Docs: bump actions/checkout from v5 to v6 (#1468)

* Update versions.yml

* Update versions.yml

* doc update

* revert vesrions.yml

.github/workflows/e2e-cache.yml

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20, 22, 24]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Clean global cache
         run: npm cache clean --force
       - name: Setup Node
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20, 22, 24]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Install pnpm
         uses: pnpm/action-setup@v4
         with:
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20, 22, 24]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Yarn version
         run: yarn --version
       - name: Generate yarn file
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20, 22, 24]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Update yarn
         run: yarn set version 3.6.4
       - name: Yarn version
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: prepare sub-projects
         run: __tests__/prepare-yarn-subprojects.sh yarn1
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: prepare sub-projects
         run: __tests__/prepare-yarn-subprojects.sh keepcache keepcache
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: prepare sub-projects
         run: __tests__/prepare-yarn-subprojects.sh global
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: prepare sub-projects
         run: /bin/bash __tests__/prepare-yarn-subprojects.sh keepcache
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20, 22, 24]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Create package.json with packageManager field
         run: |
           echo '{ "name": "test-project", "version": "1.0.0", "packageManager": "npm@8.0.0" }' > package.json
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20, 22, 24]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Create package.json with devEngines field
         run: |
           echo '{

.github/workflows/proxy.yml

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ jobs:
     env:
       https_proxy: http://squid-proxy:3128
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Clear tool cache
         run: rm -rf $RUNNER_TOOL_CACHE/*
       - name: Setup node 24
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
       https_proxy: http://no-such-proxy:3128
       no_proxy: api.github.com,github.com,nodejs.org,registry.npmjs.org,*.s3.amazonaws.com,s3.amazonaws.com
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Clear tool cache
         run: rm -rf $RUNNER_TOOL_CACHE/*
       - name: Setup node 24

.github/workflows/publish-immutable-actions.yml

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checking out
-        uses: actions/checkout@v5
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Publish
         id: publish
         uses: actions/publish-immutable-action@v0.0.4

.github/workflows/versions.yml

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20, 22, 24]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [lts/dubnium, lts/erbium, lts/fermium, lts/*, lts/-1]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ jobs:
             '20.0.0-v8-canary20221101e50e45c9f8'
           ]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20-nightly, 25-nightly, 24.0.0-nightly]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20.0.0-rc.1, 22.14.0-rc.1, 24.0.0-rc.4]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20.10.0, 22.0.0, 24.9.0]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [20, 22, 24]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node and check latest
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ jobs:
         node-version-file:
           [.nvmrc, .tool-versions, .tool-versions-node, package.json]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup node from node version file
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup node from node version file
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup node from node version file
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest, macos-latest-large]
         node-version: [17, 19]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node from dist
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest-large]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       # test old versions which didn't have npm and layout different
       - name: Setup node 0.12.18 from dist
         uses: ./
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ jobs:
   arch:
     runs-on: windows-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup node 20 x86 from dist
         uses: ./
         with:
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "LATEST_NODE_VERSION=$latestNodeVersion" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
         id: version
         shell: bash
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: ./
         with:

README.md

@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ This action provides the following functionality for GitHub Actions users:
 
 - Caching is now automatically enabled for npm projects when either the `devEngines.packageManager` field or the top-level `packageManager` field in `package.json` is set to `npm`. For other package managers, such as Yarn and pnpm, caching is disabled by default and must be configured manually using the `cache` input.
 
+- The `always-auth` input has been removed, as it is deprecated and will no longer be supported in future npm releases. To ensure your workflows continue to run without warnings or errors, please remove any references to `always-auth` from your configuration.
+
 ## Breaking changes in V5
 
 - Enabled caching by default with package manager detection if no cache input is provided.
@@ -92,14 +94,10 @@ See [action.yml](action.yml)
     # Default: ''
     scope: ''
 
-    # Set always-auth option in npmrc file.
-    # Default: ''
-    always-auth: ''
-
     # Optional mirror to download binaries from.
     # Artifacts need to match the official Node.js
     # Example:
-    # V8 Canaray Build: <mirror_url>/download/v8-canary
+    # V8 Canary Build: <mirror_url>/download/v8-canary
     # RC Build: <mirror_url>/download/rc
     # Official: Build <mirror_url>/dist
     # Nightly build: <mirror_url>/download/nightly
@@ -117,7 +115,7 @@ See [action.yml](action.yml)
 
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: 24
@@ -125,7 +123,7 @@ steps:
 - run: npm test
 ```
 
-The `node-version` input is optional. If not supplied, the node version from PATH will be used. However, it is recommended to always specify Node.js version and don't rely on the system one.
+The `node-version` input is optional. If not supplied, the node version from PATH will be used. However, it is recommended to always specify Node.js version and not rely on the system one.
 
 The action will first check the local cache for a semver match. If unable to find a specific version in the cache, the action will attempt to download a version of Node.js. It will pull LTS versions from [node-versions releases](https://github.com/actions/node-versions/releases) and on miss or failure will fall back to the previous behavior of downloading directly from [node dist](https://nodejs.org/dist/).
 
@@ -150,7 +148,7 @@ Since it will not be cached always, there is possibility of hitting rate limit w
 
 ### Checking in lockfiles
 
-It's **always** recommended to commit the lockfile of your package manager for security and performance reasons. For more information consult the "Working with lockfiles" section of the [Advanced usage](docs/advanced-usage.md#working-with-lockfiles) guide.
+It's **strongly recommended** to commit the lockfile of your package manager for security and performance reasons. For more information consult the "Working with lockfiles" section of the [Advanced usage](docs/advanced-usage.md#working-with-lockfiles) guide.
 
 ## Caching global packages data
 
@@ -166,7 +164,7 @@ See the examples of using cache for `yarn`/`pnpm` and `cache-dependency-path` in
 
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: 24
@@ -179,7 +177,7 @@ steps:
 
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: 24
@@ -195,7 +193,7 @@ This behavior is controlled by the `package-manager-cache` input, which defaults
 
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     package-manager-cache: false
@@ -214,7 +212,7 @@ jobs:
         node: [ 20, 22, 24 ]
     name: Node ${{ matrix.node }} sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup node
         uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
@@ -251,6 +249,7 @@ If the runner is not able to access github.com, any Nodejs versions requested du
  - [Publishing to npmjs and GPR with npm](docs/advanced-usage.md#publish-to-npmjs-and-gpr-with-npm)
  - [Publishing to npmjs and GPR with yarn](docs/advanced-usage.md#publish-to-npmjs-and-gpr-with-yarn)
  - [Using private packages](docs/advanced-usage.md#use-private-packages)
+ - [Using private mirror](docs/advanced-usage.md#use-private-mirror)
 
 ## Recommended permissions
 

__tests__/authutil.test.ts

@@ -76,115 +76,102 @@ describe('authutil tests', () => {
   }
 
   it('Sets up npmrc for npmjs', async () => {
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'false');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
 
     expect(fs.statSync(rcFile)).toBeDefined();
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     const rc = readRcFile(rcFile);
     expect(rc['registry']).toBe('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
-    expect(rc['always-auth']).toBe('false');
   });
 
   it('Appends trailing slash to registry', async () => {
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org', 'false');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org');
 
     expect(fs.statSync(rcFile)).toBeDefined();
     const rc = readRcFile(rcFile);
     expect(rc['registry']).toBe('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
-    expect(rc['always-auth']).toBe('false');
   });
 
   it('Configures scoped npm registries', async () => {
     process.env['INPUT_SCOPE'] = 'myScope';
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org', 'false');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org');
 
     expect(fs.statSync(rcFile)).toBeDefined();
     const rc = readRcFile(rcFile);
     expect(rc['@myscope:registry']).toBe('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
-    expect(rc['always-auth']).toBe('false');
   });
 
   it('Automatically configures GPR scope', async () => {
-    await auth.configAuthentication('npm.pkg.github.com', 'false');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('npm.pkg.github.com');
 
     expect(fs.statSync(rcFile)).toBeDefined();
     const rc = readRcFile(rcFile);
     expect(rc['@ownername:registry']).toBe('npm.pkg.github.com/');
-    expect(rc['always-auth']).toBe('false');
-  });
-
-  it('Sets up npmrc for always-auth true', async () => {
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
-    expect(fs.statSync(rcFile)).toBeDefined();
-    const rc = readRcFile(rcFile);
-    expect(rc['registry']).toBe('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
-    expect(rc['always-auth']).toBe('true');
   });
 
   it('is already set the NODE_AUTH_TOKEN export it', async () => {
     process.env.NODE_AUTH_TOKEN = 'foobar';
-    await auth.configAuthentication('npm.pkg.github.com', 'false');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('npm.pkg.github.com');
     expect(fs.statSync(rcFile)).toBeDefined();
     const rc = readRcFile(rcFile);
     expect(rc['@ownername:registry']).toBe('npm.pkg.github.com/');
-    expect(rc['always-auth']).toBe('false');
     expect(process.env.NODE_AUTH_TOKEN).toEqual('foobar');
   });
 
   it('configAuthentication should overwrite non-scoped with non-scoped', async () => {
     fs.writeFileSync(rcFile, 'registry=NNN');
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     expect(contents).toBe(
-      `//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/${os.EOL}always-auth=true`
+      `//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/`
     );
   });
 
   it('configAuthentication should overwrite only non-scoped', async () => {
     fs.writeFileSync(rcFile, `registry=NNN${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=MMM`);
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     expect(contents).toBe(
-      `@myscope:registry=MMM${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/${os.EOL}always-auth=true`
+      `@myscope:registry=MMM${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/`
     );
   });
 
   it('configAuthentication should add non-scoped to scoped', async () => {
     fs.writeFileSync(rcFile, '@myscope:registry=NNN');
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     expect(contents).toBe(
-      `@myscope:registry=NNN${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/${os.EOL}always-auth=true`
+      `@myscope:registry=NNN${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/`
     );
   });
 
   it('configAuthentication should overwrite scoped with scoped', async () => {
     process.env['INPUT_SCOPE'] = 'myscope';
     fs.writeFileSync(rcFile, `@myscope:registry=NNN`);
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     expect(contents).toBe(
-      `//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/${os.EOL}always-auth=true`
+      `//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/`
     );
   });
 
   it('configAuthentication should overwrite only scoped', async () => {
     process.env['INPUT_SCOPE'] = 'myscope';
     fs.writeFileSync(rcFile, `registry=NNN${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=MMM`);
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     expect(contents).toBe(
-      `registry=NNN${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/${os.EOL}always-auth=true`
+      `registry=NNN${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/`
     );
   });
 
   it('configAuthentication should add scoped to non-scoped', async () => {
     process.env['INPUT_SCOPE'] = 'myscope';
     fs.writeFileSync(rcFile, `registry=MMM`);
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     expect(contents).toBe(
-      `registry=MMM${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/${os.EOL}always-auth=true`
+      `registry=MMM${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/`
     );
   });
 
@@ -194,20 +181,20 @@ describe('authutil tests', () => {
       rcFile,
       `@otherscope:registry=NNN${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=MMM`
     );
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     expect(contents).toBe(
-      `@otherscope:registry=NNN${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/${os.EOL}always-auth=true`
+      `@otherscope:registry=NNN${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/`
     );
   });
 
   it('configAuthentication should add scoped to another scoped', async () => {
     process.env['INPUT_SCOPE'] = 'myscope';
     fs.writeFileSync(rcFile, `@otherscope:registry=MMM`);
-    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/', 'true');
+    await auth.configAuthentication('https://registry.npmjs.org/');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(rcFile, {encoding: 'utf8'});
     expect(contents).toBe(
-      `@otherscope:registry=MMM${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/${os.EOL}always-auth=true`
+      `@otherscope:registry=MMM${os.EOL}//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=\${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}${os.EOL}@myscope:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/`
     );
   });
 });

__tests__/canary-installer.test.ts

@@ -227,7 +227,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '11.15.0';
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -283,7 +282,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '19.0.0-v8-canary';
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     findSpy.mockImplementation(() => '');
@@ -324,7 +322,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
 
       inputs['node-version'] = version;
       inputs['architecture'] = arch;
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
       const expectedUrl = `https://nodejs.org/download/v8-canary/v${version}/node-v${version}-${platform}-${arch}.${fileExtension}`;
@@ -569,7 +566,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
       const versionSpec = 'v20-v8-canary';
 
       inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
       os.platform = 'linux';

__tests__/nightly-installer.test.ts

@@ -255,7 +255,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '13.13.1-nightly20200415947ddec091';
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -291,7 +290,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     ];
