} as stripped",
+            "`file` does not report {} as 'stripped': `{}`",
             bin_path.display(),
+            file_output,
         );
     } else {
         assert!(
             file_output.contains("not stripped"),
-            "`file` reports {} as not stripped",
+            "`file` reports {} as 'not stripped': `{}`",
             bin_path.display(),
+            file_output,
         );
     }
 }

set-cross-compile.py

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+
+# Written mostly by Claude.ai based on my original bash script.
+
+import sys
+import platform
+import re
+import os
+from subprocess import run, PIPE, CalledProcessError
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    """
+    Main function to determine cross-compilation requirements.
+
+    Returns:
+        Exit code (0 for success)
+    """
+    if len(sys.argv) < 3:
+        print(
+            "Error: Target architecture and force cross arguments are required",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        return 1
+
+    target = sys.argv[1]
+    force_use_cross = sys.argv[2]
+    if force_use_cross == "true":
+        needs_cross = True
+    else:
+        needs_cross = check_needs_cross(target)
+
+    write_github_output(needs_cross)
+
+    return 0
+
+
+def check_needs_cross(target: str) -> bool:
+    """
+    Determine if cross-compilation is needed based on system and target.
+
+    Args:
+        target: Target architecture string
+
+    Returns:
+        Boolean indicating if cross-compilation is needed
+    """
+    system_info = get_uname_info().lower()
+
+    # Check if we're on macOS or Windows
+    if any(os in system_info for os in ["darwin", "msys", "windows"]):
+        return False
+
+    target = target.lower()
+
+    # Check for x86_64 Linux targets on x86_64 Linux host
+    if (
+        re.search(r"x86_64.+linux-(?:gnu|musl)", target)
+        and "x86_64" in system_info
+        and "linux" in system_info
+    ):
+        return False
+
+    # It's tempting to not use cross when the host is Linux x86-64 and we're compiling for Linux
+    # i586 or i686. This sort of works, but if there's any C being compiled, things get weird,
+    # because then we need 32-bit C headers, 32-bit C libs to link to, etc.
+
+    # Check if both host and target are ARM Linux. I'm assuming here that for things like
+    # "arm-linux-androideabi" or "armv7-unknown-linux-ohos" we'd still need cross.
+    if (
+        re.search(r"(?:aarch64|arm).+linux-(?:gnu|musl)", target)
+        and ("arm" in system_info or "aarch64" in system_info)
+        and "linux" in system_info
+    ):
+        return False
+
+    return True
+
+
+def get_uname_info() -> str:
+    """
+    Get system information using uname command.
+
+    Returns:
+        String containing system information
+    """
+    try:
+        result = run(["uname", "-a"], check=True, text=True, stdout=PIPE)
+        return result.stdout
+    except (CalledProcessError, FileNotFoundError):
+        # Fallback to platform.platform() if uname is not available
+        return platform.platform()
+
+
+def write_github_output(needs_cross: bool) -> None:
+    """
+    Write the needs-cross output to GITHUB_OUTPUT environment variable file.
+
+    Args:
+        needs_cross: Boolean indicating if cross-compilation is needed
+    """
+    github_output = os.getenv("GITHUB_OUTPUT")
+    if github_output:
+        with open(github_output, "a") as f:
+            f.write(f"needs-cross={str(needs_cross).lower()}\n")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())

set-cross-compile.sh

@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-set -e
-set -x
-set -o pipefail
-
-TARGET="$1"
-
-# On macOS and Windows, we can cross-compile to all possible targets without
-# using cross.
-if uname -a | grep --quiet --extended-regexp -i "darwin|msys|windows"; then
-    echo "needs-cross=false" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-    exit 0
-fi
-
-# On Linux, we should be able to cross-compile to i586 and i686, but in
-# practice this fails with some crates, notably openssl with the "vendored"
-# feature. This feature makes it compile openssl itself, which fails without
-# cross.
-if echo "$TARGET" | grep --quiet --extended-regexp -i 'x86_64.+linux-(gnu|musl)'; then
-    echo "needs-cross=false" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-    exit 0
-fi
-
-echo "needs-cross=true" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

test-project/Cargo.toml

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ path = "src/bin2.rs"
 [package.metadata.cross.target.x86_64-unknown-netbsd]
 pre-build = [
     "mkdir -p /tmp/netbsd",
-    "curl https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-9.2/amd64/binary/sets/base.tar.xz -O",
+    "curl https://archive.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-archive/NetBSD-9.2/amd64/binary/sets/base.tar.xz -O",
     "tar -C /tmp/netbsd -xJf base.tar.xz",
     "cp /tmp/netbsd/usr/lib/libexecinfo.so /usr/local/x86_64-unknown-netbsd/lib",
     "rm base.tar.xz",

test-project/subcrate/Cargo.toml

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ edition = "2021"
 [package.metadata.cross.target.x86_64-unknown-netbsd]
 pre-build = [
     "mkdir -p /tmp/netbsd",
-    "curl https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-9.2/amd64/binary/sets/base.tar.xz -O",
+    "curl https://archive.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-archive/NetBSD-9.2/amd64/binary/sets/base.tar.xz -O",
     "tar -C /tmp/netbsd -xJf base.tar.xz",
     "cp /tmp/netbsd/usr/lib/libexecinfo.so /usr/local/x86_64-unknown-netbsd/lib",
     "rm base.tar.xz",

validate-inputs.py

@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ from typing import Dict, List, Union
 import tempfile
 import unittest
 
+boolean_flags = {"cache_cross_binary", "force_use_cross", "strip", "use_rust_cache"}
+
 
 class InputValidator:
     """Validate inputs for a GitHub Action."""
@@ -72,10 +74,11 @@ class InputValidator:
                 )
 
         # Validate boolean flags
-        boolean_flags = {"cache_cross_binary", "strip", "use_rust_cache"}
         for flag in boolean_flags:
             if flag in self.inputs and self.inputs[flag] not in {"true", "false"}:
-                validation_errors.append(f"'{flag}' must be either 'true' or 'false'")
+                # Turn the underscores into dashes
+                dashes = flag.replace("_", "-")
+                validation_errors.append(f"'{dashes}' must be either 'true' or 'false'")
 
         # Validate rust-cache-parameters JSON if present
         if "rust_cache_parameters" in self.inputs:
@@ -212,7 +215,6 @@ class TestInputValidator(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def test_validate_boolean_flags(self) -> None:
         """Test validation of boolean flags."""
-        boolean_flags = ["cache-cross-binary", "strip", "use-rust-cache"]
 
         # Test valid boolean values
         for flag in boolean_flags: