# Python Cache Configuration Fix

## Issue Identified
**Date**: 2024-08-24
**Problem**: GitHub Actions workflows failing at Python setup step

### Root Cause
The `setup-python` action was configured with `cache: 'pip'` but couldn't find a `requirements.txt` file. The project uses `pyproject.toml` for dependency management instead.

### Error Message
```
Error: No file in /home/runner/work/mcp-memory-service/mcp-memory-service matched to [**/requirements.txt], make sure you have checked out the target repository
```

## Solution Applied

Added `cache-dependency-path: '**/pyproject.toml'` to all Python setup steps that use pip caching.

### Files Modified

#### 1. `.github/workflows/main-optimized.yml`
Fixed 2 instances:
- Line 34-39: Release job Python setup
- Line 112-117: Test job Python setup

#### 2. `.github/workflows/cleanup-images.yml`
Fixed 1 instance:
- Line 95-100: Docker Hub cleanup job Python setup

### Before
```yaml
- name: Set up Python
  uses: actions/setup-python@v4
  with:
    python-version: '3.11'
    cache: 'pip'
    # ❌ Missing cache-dependency-path causes failure
```

### After
```yaml
- name: Set up Python
  uses: actions/setup-python@v4
  with:
    python-version: '3.11'
    cache: 'pip'
    cache-dependency-path: '**/pyproject.toml'
    # ✅ Explicitly tells setup-python where to find dependencies
```

## Benefits

1. **Immediate Fix**: Workflows will no longer fail at Python setup step
2. **Performance**: Dependencies are properly cached, reducing workflow execution time
3. **Compatibility**: Works with modern Python projects using `pyproject.toml` (PEP 621)

## Testing

All modified workflows have been validated:
- ✅ `main-optimized.yml` - Valid YAML syntax
- ✅ `cleanup-images.yml` - Valid YAML syntax

## Background

The `setup-python` action defaults to looking for `requirements.txt` when using pip cache. Since this project uses `pyproject.toml` for dependency management (following modern Python packaging standards), we need to explicitly specify the dependency file path.

This is a known issue in the setup-python action:
- Issue #502: Cache pip dependencies from pyproject.toml file
- Issue #529: Change pip default cache path to include pyproject.toml

## Next Steps

After pushing these changes:
1. Workflows should complete successfully
2. Monitor the Python setup steps to confirm caching works
3. Check workflow execution time improvements from proper caching

## Alternative Solutions (Not Applied)

1. **Remove caching**: Simply remove `cache: 'pip'` line (would work but slower)
2. **Create requirements.txt**: Generate from pyproject.toml (adds maintenance burden)
3. **Use uv directly**: Since project uses uv for package management (more complex change)

Date: 2024-08-24
Status: Fixed and ready for deployment