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -333,7 +331,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     ];
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -389,7 +386,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '18.0.0-nightly202204180699150267';
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     findSpy.mockImplementation(() => '');
@@ -427,7 +423,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
 
       inputs['node-version'] = version;
       inputs['architecture'] = arch;
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
       const expectedUrl = `https://nodejs.org/download/nightly/v${version}/node-v${version}-${platform}-${arch}.${fileExtension}`;
@@ -473,7 +468,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
 
       inputs['node-version'] = version;
       inputs['architecture'] = arch;
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
       inputs['mirror'] = 'https://my-mirror.org';
       inputs['mirror-token'] = 'my-mirror-token';

__tests__/official-installer.test.ts

@@ -235,7 +235,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const resolvedVersion = versionSpec;
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     const expectedUrl =
@@ -290,7 +289,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '11.15.0';
     const mirror = 'https://my_mirror_url';
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
     inputs['mirror'] = mirror;
     inputs['mirror-token'] = 'faketoken';
@@ -327,7 +325,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '11.15.0';
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -385,7 +382,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const resolvedVersion = versionSpec;
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     findSpy.mockImplementation(() => '');
@@ -405,7 +401,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '11.15.0';
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -448,7 +443,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
 
       inputs['node-version'] = version;
       inputs['architecture'] = arch;
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
       const expectedUrl =
@@ -560,7 +554,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
 
       inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
       inputs['check-latest'] = 'true';
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
       // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -602,7 +595,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
 
       inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
       inputs['check-latest'] = 'true';
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
       // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -882,7 +874,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
 
       inputs['node-version'] = version;
       inputs['architecture'] = arch;
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
       inputs['mirror'] = 'https://my_mirror_url';
       inputs['mirror-token'] = 'faketoken';

__tests__/rc-installer.test.ts

@@ -194,7 +194,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '13.0.0-rc.0';
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     // ... but not in the local cache
@@ -239,7 +238,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
     const versionSpec = '14.7.0-rc.1';
 
     inputs['node-version'] = versionSpec;
-    inputs['always-auth'] = false;
     inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
     findSpy.mockImplementation(() => '');
@@ -268,7 +266,6 @@ describe('setup-node', () => {
 
       inputs['node-version'] = version;
       inputs['architecture'] = arch;
-      inputs['always-auth'] = false;
       inputs['token'] = 'faketoken';
 
       const expectedUrl = `https://nodejs.org/download/rc/v${version}/node-v${version}-${platform}-${arch}.${fileExtension}`;

action.yml

@@ -2,9 +2,6 @@ name: 'Setup Node.js environment'
 description: 'Setup a Node.js environment by adding problem matchers and optionally downloading and adding it to the PATH.'
 author: 'GitHub'
 inputs:
-  always-auth:
-    description: 'Set always-auth in npmrc.'
-    default: 'false'
   node-version:
     description: 'Version Spec of the version to use. Examples: 12.x, 10.15.1, >=10.15.0.'
   node-version-file:
@@ -29,7 +26,7 @@ inputs:
   cache-dependency-path:
     description: 'Used to specify the path to a dependency file: package-lock.json, yarn.lock, etc. Supports wildcards or a list of file names for caching multiple dependencies.'
   mirror:
-    description: 'Used to specify an alternative mirror to downlooad Node.js binaries from'
+    description: 'Used to specify an alternative mirror to download Node.js binaries from'
   mirror-token:
     description: 'The token used as Authorization header when fetching from the mirror'
 # TODO: add input to control forcing to pull from cloud or dist.

docs/adrs/0001-support-caching-deps-for-monorepos.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Currently, `actions/setup-node` supports caching dependencies for Npm and Yarn p
 For the first iteration, we have decided to not support cases where `package-lock.json` / `yarn.lock` are located outside of repository root.  
 Current implementation searches the following file patterns in the repository root: `package-lock.json`, `yarn.lock` (in order of resolving priorities)
 
-Obviously, it made build-in caching unusable for mono-repos and repos with complex structure.  
+Obviously, it made built-in caching unusable for mono-repos and repos with complex structure.  
 We would like to revisit this decision and add customization for dependencies lock file location.
 
