GitHub Actions "startup_failure" - Run Never Starts
A run was created but immediately concluded as startup_failure, meaning GitHub could not even set up the run. The workflow file or one of its references is invalid before any job runs.
What this error means
A run appears in the Actions tab with conclusion startup_failure and no jobs. There are no step logs because the run never progressed past setup.
Run conclusion: startup_failure
# the run card shows the failure with no jobs underneathDiagnose it: print the context before you change anything
Most workflow-expression bugs are not syntax errors, they are an expression reading something that is empty. GitHub resolves a missing property to an empty string instead of failing the run, so a wrong reference looks like a logic bug rather than a mistake. Dump the contexts first and you will usually see the answer immediately.
- name: Dump contexts
run: |
echo '--- github ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(github) }}'
echo '--- needs ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(needs) }}'
echo '--- steps ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(steps) }}'
echo '--- matrix ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(matrix) }}'
echo '--- inputs ---' ; echo '${{ toJSON(inputs) }}'Check the context is allowed where you used it
Contexts are not available everywhere. The same expression can be valid in a step if and invalid in a job if, which is why an expression that works in one workflow fails when moved.
| Where you wrote it | Contexts available there |
|---|---|
run-name | github, inputs, vars |
concurrency | github, inputs, vars |
Top-level env | github, secrets, inputs, vars |
jobs.<id>.if | github, needs, vars, inputs |
jobs.<id>.steps.if | github, needs, strategy, matrix, job, runner, env, vars, steps, inputs |
jobs.<id>.outputs | Full access, including secrets |
Reusable workflow outputs | github, jobs, vars, inputs |
Common causes
Invalid workflow or referenced file
A YAML/schema error in the workflow, or in a reusable workflow it calls, fails run setup and yields startup_failure.
Bad action or workflow reference
A uses: pointing at a missing action/workflow, or a malformed expression evaluated at setup, prevents the run from starting.
How to fix it
Validate the workflow and its references
Lint the workflow and every reusable workflow/action it references so setup can complete.
actionlint .github/workflows/*.ymlInspect the run for the underlying error
- Open the startup_failure run - the annotation usually names the invalid file or reference.
- Fix the referenced workflow/action ref so it resolves.
- Re-push; a valid file produces real jobs instead of startup_failure.
Catch it before it reaches CI
Every failure in this cluster is statically detectable. actionlint parses workflow expressions, checks context availability against the same rules above, and validates needs references, so these bugs never need to cost you a run.
# one-off
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/repo" --workdir /repo rhysd/actionlint:latest -color
# as a job, before anything expensive runs
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: |
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rhysd/actionlint/main/scripts/download-actionlint.bash)
./actionlint -colorHow to prevent it
- Lint workflows and their references in CI before merge.
- Pin actions and reusable workflows to refs that exist.
- Keep expressions evaluated at setup valid and simple.