diff --git a/.github/workflows/cache-windows-test.yml b/.github/workflows/cache-windows-test.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c7f7a5a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/cache-windows-test.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+name: cache-windows-bsd-unit-tests
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**.md'
+  pull_request:
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**.md'
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    name: Build
+
+    runs-on: windows-latest
+
+    steps:
+    - name: Checkout
+      uses: actions/checkout@v2
+
+    - shell: bash
+      run: |
+        rm "C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin\tar.exe"
+
+    - name: Set Node.js 12.x
+      uses: actions/setup-node@v1
+      with:
+        node-version: 12.x
+
+    # In order to save & restore cache from a shell script, certain env variables need to be set that are only available in the
+    # node context. This runs a local action that gets and sets the necessary env variables that are needed
+    - name: Set env variables
+      uses: ./packages/cache/__tests__/__fixtures__/
+
+    # Need root node_modules because certain npm packages like jest are configured for the entire repository and it won't be possible
+    # without these to just compile the cache package
+    - name: Install root npm packages
+      run: npm ci
+
+    - name: Compile cache package
+      run: |
+        npm ci
+        npm run tsc
+      working-directory: packages/cache
+    
+    - name: Generate files in working directory
+      shell: bash
+      run: packages/cache/__tests__/create-cache-files.sh ${{ runner.os }} test-cache
+
+    - name: Generate files outside working directory
+      shell: bash
+      run: packages/cache/__tests__/create-cache-files.sh ${{ runner.os }} ~/test-cache
+
+    # We're using node -e to call the functions directly available in the @actions/cache package
+    - name: Save cache using saveCache()
+      run: |
+        node -e "Promise.resolve(require('./packages/cache/lib/cache').saveCache(['test-cache','~/test-cache'],'test-${{ runner.os }}-${{ github.run_id }}'))"
+
+    - name: Delete cache folders before restoring
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        rm -rf test-cache
+        rm -rf ~/test-cache
+
+    - name: Restore cache using restoreCache() with http-client
+      run: |
+        node -e "Promise.resolve(require('./packages/cache/lib/cache').restoreCache(['test-cache','~/test-cache'],'test-${{ runner.os }}-${{ github.run_id }}',[],{useAzureSdk: false}))"
+
+    - name: Verify cache restored with http-client
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        packages/cache/__tests__/verify-cache-files.sh ${{ runner.os }} test-cache
+        packages/cache/__tests__/verify-cache-files.sh ${{ runner.os }} ~/test-cache
+
+    - name: Delete cache folders before restoring
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        rm -rf test-cache
+        rm -rf ~/test-cache
+        rm -f cache.tar
+
+    - name: Restore cache using restoreCache() with Azure SDK
+      run: |
+        node -e "Promise.resolve(require('./packages/cache/lib/cache').restoreCache(['test-cache','~/test-cache'],'test-${{ runner.os }}-${{ github.run_id }}'))"
+
+    - name: Verify cache restored with Azure SDK
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        packages/cache/__tests__/verify-cache-files.sh ${{ runner.os }} test-cache
+        packages/cache/__tests__/verify-cache-files.sh ${{ runner.os }} ~/test-cache
diff --git a/packages/cache/__tests__/restoreCache.test.ts b/packages/cache/__tests__/restoreCache.test.ts
index 82b259b9..9cf45799 100644
--- a/packages/cache/__tests__/restoreCache.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cache/__tests__/restoreCache.test.ts
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ test('restore with zstd as default but gzip compressed cache found on windows',
     const getCacheMock = jest.spyOn(cacheHttpClient, 'getCacheEntry')
     getCacheMock
       .mockImplementationOnce(async () => {
-        throw new Error('Cache not found.')
+        return Promise.resolve(null)
       })
       .mockImplementationOnce(async () => {
         return Promise.resolve(cacheEntry)
diff --git a/packages/cache/__tests__/tar.test.ts b/packages/cache/__tests__/tar.test.ts
index c68d0be8..a6a79a3d 100644
--- a/packages/cache/__tests__/tar.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cache/__tests__/tar.test.ts
@@ -73,7 +73,9 @@ test('zstd extract tar', async () => {
         '--use-compress-program',
         IS_WINDOWS ? '"zstd -d --long=30"' : 'unzstd --long=30'
       ])
-      .join(' ')
+      .join(' '),
+    undefined,
+    {cwd: undefined}
   )
 })
 