 ## Proposal
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ The second option looks more generic because it allows to:
 ## Decision
 
 Add `cache-dependency-path` input that will accept path (relative to repository root) to dependencies lock file.  
-If provided path contains wildcards, the action will search all maching files and calculate common hash like `${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}` YAML construction does.  
+If provided path contains wildcards, the action will search all matching files and calculate common hash like `${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}` YAML construction does.  
 The hash of provided matched files will be used as a part of cache key.
 
 Yaml examples:

docs/advanced-usage.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Working with lockfiles
 
-All supported package managers recommend that you **always** commit the lockfile, although implementations vary doing so generally provides the following benefits:
+Most supported package managers recommend that you **always** commit the lockfile, although implementations vary doing so generally provides the following benefits:
 
 - Enables faster installation for CI and production environments, due to being able to skip package resolution.
 - Describes a single representation of a dependency tree such that teammates, deployments, and continuous integration are guaranteed to install exactly the same dependencies.
@@ -35,6 +35,25 @@ Ensure that `pnpm-lock.yaml` is always committed, when on CI pass `--frozen-lock
 - [Working with Git - Lockfiles](https://pnpm.io/git#lockfiles)
 - [Documentation of `--frozen-lockfile` option](https://pnpm.io/cli/install#--frozen-lockfile)
 
+### Running without a lockfile
+
+If you choose not to use a lockfile, you must ensure that **caching is disabled**. The `cache` feature relies on the lockfile to generate a unique key for the cache entry.
+
+To run without a lockfile:
+1. Do not set the `cache` input.
+2. If your `package.json` contains a `packageManager` field set to npm (or devEngines.packageManager), automatic caching is enabled by default. Override this by setting `package-manager-cache: false`.
+
+```yaml
+steps:
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
+- uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+  with:
+    node-version: '24'
+    package-manager-cache: false # Explicitly disable caching if you don't have a lockfile
+- run: npm install
+- run: npm test
+```
+
 ## Check latest version
 
 The `check-latest` flag defaults to `false`. When set to `false`, the action will first check the local cache for a semver match. If unable to find a specific version in the cache, the action will attempt to download a version of Node.js. It will pull LTS versions from [node-versions releases](https://github.com/actions/node-versions/releases) and on miss or failure will fall back to the previous behavior of downloading directly from [node dist](https://nodejs.org/dist/). Use the default or set `check-latest` to `false` if you prefer stability and if you want to ensure a specific version of Node.js is always used.
@@ -45,7 +64,7 @@ If `check-latest` is set to `true`, the action first checks if the cached versio
 
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: '24'
@@ -63,7 +82,7 @@ See [supported version syntax](https://github.com/actions/setup-node#supported-v
 
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
@@ -97,7 +116,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: windows-latest
     name: Node sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
           node-version: '24'
@@ -118,7 +137,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: Node sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
           node-version: '24.0.0-v8-canary' # it will install the latest v8 canary release for node 24.0.0
@@ -133,7 +152,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: Node sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
           node-version: '24-v8-canary' # it will install the latest v8 canary release for node 24
@@ -149,7 +168,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: Node sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
           node-version: 'v24.0.0-v8-canary2025030537242e55ac'
@@ -169,7 +188,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: Node sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
           node-version: '24-nightly' # it will install the latest nightly release for node 24
@@ -185,7 +204,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: Node sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
           node-version: '24.0.0-nightly' # it will install the latest nightly release for node 24.0.0
@@ -201,7 +220,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: Node sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
           node-version: '24.0.0-nightly202505066102159fa1'
@@ -219,7 +238,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: Node sample
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
           node-version: '24.0.0-rc.4'
@@ -237,7 +256,7 @@ Yarn caching handles both Yarn Classic (v1) and Yarn Berry (v2, v3, v4+).
 
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: '24'
@@ -256,7 +275,7 @@ steps:
 # NOTE: pnpm caching support requires pnpm version >= 6.10.0
 
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: pnpm/action-setup@v4
   with:
     version: 10
@@ -275,7 +294,7 @@ steps:
 **Using wildcard patterns to cache dependencies**
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: '24'
@@ -288,7 +307,7 @@ steps:
 **Using a list of file paths to cache dependencies**
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: '24'
@@ -300,6 +319,35 @@ steps:
 - run: npm test
 ```
 
