Actions run stuck queued with zero jobs; cancel fails and force-cancel returns 409

[eyalgo-code]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

ARC (Actions Runner Controller)

Discussion Details

Hello,

A manually dispatched GitHub Actions run in my private repository has remained queued since October 15, 2026.

The latest API check confirms:

• status: queued
• conclusion: null
• total jobs: 0

Cancellation attempts:

• Normal cancellation failed.
• POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs/{run_id}/force-cancel returned HTTP 409.
• Cancellation through both the mobile and desktop interfaces fails with “Failed to cancel workflow”.

The workflow has been disabled to prevent new runs. Other workflows have completed successfully, and my Billing page shows unused included Actions minutes.

I need this particular run cancelled without executing or rerunning it. I do not want to re-enable the workflow as a workaround.

Could GitHub staff investigate, or provide the appropriate private escalation channel? I can share the repository URL, run ID, check suite ID, and screenshots privately through an official GitHub support channel.

My account uses GitHub Free, and the support portal does not offer an Actions technical-support category.

Thank you.

[github-actions[bot]]

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[eyalgo-code]

Clarification: I selected “ARC (Actions Runner Controller)” by mistake. This workflow uses GitHub-hosted runners, not ARC, Kubernetes, or self-hosted runners.

This report concerns a stuck workflow run and failed cancellation, rather than a feature request. Could a moderator correct the topic/labels and advise how to escalate it for private investigation by GitHub staff?

The requested outcome is to cancel the existing run without executing or rerunning it. I can provide the private repository and run identifiers through an official private support channel.

[eyalgo-code]