Actions run stuck queued since 29 October — zero jobs, cancel and force-cancel return 409

[racingmodel]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Workflow Deployment

Discussion Details

Hi everyone 👋

Small correction: I initially selected “ARC (Actions Runner Controller)” by mistake. This concerns Workflow Deployment. Could a moderator please update the topic label when convenient? Thank you!

Could someone from GitHub please help investigate a workflow run that appears to be stuck, or point me towards the right escalation route?

The run has remained Queued since 29 October 2026 at 17:07 UTC, with zero jobs created. It was still in that state when checked on 1 November at 12:50 UTC.

Public run: https://github.com/racingmodel/nfl-2026-visualizer/actions/runs/40918292299
Check suite ID: 110918601409

I have already tried:

• Cancelling through the GitHub interface, which displayed “Failed to cancel workflow”.
• The REST API cancellation endpoint.
• The REST API force-cancellation endpoint.

Both API attempts returned HTTP 409 with:

Cannot cancel a workflow run that has not been queued yet.

That seems inconsistent with the run being displayed as Queued.

GitHub’s troubleshooting documentation describes similar symptoms for an abnormal or out-of-sync run and recommends contacting Support. However, the Support portal did not offer a technical-support route for my account, so I’m asking here.

Could GitHub staff please check whether the run or associated check suite is stuck and, if appropriate, clear or terminate it? I’m requesting cleanup of the stuck run only. Please do not rerun the workflow or trigger a new deployment.

If further diagnostic information is needed, please let me know the minimum required and whether it should be provided through an official private channel.

Thank you for your time and any help you can offer!

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[Aur-iii]

ive also got the same issue, ive had a run stuck in queue since 4am last night. just like you, i tried to go through github support but they didnt have any paths forward for me, so ive also come here! i guess ill include my stuck run since we're all in this together <3

https://github.com/Aur-iii/aurifellmusic/actions/runs/41288355789
check suite id: 111906192541

i hope we can get this resolved!

[racingmodel]

Thanks for adding your example, and sorry you’re stuck with this too!

It’s helpful to have another run showing similar symptoms. Hopefully someone from GitHub can investigate both cases and help clear the stuck runs, or point us towards a support route that can.

Really appreciate you sharing the details—hope we can both get this resolved soon 🙂

[mohdkhatab]

The contradiction you spotted — the UI says Queued, the API says "has not been queued yet" — is actually the key clue, and it matches what GitHub's troubleshooting docs describe for an abnormal, out-of-sync run.

The two messages are reading different internal states. The web UI shows the workflow run's status, which was set to Queued when the run was created on 29 October. The cancel endpoints, however, check whether any jobs have actually been dispatched to a runner queue. Because your run has zero jobs created, there is nothing in a runner queue to cancel, so the API returns 409 "Cannot cancel a workflow run that has not been queued yet." Both can be true at once when a run is created but its jobs never materialise — the run record exists, the check suite exists (110918601409), but no job ever entered the queue.

That also means repeatedly trying to cancel will not help, and it is not a permissions problem on your side: you have already tried the UI, the cancel endpoint, and the force-cancel endpoint, and all three fail for the same underlying reason.

A few things that are worth checking and reporting, since you asked only for cleanup, not a rerun:

1. Check whether other runs in the same repository are affected. If new runs start normally and only run 40918292299 is stuck, it is an isolated out-of-sync run. If new runs also queue behind it, check whether the workflow uses a concurrency group — a stuck run can hold a concurrency group and block later runs, which is important information for Support.

2. Check status.github.com for the same period. Aur-iii's comment adds a second, unrelated repository with the same symptom (run 41288355789, check suite 111906192541, also stuck queued). Two unrelated repositories showing zero-job queued runs around the same time points away from your repository configuration and toward a platform-side issue, which strengthens the case for staff cleanup rather than a workflow fix.

3. Escalate with the identifiers you already have. The community cannot clear an out-of-sync run — there is no user-facing action that cancels a run with no jobs. Open a GitHub Support ticket (support.github.com) with: the run URL (actions/runs/40918292299), the check suite ID (110918601409), the fact that cancel and force-cancel both return 409 with the "has not been queued yet" message, that the run has had zero jobs since 29 October 17:07 UTC, and Aur-iii's second example. Support can reconcile or remove the stuck run record from their side.

Until then, the stuck run itself does not consume runner minutes (no jobs are running), and it should not be "fixed" by pushing new commits to trigger more runs — those will not clear it, and if your workflow has a concurrency group they may simply queue behind it.

[racingmodel]

Thank you for taking the time to explain this so clearly—I appreciate it.

I checked again on 2 November at 11:59 UTC, and the run still shows Queued with zero jobs.

The remaining difficulty is reaching someone who can investigate: the Support portal says technical support is not included for my account and does not offer an Actions support route. That is why I posted here.

Could a GitHub staff member or moderator please help escalate this, or direct me to an appropriate private support channel for this specific stuck-run issue?

The run URL and check suite ID are in the original post. I’m requesting cleanup or termination of the stuck run only, without rerunning the workflow or triggering a deployment.

Thanks again for your help!

[fynchfries]

The issue appears to be an inconsistency between the workflow's queued status and GitHub's cancellation API response.

I'd suggest checking the associated check suite as well. If the workflow has zero jobs created, the problem may be occurring before job scheduling begins.

This looks like something GitHub Support would need to investigate on the backend, especially since both normal and force cancellation return HTTP 409.

A moderator may be able to direct you to the appropriate support channel.

[racingmodel]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help so far.

I followed the recommendation to contact GitHub Support and successfully opened a ticket. Unfortunately, Support closed it because my account’s available support options are Community Discussions, Docs and Skills, and directed me back here.

This leaves me unsure how to proceed: GitHub’s troubleshooting documentation says an abnormal stuck run may require Support assistance, but that assistance isn’t available through my account.

Could a moderator or GitHub staff member please help escalate this, or identify a route available to my account?

The affected run is:
https://github.com/racingmodel/nfl-2026-visualizer/actions/runs/40918292299

Check suite ID: 110918601409

The reported symptoms are Queued with zero jobs, failed cancellation through the interface, and HTTP 409 from both cancel and force-cancel.

I’m requesting investigation and cleanup only. Please do not rerun the workflow or trigger a deployment.

I appreciate everyone’s time—thank you for helping me find the right route.