+**Restore-Only Cache**
+
+```yaml
+## In some workflows, you may want to restore a cache without saving it. This can help reduce cache writes and storage usage in workflows that only need to read from cache
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      # Restore Node.js modules cache (restore-only)
+      - name: Restore Node modules cache
+        uses: actions/cache@v5
+        id: cache-node-modules
+        with:
+          path: ~/.npm
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            ${{ runner.os }}-node-
+      # Setup Node.js
+      - name: Setup Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+        with:
+          node-version: '24'
+      # Install dependencies
+      - run: npm install
+```
+
+> For more details related to cache scenarios, please refer [Node – npm](https://github.com/actions/cache/blob/main/examples.md#node---npm).
+
 ## Multiple Operating Systems and Architectures
 
 ```yaml
@@ -325,7 +373,7 @@ jobs:
             architecture: x86
     name: Node ${{ matrix.node_version }} - ${{ matrix.architecture }} on ${{ matrix.os }}
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Setup node
         uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
@@ -338,7 +386,7 @@ jobs:
 ## Publish to npmjs and GPR with npm
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: '24.x'
@@ -358,7 +406,7 @@ steps:
 ## Publish to npmjs and GPR with yarn
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: '24.x'
@@ -378,7 +426,7 @@ steps:
 ## Use private packages
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: '24.x'
@@ -398,7 +446,7 @@ Below you can find a sample "Setup .yarnrc.yml" step, that is going to allow you
 
