name: analyze-ci-failure-logs description: Parse and analyze CI failure logs from GitHub Actions to identify root causes across Go, TypeScript/Vue.js, and PHP stacks category: cicd mcp_fallback: none user-invocable: false

CI/CD: Analyze CI Failure Logs

When to Use

• When a GitHub Actions workflow run fails and the cause is unclear
• To quickly triage CI failures without manually reading raw logs
• When multiple jobs fail and you need to identify the root cause
• To detect patterns in recurring CI failures
• When a teammate reports a failed pipeline and asks for help

Quick Reference

# List recent failed runs
gh run list --status failure --limit 5

# View failed run logs
gh run view <run-id> --log-failed

# Download full logs for offline analysis
gh run download <run-id> --dir ci-logs/

Workflow

1. Identify the failed run:

   • gh run list --status failure --limit 5 -- list recent failures
   • gh run view <run-id> -- get summary of a specific run
   • Note the workflow name, branch, and triggering event

2. Download and examine failed logs:

   • gh run view <run-id> --log-failed -- show only failed step output
   • For full logs: gh run download <run-id> --dir ci-logs/

3. Pattern-match failure type by stack:

   • Go failures:
     • Compilation: cannot find package, undefined:, imported and not used
     • Test: --- FAIL:, panic:, FAIL\t<package>
     • Lint: golangci-lint output lines with file:line:col format
   • TypeScript/Vue failures:
     • Type errors: TS2xxx:, error TS, Type '...' is not assignable
     • Build: Module not found, Cannot find module, SyntaxError
     • Test: FAIL src/, Expected:, Received:, vitest failure output
   • PHP failures:
     • Fatal: PHP Fatal error:, Class '...' not found
     • Test: FAILURES!, Failed asserting, PHPUnit output
     • PHPStan: Line, Error, phpstan table output

4. Identify root cause:

   • Check if the failure is in source code, dependencies, or CI config
   • Look for environment issues: missing secrets, wrong runtime versions
   • Check if the failure reproduces locally

5. Summarize findings:

   • Failed job and step name
   • Error message and file location
   • Root cause category (code, config, infra, flaky)
   • Suggested remediation

Common CI Environment Issues

• Missing environment variables: secrets not configured for the repository
• Version mismatch: Go/Node/PHP version in CI differs from local
• Dependency cache stale: cached modules out of date; clear cache and rebuild
• Flaky tests: tests that pass locally but fail intermittently in CI
• Timeout: job exceeds the configured time limit

Error Handling

References

• GitHub CLI run commands: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_run
• GitHub Actions troubleshooting: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/monitoring-and-troubleshooting-workflows
• GitHub Actions log retention: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/monitoring-and-troubleshooting-workflows/using-workflow-run-logs