From 311292c28fcad4d4c3efb0b85ec3f23b2785a19f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Mario Campos <mario-campos@github.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2026 16:39:55 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Cache the output of `codeql resolve languages`

Repeated calls to `resolveLanguages()` will only pay the performance penalty of executing `codeql resolve languages` once.
---
 src/codeql.ts      | 41 ++++++++++++++------------
 src/environment.ts |  6 ++++
 src/util.ts        | 71 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 3 files changed, 99 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/codeql.ts b/src/codeql.ts
index 5d78337d2..0747830d0 100644
--- a/src/codeql.ts
+++ b/src/codeql.ts
@@ -731,26 +731,31 @@ async function getCodeQLForCmd(
         filterToLanguagesWithQueries: boolean;
       } = { filterToLanguagesWithQueries: false },
     ) {
-      const codeqlArgs = [
-        "resolve",
-        "languages",
-        "--format=betterjson",
-        "--extractor-options-verbosity=4",
-        "--extractor-include-aliases",
-        ...(filterToLanguagesWithQueries
-          ? ["--filter-to-languages-with-queries"]
-          : []),
-        ...getExtraOptionsFromEnv(["resolve", "languages"]),
-      ];
-      const output = await runCli(cmd, codeqlArgs);
+      let result = util.getCachedCodeQlResolveLanguages(cmd);
+      if (result === undefined) {
+        const codeqlArgs = [
+          "resolve",
+          "languages",
+          "--format=betterjson",
+          "--extractor-options-verbosity=4",
+          "--extractor-include-aliases",
+          ...(filterToLanguagesWithQueries
+            ? ["--filter-to-languages-with-queries"]
+            : []),
+          ...getExtraOptionsFromEnv(["resolve", "languages"]),
+        ];
+        const output = await runCli(cmd, codeqlArgs);
 
-      try {
-        return JSON.parse(output) as ResolveLanguagesOutput;
-      } catch (e) {
-        throw new Error(
-          `Unexpected output from codeql resolve languages with --format=betterjson: ${e}`,
-        );
+        try {
+          result = JSON.parse(output) as ResolveLanguagesOutput;
+        } catch (e) {
+          throw new Error(
+            `Unexpected output from codeql resolve languages with --format=betterjson: ${e}`,
+          );
+        }
+        util.cacheCodeQlResolveLanguages(cmd, result);
       }
+      return result;
     },
     async resolveBuildEnvironment(
       workingDir: string | undefined,
diff --git a/src/environment.ts b/src/environment.ts
index c3f54ebd2..1324abf28 100644
--- a/src/environment.ts
+++ b/src/environment.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,12 @@ export enum EnvVar {
    */
   CODEQL_VERSION_INFO = "CODEQL_ACTION_CLI_VERSION_INFO",
 
+  /**
+   * `ResolveLanguagesOutput` for the CodeQL CLI, so later Actions steps can reuse it instead of
+   * invoking `codeql resolve languages` again.
+   */
+  CODEQL_RESOLVE_LANGUAGES = "CODEQL_ACTION_CLI_RESOLVE_LANGUAGES",
+
   /** Whether the CodeQL Action has invoked the Go autobuilder. */
   DID_AUTOBUILD_GOLANG = "CODEQL_ACTION_DID_AUTOBUILD_GOLANG",
 
diff --git a/src/util.ts b/src/util.ts
index 200d68d2c..a7833b2df 100644
--- a/src/util.ts
+++ b/src/util.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import * as yaml from "js-yaml";
 import * as semver from "semver";
 
 import * as apiCompatibility from "./api-compatibility.json";
-import type { CodeQL, VersionInfo } from "./codeql";
+import type { CodeQL, VersionInfo, ResolveLanguagesOutput } from "./codeql";
 import type { Pack } from "./config/db-config";
 import type { Config } from "./config-utils";
 import { EnvVar } from "./environment";
@@ -701,6 +701,75 @@ export function getCachedCodeQlVersion(cmd?: string): undefined | VersionInfo {
   return cachedCodeQlVersion;
 }
 
+let cachedCodeQlResolveLanguages: undefined | ResolveLanguagesOutput =
+  undefined;
+
+interface PersistedResolveLanguagesOutput {
+  cmd: string;
+  output: ResolveLanguagesOutput;
+}
+
+export function cacheCodeQlResolveLanguages(
+  cmd: string,
+  output: ResolveLanguagesOutput,
+): void {
+  if (cachedCodeQlResolveLanguages !== undefined) {
+    throw new Error("cacheCodeQlResolveLanguages() should be called only once");
+  }
+  cachedCodeQlResolveLanguages = output;
+  // Persist the output so that subsequent Actions steps, which run in separate
+  // processes, can reuse it rather than invoking `codeql resolve languages` again. We
+  // record the CLI path so that a different step using a different CodeQL bundle
+  // doesn't pick up a stale output.
+  core.exportVariable(
+    EnvVar.CODEQL_RESOLVE_LANGUAGES,
+    JSON.stringify({ cmd, output }),
+  );
+}
+
+function isPersistedResolveLanguagesOutput(
+  value: unknown,
+): value is PersistedResolveLanguagesOutput {
+  return (
+    typeof value === "object" &&
+    value !== null &&
+    typeof (value as Record<string, unknown>).cmd === "string" &&
+    typeof (value as Record<string, unknown>).output === "object" &&
+    (value as Record<string, unknown>).output !== null
+  );
+}
+
+export function getCachedCodeQlResolveLanguages(
+  cmd?: string,
+): undefined | ResolveLanguagesOutput {
+  if (cachedCodeQlResolveLanguages !== undefined) {
+    return cachedCodeQlResolveLanguages;
+  }
+  // Fall back to the value persisted by an earlier Actions step, if any. This is
+  // best-effort: any malformed or mismatched value is ignored so that the caller
+  // invokes `codeql resolve languages` instead.
+  const serialized = process.env[EnvVar.CODEQL_RESOLVE_LANGUAGES];
+  if (!serialized) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  let persisted: unknown;
+  try {
+    persisted = JSON.parse(serialized);
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  if (
+    !isPersistedResolveLanguagesOutput(persisted) ||
+    (cmd !== undefined && persisted.cmd !== cmd)
+  ) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  // Memoize the parsed value so that subsequent calls in this process don't
+  // re-parse the environment variable.
+  cachedCodeQlResolveLanguages = persisted.output;
+  return cachedCodeQlResolveLanguages;
+}
+
 export async function codeQlVersionAtLeast(
   codeql: CodeQL,
   requiredVersion: string,