 ```yaml
 steps:
-- uses: actions/checkout@v5
+- uses: actions/checkout@v6
 - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
   with:
     node-version: '24.x'
@@ -417,9 +465,6 @@ To access private GitHub Packages within the same organization, go to "Manage Ac
 
 Please refer to the [Ensuring workflow access to your package - Configuring a package's access control and visibility](https://docs.github.com/en/packages/learn-github-packages/configuring-a-packages-access-control-and-visibility#ensuring-workflow-access-to-your-package) for more details.
 
-### always-auth input
-The always-auth input sets `always-auth=true` in .npmrc file. With this option set [npm](https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v6/using-npm/config#always-auth)/yarn sends the authentication credentials when making a request to the registries.
-
 ## Use private mirror
 
 It is possible to use a private mirror hosting Node.js binaries. This mirror must be a full mirror of the official Node.js distribution.

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "setup-node",
-  "version": "6.0.0",
+  "version": "6.2.0",
   "private": true,
   "description": "setup node action",
   "main": "lib/setup-node.js",
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
   "author": "GitHub",
   "license": "MIT",
   "dependencies": {
-    "@actions/cache": "^4.0.3",
+    "@actions/cache": "^5.0.1",
     "@actions/core": "^1.11.1",
     "@actions/exec": "^1.1.1",
     "@actions/github": "^6.0.1",

src/authutil.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import * as path from 'path';
 import * as core from '@actions/core';
 import * as github from '@actions/github';
 
-export function configAuthentication(registryUrl: string, alwaysAuth: string) {
+export function configAuthentication(registryUrl: string) {
   const npmrc: string = path.resolve(
     process.env['RUNNER_TEMP'] || process.cwd(),
     '.npmrc'
@@ -13,14 +13,10 @@ export function configAuthentication(registryUrl: string, alwaysAuth: string) {
     registryUrl += '/';
   }
 
-  writeRegistryToFile(registryUrl, npmrc, alwaysAuth);
+  writeRegistryToFile(registryUrl, npmrc);
 }
 
-function writeRegistryToFile(
+function writeRegistryToFile(registryUrl: string, fileLocation: string) {
-  registryUrl: string,
-  fileLocation: string,
-  alwaysAuth: string
-) {
   let scope: string = core.getInput('scope');
   if (!scope && registryUrl.indexOf('npm.pkg.github.com') > -1) {
     scope = github.context.repo.owner;
@@ -47,8 +43,7 @@ function writeRegistryToFile(
   const authString: string =
     registryUrl.replace(/(^\w+:|^)/, '') + ':_authToken=${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}';
   const registryString = `${scope}registry=${registryUrl}`;
-  const alwaysAuthString = `always-auth=${alwaysAuth}`;
+  newContents += `${authString}${os.EOL}${registryString}`;
-  newContents += `${authString}${os.EOL}${registryString}${os.EOL}${alwaysAuthString}`;
   fs.writeFileSync(fileLocation, newContents);
   core.exportVariable('NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG', fileLocation);
   // Export empty node_auth_token if didn't exist so npm doesn't complain about not being able to find it

src/main.ts

@@ -62,9 +62,8 @@ export async function run() {
     await printEnvDetailsAndSetOutput();
 
     const registryUrl: string = core.getInput('registry-url');
-    const alwaysAuth: string = core.getInput('always-auth');
     if (registryUrl) {
-      auth.configAuthentication(registryUrl, alwaysAuth);
+      auth.configAuthentication(registryUrl);
     }
 
     const cacheDependencyPath = core.getInput('cache-dependency-path');

tsconfig.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "compilerOptions": {
-    "target": "es6",                          /* Specify ECMAScript target version: 'ES3' (default), 'ES5', 'ES2015', 'ES2016', 'ES2017', 'ES2018', 'ES2019' or 'ESNEXT'. */
+    "target": "ES2022",                          /* Specify ECMAScript target version: 'ES3' (default), 'ES5', 'ES2015', 'ES2016', 'ES2017', 'ES2018', 'ES2019' or 'ESNEXT'. */
     "module": "commonjs",                     /* Specify module code generation: 'none', 'commonjs', 'amd', 'system', 'umd', 'es2015', or 'ESNext'. */
     "outDir": "./lib",                        /* Redirect output structure to the directory. */
     "rootDir": "./src",                       /* Specify the root directory of input files. Use to control the output directory structure with --outDir. */