GitHub Actions "The hosted runner encountered an error while running your job"

This message indicates the hosted runner itself faulted mid-job - a backend provisioning or infrastructure error, not a problem in your workflow code.

What this error means

A job that was running stops abruptly and the run summary shows that the hosted runner encountered an error while running your job. Re-running the same workflow often succeeds.

github-actions

The hosted runner encountered an error while running your job. (Error Type: Disconnect.)

Common causes

Transient runner infrastructure fault

The runner VM was reclaimed, lost network, or hit a backend error, terminating the job through no fault of the workflow.

Resource exhaustion on the runner

The job drove the runner out of memory or disk, causing the host to fall over.

How to fix it

Re-run and reduce resource pressure

Re-run the failed jobs to clear a one-off infrastructure fault.
If it recurs, check for OOM/disk-full signals and trim the job.
Split heavy work or move to a larger runner with more headroom.

Use auto-retrying managed runners

Managed runner platforms like Latchkey automatically retry transient runner-infrastructure failures and keep warm pools ready, so a one-off host fault re-dispatches instead of surfacing as a red build.

How to prevent it

Keep jobs within the runner's memory and disk limits.
Add timeouts so a wedged host does not hang indefinitely.
Prefer a runner platform that retries transient host faults.