@@ -92,20 +94,31 @@ test('zstd extract tar with windows BSDtar', async () => {
     await tar.extractTar(archivePath, CompressionMethod.Zstd)
 
     expect(mkdirMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(workspace)
-    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
-    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+      1,
       [
         'zstd -d --long=30 -o',
         TarFilename.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
-        archivePath.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
-        '&&',
+        archivePath.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/')
+      ].join(' '),
+      undefined,
+      {cwd: undefined}
+    )
+
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+      2,
+      [
         `"${tarPath}"`,
         '-xf',
         TarFilename.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
         '-P',
         '-C',
         workspace?.replace(/\\/g, '/')
-      ].join(' ')
+      ].join(' '),
+      undefined,
+      {cwd: undefined}
     )
   }
 })
@@ -135,7 +148,9 @@ test('gzip extract tar', async () => {
       .concat(IS_WINDOWS ? ['--force-local'] : [])
       .concat(IS_MAC ? ['--delay-directory-restore'] : [])
       .concat(['-z'])
-      .join(' ')
+      .join(' '),
+    undefined,
+    {cwd: undefined}
   )
 })
 
@@ -162,7 +177,9 @@ test('gzip extract GNU tar on windows with GNUtar in path', async () => {
         workspace?.replace(/\\/g, '/'),
         '--force-local',
         '-z'
-      ].join(' ')
+      ].join(' '),
+      undefined,
+      {cwd: undefined}
     )
   }
 })
@@ -230,8 +247,10 @@ test('zstd create tar with windows BSDtar', async () => {
 
     const tarPath = SystemTarPathOnWindows
 
-    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
-    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+      1,
       [
         `"${tarPath}"`,
         '--posix',
@@ -243,8 +262,17 @@ test('zstd create tar with windows BSDtar', async () => {
         '-C',
         workspace?.replace(/\\/g, '/'),
         '--files-from',
-        ManifestFilename,
-        '&&',
+        ManifestFilename
+      ].join(' '),
+      undefined, // args
+      {
+        cwd: archiveFolder
+      }
+    )
+
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+      2,
+      [
         'zstd -T0 --long=30 -o',
         CacheFilename.Zstd.replace(/\\/g, '/'),
         TarFilename.replace(/\\/g, '/')
@@ -320,7 +348,9 @@ test('zstd list tar', async () => {
         '--use-compress-program',
         IS_WINDOWS ? '"zstd -d --long=30"' : 'unzstd --long=30'
       ])
-      .join(' ')
+      .join(' '),
+    undefined,
+    {cwd: undefined}
   )
 })
 
@@ -335,18 +365,29 @@ test('zstd list tar with windows BSDtar', async () => {
     await tar.listTar(archivePath, CompressionMethod.Zstd)
 
     const tarPath = SystemTarPathOnWindows
-    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
-    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+      1,
       [
         'zstd -d --long=30 -o',
         TarFilename.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
-        archivePath.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
-        '&&',
+        archivePath.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/')
+      ].join(' '),
+      undefined,
+      {cwd: undefined}
+    )
+
+    expect(execMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+      2,
+      [
         `"${tarPath}"`,
         '-tf',
         TarFilename.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
         '-P'
-      ].join(' ')
+      ].join(' '),
+      undefined,
+      {cwd: undefined}
     )
   }
 })
@@ -372,7 +413,9 @@ test('zstdWithoutLong list tar', async () => {
       .concat(IS_WINDOWS ? ['--force-local'] : [])
       .concat(IS_MAC ? ['--delay-directory-restore'] : [])
       .concat(['--use-compress-program', IS_WINDOWS ? '"zstd -d"' : 'unzstd'])
-      .join(' ')
+      .join(' '),
+    undefined,
+    {cwd: undefined}
   )
 })
 
