Process completed with exit code 1 CI/CD Origin: Build & delivery Last updated 25 Oct 2026

GitHub Actions: Error: Process completed with exit code 1.

A run: command returned a non-zero status, so the step (and job) failed — the real cause is printed in the log lines above.

Exact message you may see Process completed with exit code 1Error: Process completed with exit code 1.exit code 1 GitHub Actions##[error]Process completed with exit code 1
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Seen on: GitHub Actions

Meaning

Exit code 1 is generic: test failures, a linter, npm ci, grep finding nothing, or any script error. Scroll up to the first error line of that step, reproduce the command locally with the same versions, and enable debug logging if the output is not enough. Use set -euo pipefail to make failures appear where they happen.

Common causes

  • Tests, lint or build failing in the step
  • A command in the script exiting 1 (grep without match, diff with changes)
  • Missing dependency or wrong version on the runner
  • set -e stopping the script at the first failed command
  • A secret or environment variable missing, so the tool aborts

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Read the log above the annotation — the first red line is the cause
  2. Reproduce locally with the same command and Node/Python version
  3. Add set -euo pipefail and echo key variables (not secrets) to locate the failing line

Detailed fix by platform

GitHub Actions

  1. Re-run with debug logs: re-run job → "Enable debug logging" (or set secret ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG=true)
  2. act can run workflows locally for quick iteration

Code examples

Make failures obvious

yaml
- name: Test
  shell: bash
  run: |
    set -euo pipefail
    npm ci
    npm test -- --ci

How to diagnose

  1. Log — What is the first error line in the step?
  2. Local — Does the same command fail locally?
  3. Env — Same tool versions as the runner?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Build & delivery. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

API rate limit exceeded — GitHub Actions: HttpError: API rate limit exceeded for installation ID 123456 / secondary rate limit (CI/CD)API rate limit exceed…Cache not found / Unable to reserve cache — GitHub Actions: Cache not found for input keys: npm-Linux-abc123 / Failed to save: Unable to reserve cache with key, another job may be creating this cache (CI/CD)Cache not found / Una…couldn't find remote ref (checkout) — GitHub Actions: fatal: couldn't find remote ref refs/heads/feature — The process '/usr/bin/git' failed with exit code 1 (actions/checkout) (CI/CD)couldn't find remote …Credentials could not be loaded — GitHub Actions: Error: Credentials could not be loaded, please check your action inputs: Could not load credentials from any providers (CI/CD)Credentials could not…ERROR: Job failed: exit code 1 — GitLab CI: ERROR: Job failed: exit code 1 (CI/CD)ERROR: Job failed: ex…Process completed with exit code 127 — GitHub Actions: Error: Process completed with exit code 127 — command not found (CI/CD)Process completed wit…Process completed with exit code 137 — GitHub Actions: Error: Process completed with exit code 137 (Killed — out of memory) (CI/CD)Process completed wit…The process '/usr/bin/git' failed with exit code 128 — GitHub Actions: Error: The process '/usr/bin/git' failed with exit code 128 (CI/CD)The process '/usr/bin…Process c…

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