Setup Java does not ensure that `sbt` is installed on Ubuntu 24

[jsoref]

Description:
Notice of breaking changes for GitHub Actions warned that certain packages would not be present in Ubuntu 24.04, this included sbt.

This was tripped on by this repository and worked around by pinning backwards (from ubuntu-latest to ubuntu-22.04):

• Fix sbt and x86 CI failures on Ubuntu-24 #693

Unfortunately, anyone who legitimately expected "setup-java" to set up java for use with sbt which is listed as a supported feature of the actions/setup-java repository:

setup-java/README.md

Line 16 in 7a6d8a8

- Caching dependencies managed by sbt.

... doesn't get a working sbt environment.

Task version:
Specify the task version actions/setup-java@v4, as in:
https://github.com/GarnerCorp/build-actions/blob/f3a79ac52d53e8b2218381ae5dd240619ed9eacf/scala/action.yml#L129-L134

Platform:

• Ubuntu
• macOS
• Windows

Runner type:

• Hosted
• Self-hosted

Repro steps:

1. Create a workflow that runs-on: ubuntu-latest or runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
2. Add a step that either uses: actions/setup-java@v4 or uses: GarnerCorp/build-actions/scala@0cc885d8117f6bb9c89dc99a34f5edebeac115cf
3. If you aren't using the build-actions/scala action which automatically uses sbt, run sbt

Expected behavior:
sbt should work

Actual behavior:
sbt: not found

[gowridurgad]

Hello @jsoref,
Thank you for creating this issue. We will investigate it and provide feedback as soon as we have some updates.

[boydsa92]

We are facing the same issue
/home/runner/work/_temp/ff2d4e86-705c-42c5-98eb-92311951ff46.sh: line 2: sbt: command not found

[mahabaleshwars]

Hi @jsoref,

You're absolutely right that sbt is currently not included in Ubuntu 24.04. The Runner Image team has made cuts to the list of included packages in order to maintain our SLA for free disk space. More details here: actions/runner-images#10636.

Since sbt is not part of the runner image, CI workflows were failing, which is why the workflows have been updated.

The setup-java action provides the environment for sbt, and including sbt by default depends on the runner image configuration.

You can still install sbt manually using sudo apt-get install sbt, but currently, it isn't working with Ubuntu 24.04. Below is a workaround for the issue.

     run: |
       echo ""deb https://repo.scala-sbt.org/scalasbt/debian all main"" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sbt.list
       echo ""deb https://repo.scala-sbt.org/scalasbt/debian /"" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sbt_old.list
       curl -sL ""https://keyserver.ubuntu.com/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x2EE0EA64E40A89B84B2DF73499E82A75642AC823"" | sudo apt-key add
       sudo apt-get update
       sudo apt-get install sbt

Let me know if it helps resolve your problem.

[jsoref]

first, your sample code is buggy and you really shouldn't suggest it -- the "" evaluate to empty.
second, apt-key is deprecated and has been since at least ubuntu 22.04 -- suggesting it anywhere is a horrible idea.

third, this action is designed to support sbt -- each consumer of this action shouldn't have to try to avoid making the mistakes that you included in your sample code (or the various other mistakes that may be present or properly maintain it for when the key for ubuntu changes). Or the various other problems entailed here.

[SethTisue]

The maintainers of sbt have made this action available: https://github.com/sbt/setup-sbt cc @eed3si9n

So all that users need to do is add uses: sbt/setup-sbt@v1 and you're good again.

[mahabaleshwars]

Hi @jsoref ,

The double quotes "" I used in the original sample code were indeed incorrect, as they would evaluate to empty strings. I appreciate you pointing that out. Here’s the corrected command:

run:|
      sudo apt-get update
      sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https curl gnupg -yqq
      echo "deb https://repo.scala-sbt.org/scalasbt/debian all main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sbt.list
      echo "deb https://repo.scala-sbt.org/scalasbt/debian /" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sbt_old.list
      curl -sL "https://keyserver.ubuntu.com/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x2EE0EA64E40A89B84B2DF73499E82A75642AC823" | sudo -H gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring gnupg-ring:/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/scalasbt-release.gpg --import
      sudo chmod 644 /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/scalasbt-release.gpg
      sudo apt-get update
      sudo apt-get install sbt

Reference Link

You're right that the setup-java action is designed to support sbt out of the box, and consumers shouldn't have to manually manage dependencies like sbt for typical use cases. The issue here is that sbt is not included in the default Ubuntu 24.04 runner image, and because of this, CI workflows are failing. The Runner Image team made this change to reduce disk usage. The workaround I provided was meant to help in cases where users are facing this problem, but I do agree it’s not an ideal long-term solution.