@@ -396,6 +439,8 @@ test('gzip list tar', async () => {
       .concat(IS_WINDOWS ? ['--force-local'] : [])
       .concat(IS_MAC ? ['--delay-directory-restore'] : [])
       .concat(['-z'])
-      .join(' ')
+      .join(' '),
+    undefined,
+    {cwd: undefined}
   )
 })
diff --git a/packages/cache/src/cache.ts b/packages/cache/src/cache.ts
index 3840e439..2ebf44ca 100644
--- a/packages/cache/src/cache.ts
+++ b/packages/cache/src/cache.ts
@@ -91,14 +91,12 @@ export async function restoreCache(
   let compressionMethod = await utils.getCompressionMethod()
   let archivePath = ''
   try {
-    try {
-      // path are needed to compute version
-      cacheEntry = await cacheHttpClient.getCacheEntry(keys, paths, {
-        compressionMethod
-      })
-    } catch (error) {
-      // This is to support the old cache entry created
-      // by the old version of the cache action on windows.
+    // path are needed to compute version
+    cacheEntry = await cacheHttpClient.getCacheEntry(keys, paths, {
+      compressionMethod
+    })
+    if (!cacheEntry?.archiveLocation) {
+      // This is to support the old cache entry created by gzip on windows.
       if (
         process.platform === 'win32' &&
         compressionMethod !== CompressionMethod.Gzip
@@ -108,17 +106,18 @@ export async function restoreCache(
           compressionMethod
         })
         if (!cacheEntry?.archiveLocation) {
-          throw error
+          return undefined
         }
+
+        core.debug(
+          "Couldn't find cache entry with zstd compression, falling back to gzip compression."
+        )
       } else {
-        throw error
+        // Cache not found
+        return undefined
       }
     }
 
-    if (!cacheEntry?.archiveLocation) {
-      // Cache not found
-      return undefined
-    }
     archivePath = path.join(
       await utils.createTempDirectory(),
       utils.getCacheFileName(compressionMethod)
diff --git a/packages/cache/src/internal/cacheHttpClient.ts b/packages/cache/src/internal/cacheHttpClient.ts
index c66d1a73..77debfed 100644
--- a/packages/cache/src/internal/cacheHttpClient.ts
+++ b/packages/cache/src/internal/cacheHttpClient.ts
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ export async function getCacheEntry(
     httpClient.getJson<ArtifactCacheEntry>(getCacheApiUrl(resource))
   )
   if (response.statusCode === 204) {
+    // Cache not found
     return null
   }
   if (!isSuccessStatusCode(response.statusCode)) {
@@ -113,6 +114,7 @@ export async function getCacheEntry(
   const cacheResult = response.result
   const cacheDownloadUrl = cacheResult?.archiveLocation
   if (!cacheDownloadUrl) {
+    // Cache achiveLocation not found. This should never happen, and hence bail out.
     throw new Error('Cache not found.')
   }
   core.setSecret(cacheDownloadUrl)
diff --git a/packages/cache/src/internal/tar.ts b/packages/cache/src/internal/tar.ts
index ae55d321..0da4e8df 100644
--- a/packages/cache/src/internal/tar.ts
+++ b/packages/cache/src/internal/tar.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import {
 
 const IS_WINDOWS = process.platform === 'win32'
 
-// Function also mutates the args array. For non-mutation call with passing an empty array.
+// Returns tar path and type: BSD or GNU
 async function getTarPath(): Promise<ArchiveTool> {
   switch (process.platform) {
     case 'win32': {
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ async function getTarPath(): Promise<ArchiveTool> {
     default:
       break
   }
+  // Default assumption is GNU tar is present in path
   return <ArchiveTool>{
     path: await io.which('tar', true),
     type: ArchiveToolType.GNU
@@ -60,6 +61,7 @@ async function getTarArgs(
   const cacheFileName = utils.getCacheFileName(compressionMethod)
   const tarFile = 'cache.tar'
   const workingDirectory = getWorkingDirectory()
+  // Speficic args for BSD tar on windows for workaround
   const BSD_TAR_ZSTD =
     tarPath.type === ArchiveToolType.BSD &&
     compressionMethod !== CompressionMethod.Gzip &&
@@ -122,11 +124,14 @@ async function getTarArgs(
   return args
 }
 
