GitHub Actions schedule events are never emitted, while workflow_dispatch succeeds

[laclance]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Schedule & Cron Jobs

Discussion Details

GitHub Actions schedule events never fire, while workflow_dispatch succeeds

I have also opened a GitHub Support ticket for this, but I'm posting here because there appear to be other recent reports of scheduled workflows not emitting any schedule runs. I'm interested in confirming whether other users are currently seeing the same behavior.

Summary

GitHub Actions scheduled workflows are not creating any workflow runs for me.

The same workflows execute successfully through workflow_dispatch, but the schedule event never creates a queued, skipped, failed, cancelled, or completed run.

I created a minimal public reproduction repository specifically to isolate the problem:

• Repository: https://github.com/laclance/actions-scheduler-probe
• Preserved reproduction notes: Reproduction: GitHub Actions schedule events are not emitted laclance/actions-scheduler-probe#1

Minimal reproduction

Repository

laclance/actions-scheduler-probe

Default branch

master

Workflow

.github/workflows/probe.yml

Workflow ID

373963899

Workflow state

active

Workflow definition

name: Schedule Probe

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  schedule:
    - cron: "*/5 * * * *"

jobs:
  probe:
    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
    permissions:
      contents: read
    steps:
      - run: date -u

The workflow is on the repository's actual default branch and GitHub reports it as active.

Manual dispatch works

I manually dispatched the exact same workflow.

• Run ID: 37130682318
• Run URL: https://github.com/laclance/actions-scheduler-probe/actions/runs/37130682318
• Event: workflow_dispatch
• Conclusion: success
• Job ID: 111225005919

The job completed successfully.

This confirms that GitHub is able to:

• recognize and parse the workflow
• create workflow runs
• execute the job
• allocate a GitHub-hosted runner
• run the workflow successfully

Scheduled runs never appear

The workflow is scheduled every five minutes:

schedule:
  - cron: "*/5 * * * *"

After multiple eligible cron boundaries, this query:

gh api 'repos/laclance/actions-scheduler-probe/actions/runs?event=schedule&per_page=20' \
  --jq '{total_count,runs:[.workflow_runs[]|{id,name,event,status,conclusion,created_at}]}'

continues to return:

{
  "runs": [],
  "total_count": 0
}

No schedule workflow run is created at all.

This appears to fail before job or runner execution.

Same issue reproduced in another repository

The original affected repository is:

https://github.com/laclance/OSSOpportunityScout

I reproduced the same issue there with multiple independently registered scheduled workflows.

Workflow IDs tested:

• production workflow: 373687798
• Scheduler Canary: 373895799
• Scheduler Canary V2: 373927710

All were registered by GitHub as active, but all produced zero schedule runs.

Troubleshooting already performed

I have already ruled out the following:

1. Workflow not being on the default branch.
2. Workflow being disabled.
3. Repository Actions being disabled.
4. Restricted Actions policy.
5. Top-of-hour cron congestion.
6. Invalid five-minute cron interval.
7. A stuck individual workflow registration.
8. A stuck workflow ID.
9. Repository-level Actions registration state.
10. PR/squash-merge actor attribution.
11. Cron-changing actor attribution.
12. Production application code.
13. Workflow secrets.
14. Runner availability.
15. The original production repository itself.

Specific tests included:

• moving the production cron away from minute 0
• creating two separate scheduler canaries with new workflow IDs
• disabling and re-enabling the workflow
• disabling and re-enabling Actions for the entire repository
• directly changing the cron on the default branch with a commit authored and committed by my laclance account
• creating a completely separate new public repository containing only the minimal reproduction
• successfully running that exact minimal workflow via workflow_dispatch

Actions settings checked

On the affected production repository, Actions permissions were:

{
  "enabled": true,
  "allowed_actions": "all",
  "sha_pinning_required": false
}

Default workflow permissions were:

{
  "default_workflow_permissions": "read",
  "can_approve_pull_request_reviews": false
}

Historical comparison

Another repository under the same GitHub account:

laclance/BountyScout

contains genuine historical GitHub Actions runs with:

event = schedule

So scheduled Actions have worked previously under this account.

Expected behavior

At eligible cron boundaries, GitHub should eventually create a workflow run whose event is:

schedule

I understand scheduled workflows can be delayed under load, but in this case no scheduled workflow run is created at all.

Actual behavior

workflow_dispatch succeeds immediately on the exact same workflow.

event=schedule remains completely absent.

Current production mitigation

I have removed the native schedule trigger from laclance/OSSOpportunityScout for now and left it manual-only while this is investigated.

The temporary scheduler canaries were removed from the production repository.

The dedicated reproduction repository has intentionally been left intact for GitHub investigation.

Question

Is there currently a known issue with GitHub Actions scheduled-event registration or delivery?

If possible, could someone from GitHub check the backend scheduler registration for workflow ID 373963899 in:

laclance/actions-scheduler-probe

In particular:

1. Is the */5 * * * * cron registered internally?
2. Is GitHub attempting to emit scheduled events for this workflow?
3. If not, why is the workflow shown as active while no schedule event is ever created?
4. Is there a known incident or regression affecting newly registered scheduled workflows?

Related discussions

I found several reports with very similar symptoms:

• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/209331
• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/209036
• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/208729
• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/203473

My case includes a separate minimal public reproduction repository and a successful workflow_dispatch run on the exact same workflow, while event=schedule remains completely absent.

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