Gradle "The remote build cache was unable to load" entry in CI

Gradle tried to fetch a cached task output from the remote build cache and the request failed, from a timeout, a 5xx, or an unreachable node. Gradle logs it and re-runs the task, so the build succeeds but slower.

What this error means

The log shows "Could not load entry ... from remote build cache: ..." with a timeout or server error, and tasks that should have been FROM-CACHE run normally instead.

Could not load entry 'e4d0...' from remote build cache:
Loading entry from 'https://develocity.example.com/cache/e4d0...' failed:
java.net.SocketTimeoutException: Read timed out

Common causes

A transient network failure to the cache node

A momentary timeout or 5xx from the remote cache makes a single entry unloadable; Gradle falls back to executing the task.

The cache node is misconfigured or down

A wrong cache URL or an unavailable Develocity node makes every remote load fail.

How to fix it

Confirm the cache URL and reachability

1. Verify the buildCache { remote {} } URL points at a reachable node.
2. Check egress from the runner to that host.
3. Re-run; transient load failures resolve on retry.

buildCache {
    remote(develocity.buildCache) {
        server = "https://develocity.example.com"
        isPush = System.getenv("CI") != null
    }
}

Keep the local cache as a fallback

Enable the local build cache so a remote miss still benefits from local reuse within the job.

buildCache {
    local { isEnabled = true }
}

How to prevent it

• Point the remote cache at a reachable, healthy node.
• Keep the local cache enabled as a fallback.
• Treat a remote load failure as a slowdown, not a build failure.

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