-async function getArgs(
+// Returns commands to run tar and compression program
+async function getCommands(
   compressionMethod: CompressionMethod,
   type: string,
   archivePath = ''
-): Promise<string> {
+): Promise<string[]> {
+  let args
+
   const tarPath = await getTarPath()
   const tarArgs = await getTarArgs(
     tarPath,
@@ -142,11 +147,18 @@ async function getArgs(
     tarPath.type === ArchiveToolType.BSD &&
     compressionMethod !== CompressionMethod.Gzip &&
     IS_WINDOWS
+
   if (BSD_TAR_ZSTD && type !== 'create') {
-    return [...compressionArgs, ...tarArgs].join(' ')
+    args = [[...compressionArgs].join(' '), [...tarArgs].join(' ')]
   } else {
-    return [...tarArgs, ...compressionArgs].join(' ')
+    args = [[...tarArgs].join(' '), [...compressionArgs].join(' ')]
   }
+
+  if (BSD_TAR_ZSTD) {
+    return args
+  }
+
+  return [args.join(' ')]
 }
 
 function getWorkingDirectory(): string {
@@ -173,8 +185,7 @@ async function getDecompressionProgram(
         ? [
             'zstd -d --long=30 -o',
             TarFilename,
-            archivePath.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
-            '&&'
+            archivePath.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/')
           ]
         : [
             '--use-compress-program',
@@ -185,8 +196,7 @@ async function getDecompressionProgram(
         ? [
             'zstd -d -o',
             TarFilename,
-            archivePath.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
-            '&&'
+            archivePath.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/')
           ]
         : ['--use-compress-program', IS_WINDOWS ? '"zstd -d"' : 'unzstd']
     default:
@@ -194,6 +204,7 @@ async function getDecompressionProgram(
   }
 }
 
+// Used for creating the archive
 // -T#: Compress using # working thread. If # is 0, attempt to detect and use the number of physical CPU cores.
 // zstdmt is equivalent to 'zstd -T0'
 // --long=#: Enables long distance matching with # bits. Maximum is 30 (1GB) on 32-bit OS and 31 (2GB) on 64-bit.
@@ -212,7 +223,6 @@ async function getCompressionProgram(
     case CompressionMethod.Zstd:
       return BSD_TAR_ZSTD
         ? [
-            '&&',
             'zstd -T0 --long=30 -o',
             cacheFileName.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
             TarFilename
@@ -224,7 +234,6 @@ async function getCompressionProgram(
     case CompressionMethod.ZstdWithoutLong:
       return BSD_TAR_ZSTD
         ? [
-            '&&',
             'zstd -T0 -o',
             cacheFileName.replace(new RegExp(`\\${path.sep}`, 'g'), '/'),
             TarFilename
@@ -235,18 +244,29 @@ async function getCompressionProgram(
   }
 }
 
+// Executes all commands as separate processes
+async function execCommands(commands: string[], cwd?: string): Promise<void> {
+  for (const command of commands) {
+    try {
+      await exec(command, undefined, {cwd})
+    } catch (error) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `${command.split(' ')[0]} failed with error: ${error?.message}`
+      )
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+// List the contents of a tar
 export async function listTar(
   archivePath: string,
   compressionMethod: CompressionMethod
 ): Promise<void> {
-  const args = await getArgs(compressionMethod, 'list', archivePath)
-  try {
-    await exec(args)
-  } catch (error) {
-    throw new Error(`Tar failed with error: ${error?.message}`)
-  }
+  const commands = await getCommands(compressionMethod, 'list', archivePath)
+  await execCommands(commands)
 }
 
+// Extract a tar
 export async function extractTar(
   archivePath: string,
   compressionMethod: CompressionMethod
@@ -254,14 +274,11 @@ export async function extractTar(
   // Create directory to extract tar into
   const workingDirectory = getWorkingDirectory()
   await io.mkdirP(workingDirectory)
-  const args = await getArgs(compressionMethod, 'extract', archivePath)
-  try {
-    await exec(args)
-  } catch (error) {
-    throw new Error(`Tar failed with error: ${error?.message}`)
-  }
+  const commands = await getCommands(compressionMethod, 'extract', archivePath)
+  await execCommands(commands)
 }
 
+// Create a tar
 export async function createTar(
   archiveFolder: string,
   sourceDirectories: string[],
@@ -272,10 +289,6 @@ export async function createTar(
     path.join(archiveFolder, ManifestFilename),
     sourceDirectories.join('\n')
   )
-  const args = await getArgs(compressionMethod, 'create')
-  try {
-    await exec(args, undefined, {cwd: archiveFolder})
-  } catch (error) {
-    throw new Error(`Tar failed with error: ${error?.message}`)
-  }
+  const commands = await getCommands(compressionMethod, 'create')
+  await execCommands(commands, archiveFolder)
 }