Two workflow runs permanently stuck in queued and cannot be cancelled (cancel & force-cancel both 409)

[Colinchiu007]

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Product Feedback

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Body

Two old workflow runs in one of my private repositories have been permanently stuck in `queued`
and cannot be cancelled by any user-facing method. They never created any job, and their
`updated_at` equals `created_at`, i.e. the run record never advanced. Cancel and force-cancel
both fail. It looks like a corrupted run record on the backend, so I'd like a GitHub staff
member to clear them.

Repository: https://github.com/Colinchiu007/Multi-Publish

Stuck runs:

| Run ID | Workflow | Created (UTC) | Status | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34749162376 | CI Failure Handler (Level 4) | 2026-09-13T09:14:06Z | queued | same as created_at |
| 32218549790 | CI Failure Handler (Level 4) | 2026-08-19T05:12:19Z | queued | same as created_at |

What I have already tried:

1. Cancel from the Actions UI → "Failed to cancel workflow" (nothing happens).
2. `POST /repos/Colinchiu007/Multi-Publish/actions/runs/{id}/cancel`
   → `409 Conflict` for both runs.
3. `POST /repos/Colinchiu007/Multi-Publish/actions/runs/{id}/force-cancel`
   → `409 Conflict`, body:
   `{"message": "Cannot cancel a workflow run that has not been queued yet.", "status": "409"}`
4. Deleted and re-registered the self-hosted runner that once served this repo
   (`win11-desktop-01`) → after a healthy re-registration the new runner immediately picked up a
   brand-new run and skipped these two, so they were never "claimed" by any runner.
   They are not bound to any runner.
5. Checked the run JSON: `status: queued`, `conclusion: null`, no jobs at all, no runs-on match issue.

Additional context:

- Runners for this repo: one self-hosted Windows runner (`win11-desktop-01`, online) and one Linux
  runner (`aliyun-ecs-runner`, online). Both are healthy and running other workflows fine.
- These two runs do not appear to block new scheduling (a newly dispatched run started normally),
  but they stay in the Actions list forever, and the workflow shows a permanent "queued" item that
  cannot be dismissed.
- GitHub account plan: GitHub Free (private repository).

Request: please purge / cancel these two workflow run records (34749162376 and 32218549790) from
the backend queue, or advise whether any repository-level action can force them out.

Thanks!

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[kit1211]

Hi @Colinchiu007

Your diagnosis is correct. Runs stuck in queued with updated_at equal to created_at, zero jobs created, and cancel plus force-cancel returning 409 Conflict indicates corrupted backend run records, not a workflow YAML issue.

What your evidence shows:

1. Run JSON status queued, conclusion null, no jobs array
2. Self hosted runners online and other workflows dispatch normally
3. New runs start fine. Only legacy records 34749162376 and 32218549790 are orphaned
4. Repository level actions cannot purge these records

What to do:

1. Open support.github.com, category Actions
2. Include repository Colinchiu007/Multi-Publish
3. List stuck run IDs: 34749162376 and 32218549790
4. Note cancel returns 409 and force-cancel returns Cannot cancel workflow
5. Request backend purge of orphaned queued run records

Workaround while waiting:

1. These ghost runs usually do not block new scheduling (you confirmed new dispatch works)
2. Ignore them in UI or filter by date
3. Do not delete the workflow file if you still need CI Failure Handler. Ghost runs are historical artifacts

No user facing API exists to delete run records. Only GitHub Support or internal maintenance can clear them.