Scheduling

[sorario]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Product Feedback

💬 Feature/Topic Area

ARC (Actions Runner Controller)

Discussion Details

Subject: GitHub Actions scheduled workflows never trigger in private repository — manual runs succeed

Hello GitHub Support Team,

I am experiencing an issue where GitHub Actions scheduled workflows are not triggering in my private repository, although manual executions work successfully.

Repository: sorario/gold-grok-desk

Default branch: main

Affected workflow files:

• .github/workflows/gold.yml
• .github/workflows/schedule-probe.yml

Issue description

Both workflows contain valid schedule triggers, but no scheduled workflow runs appear in the Actions history.

Manual execution using workflow_dispatch succeeds.

Current schedule configurations

Main workflow:

schedule:
  - cron: '11,26,41,56 * * * *'

Independent test workflow:

schedule:
  - cron: '13,28,43,58 * * * *'

Troubleshooting already completed

1. Confirmed that the workflows are enabled.
2. Confirmed that the default branch is main.
3. Confirmed that the workflow files exist on the default branch.
4. Verified successful manual workflow execution.
5. Modified the cron schedule and committed the changes.
6. Configured WATCH_ENABLED=true for the main monitoring workflow.
7. Created a separate minimal Schedule Probe workflow that does not require external APIs or repository secrets.
8. Confirmed that the Schedule Probe succeeds when manually triggered.
9. Checked the workflow history after multiple scheduled execution times. No scheduled runs appeared.

Expected behavior

The workflows should create scheduled runs at the configured UTC times.

Actual behavior

No scheduled runs are created. Only manually triggered workflow runs appear.

Request

Could you please investigate:

• Whether the cron schedules have been registered correctly on GitHub's backend.
• Whether scheduled events are being generated and delivered to this repository.
• Whether there are any account-level, repository-level, or scheduling-actor restrictions preventing execution.
• Whether this repository may be affected by a GitHub Actions scheduler issue.

Please advise whether any backend re-registration or other corrective action is required.

Thank you.

[github-actions[bot]]

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[nikoladimitrov98]

You're not alone. This is at least the fifth report this week of scheduled runs never being created while manual and push runs work:

• #212271: new private personal repo (Nov 6)
• #212356: private repo (Nov 7)
• #212402: public repo, many slots missing (Nov 8)
• #212519: private organisation repo (Nov 9)

Your setup already avoids the usual causes. It's on the default branch, the workflows are enabled, and your cron minutes (11,26,41,56 and 13,28,43,58) stay away from the top of the hour, when GitHub's docs say scheduled events are most likely to be delayed or dropped. Taken together, this points to something on GitHub's side rather than your config.

Two things you can still do:

1. Check who last changed the cron line. GitHub links a scheduled workflow to the user who last modified its cron syntax (docs):

git log -1 --format='%an <%ae>' -- .github/workflows/schedule-probe.yml

If that was a bot, a GitHub App or an automation token, change the cron once from your own account in the web editor.

2. Trigger it from outside in the meantime. Since workflow_dispatch works, any external cron (a server, or another scheduler) can start the run on time:

gh workflow run gold.yml --repo sorario/gold-grok-desk --ref main

Use a fine-grained token limited to this repo with Actions: read and write. Keep schedule: in the file so it starts working on its own once GitHub fixes the scheduler, and make sure the job is safe if it ever runs twice for the same slot.

[sorario]

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation and helpful suggestions!

I really appreciate you taking the time to investigate this issue and share similar reports from other users.

Your insights have helped me better understand what might be causing the problem.

Thank you again for your time, kindness, and support. I truly appreciate it!

[nikoladimitrov98]

No worries at all, that is what github community is all about :)

If my question helped you come to a resolution or finding the cause you can consider marking it answered.

Good luck!