GitHub Actions workflow stuck in queued state — force-cancel returns HTTP 409

[paolodevai]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Other

Discussion Details

Subject: GitHub Actions workflow stuck in queued state — cancellation and force-cancel return errors

Hello GitHub Support,

I am experiencing an issue with a GitHub Actions workflow in my private repository.

Repository: paolodevai/ControlloCantiere
Workflow: CI
Workflow run ID: 43098478389
Run URL: https://github.com/paolodevai/ControlloCantiere/actions/runs/43098478389
Pull request: #12
Commit SHA: 82a1c7c11e75a51633a8b3bc80548a0316d94907
Created: November 11, 2026, at 20:51:33 UTC

The workflow has remained in the queued state without creating or starting any jobs.

I attempted to cancel the workflow through the GitHub web interface, but received:

Failed to cancel workflow.

I then made one attempt using the official force-cancel REST API endpoint:

POST /repos/paolodevai/ControlloCantiere/actions/runs/43098478389/force-cancel

The API returned:

HTTP 409 Conflict

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

GitHub Request ID:
4014:10D831:36718A8:AD08150:6AF4E747

The workflow still appears as queued, with zero jobs and no status updates.

The billing dashboard shows 287 GitHub Actions Linux minutes used this month, with $0 billed.

Could you please investigate this inconsistent workflow state and cancel or clear the stuck run on the server side?

I would also appreciate confirmation that new CI runs for this pull request can be triggered normally afterward.

Thank you for your assistance.

[github-actions[bot]]

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[titanmusic-official]

This is not product feedback. This is a remediation request following the Github incident experienced on 12 Nov.

[paolodevai]

Update — Workflow run appears to have become stuck during an official GitHub Actions incident

I found an official GitHub Status incident that closely matches the exact time my workflow became stuck:

https://www.githubstatus.com/incidents/dvy0t3mvh1lg

Timeline (UTC):

• November 11, 20:48 — GitHub reported degraded availability for Actions.
• November 11, 20:51:33 — My workflow run 43098478389 was created.
• November 11, 21:21 — GitHub reported that the incident was resolved and the Actions backlog had been processed.

However, as of November 13, my workflow is still stuck in queued, with zero jobs created and no status updates since November 11.

Cancellation through the GitHub UI fails, and the official force-cancel endpoint returns HTTP 409:

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

Affected workflow:
https://github.com/paolodevai/ControlloCantiere/actions/runs/43098478389

This strongly suggests that the run may have been left in an inconsistent state during the incident.

Could a GitHub staff member investigate whether this run needs to be cleared or repaired on the server side?

I would also appreciate guidance on whether it is safe to trigger a fresh CI run while this one remains stuck.

Thank you for your assistance.

[max731242-droid]

That sounds like an inconsistent state between the workflow run shown in the GitHub UI and the state recognized by the cancellation API.

A few things worth checking:

Confirm whether the run is still queued by refreshing the Actions page and checking its latest status.

Check whether other workflow runs in the same repository are starting normally.

Review the repository’s Actions settings and any applicable concurrency settings to see whether another run or configuration is affecting execution.

If the issue persists, provide GitHub Support with the run URL, timestamp, HTTP 409 response, and GitHub Request ID so they can investigate the server-side state.

Since both the web cancellation and force-cancel attempt failed, GitHub Support may need to investigate and clear the inconsistent run state. I would avoid repeatedly sending cancellation requests.

[paolodevai]

Thank you for your suggestions.

I have now also checked the repository's Settings → Actions → General.

GitHub Actions is enabled with "Allow all actions and reusable workflows". The workflow permissions are set to read repository contents and packages, and I found no configuration restrictions that would explain the issue.

The affected run remains queued with zero jobs, and no other active workflow runs appear to be blocking its concurrency group.

Since the run was created during the November 11 GitHub Actions incident, and both normal cancellation and force-cancellation failed, I believe this may require investigation by GitHub staff.

Could this issue be escalated to the appropriate GitHub Actions team?

Thank you.

[titanmusic-official]

We also have 5 workflow runs in the same state. These are a direct result of the github incident that occurred and would like some prioritization on these.