Active scheduled workflow never triggers; workflow_dispatch succeeds in public repository

[avinashbhat26]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

ARC (Actions Runner Controller)

Discussion Details

Please help determine why GitHub has not created any schedule-triggered runs for this public repository. The root cause is unconfirmed; we do not have evidence that the cron syntax is invalid or that an account restriction is responsible.

Evidence checked on 2 November 2026, approximately 16:30 IST (11:00 UTC)

• Repository: https://github.com/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker
• Default branch: main; repository public and not archived.
• Repository created at 2026-11-02T07:33:56Z (13:03:56 IST), so it is a new repository. This alone does not prove a scheduling restriction or activation delay.
• Workflow: https://github.com/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker/blob/main/.github/workflows/hmt_tracker.yml
• Workflow ID: 404278981. Public API reports state: active.
• Runs page: https://github.com/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker/actions/workflows/hmt_tracker.yml
• All runs API returned 10 runs: 7 successful test runs and 3 successful workflow_dispatch runs; zero schedule events, and none queued or in progress.
• Schedule-only history: https://api.github.com/repos/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker/actions/runs?event=schedule&per_page=5
• Repository variable HMT_SCHEDULE_ENABLED=true was visually confirmed in the owner's Repository variables screenshot. There are no quotes around true.
• The job-level gate is github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' || vars.HMT_SCHEDULE_ENABLED == 'true'.
• Owner disabled and re-enabled the workflow; current workflow updated_at is 2026-11-02T10:29:23Z (15:59:23 IST).
• Cron was subsequently changed in PR Feature request: support release details #3 and merged at 2026-11-02T10:43:59Z (16:13:59 IST).
• PR: Troubleshoot absent scheduled runs with offset cron and event labels avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker#3
• Merge SHA: 701ccb1386d086ab0acd4bf44624f286b10e9f1f
• Workflow blob SHA on main: ce2316d6195eb82a4f678cb6cc2b9efe4482fded
• GitHub's status API reported Actions operational and no listed incidents when checked. This does not exclude a repository-specific problem.
• Public Git history identifies avinashbhat26 as the author/committer of the cron changes; no account-status conclusion has been drawn.

Expected timing

Every five minutes during daytime hours in Asia/Kolkata, currently 10:02 through 21:57 IST. Enumeration of all three UTC cron expressions produces 144 distinct slots in this window. The checks occurred during that window.

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '32-57/5 4 * * *'
    - cron: '2-57/5 5-15 * * *'
    - cron: '2-27/5 16 * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:

The first version used a normal five-minute all-day cron; later versions restricted the hours and offset minutes. No schedule event has appeared in the repository's run history for any version observed so far.

Working manual path

• Successful manual scan: https://github.com/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker/actions/runs/41423243963
• Successful manual dry run: https://github.com/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker/actions/runs/41422623481
• Successful manual Telegram test: https://github.com/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker/actions/runs/41422268398
• Latest successful merged-code tests: https://github.com/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker/actions/runs/41431149652
• Remote tracker-state/state.json is initialized and records 74 products.
• Last persisted successful stock scan: 2026-11-02T15:19:49+05:30.
• Telegram delivery has been confirmed by the owner; no secrets are included in this report.

Troubleshooting already completed

1. Confirmed workflow is on default branch main.
2. Confirmed workflow state is active.
3. Confirmed repository variable name, scope, and value from owner's screenshot.
4. Confirmed manual workflow execution, site scan, persistent state push, and Telegram delivery.
5. Disabled and enabled workflow once.
6. Changed actual cron expressions to avoid the top-of-hour slot; merged into main.
7. Checked run API directly rather than relying only on the UI.

No further speculative workflow edits are planned until there is new evidence. Please advise which repository/account/scheduler condition could explain the complete absence of schedule events, or whether GitHub can inspect schedule registration internally.

Similar Community reports reviewed before posting

1. https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/203473
   A new public repository showed successful manual/push runs but no schedule
   events despite active workflows and several cron changes. A later commenter
   reported that scheduled runs eventually began, with roughly eight hours
   between repository creation and the first observed scheduled run. This is a
   community observation, not a documented activation period or confirmed cause
   for this repository.

2. https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/185355
   The accepted January 26, 2026 response described a rolled-back GitHub-side
   change and advised a default-branch commit to resynchronize affected schedules.
   That incident-specific advice does not establish the same incident today.
   This repository already has subsequent default-branch merges. Later replies
   also report irregular or missing schedule events and an external-dispatch
   workaround; none proves a guaranteed fix for the current repository.

These discussions show similar symptoms, not a confirmed diagnosis. Please advise
whether the current repository has an activation/registration problem or another
condition GitHub can inspect. We are not requesting further trial-and-error cron
changes without new evidence.

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[BhuwanJoshi-01]

Your config doesn't look like the cause. The schedule event isn't firing at all, and only GitHub can check why from its side.

A false HMT_SCHEDULE_ENABLED gate would still create runs with a skipped job, so you'd see them under event=schedule. The filter still showed 0 results at about 11:45 UTC, and your cron expressions are valid.

There are two likely explanations, but neither is confirmed:

• New repo delay: the repo was about 4 hours old when you checked. GitHub Actions schedule event not triggering while push and workflow_dispatch work #203473 reports about 8 hours before the first scheduled run, though GitHub doesn't document a delay like this.
• A wider scheduler problem: Scheduled Actions events missing after 02:10 UTC on 2026-11-02 #211839 reports an established hourly schedule that stopped after 02:10 UTC the same day. The status page lists no November incidents, so this is only a timing overlap.

I'd stop changing the workflow and check event=schedule again after 15:34 UTC. If tomorrow's window also passes with no runs, open a ticket at https://support.github.com/contact and include workflow ID 404278981.

If you need it running on time in the meantime, trigger it from an external cron service using a fine-grained token with Actions write access:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/avinashbhat26/hmt-stock-tracker/actions/workflows/hmt_tracker.yml/dispatches \
  -d '{"ref":"main","inputs":{"mode":"scan"}}'

Keep "mode":"scan" in there, because your workflow defaults to dry-run on workflow_dispatch.

Drafted with AI assistance.