Expected — Waiting for status to be reported CI/CD Origin: Build & delivery Last updated 25 Oct 2026

GitHub Actions: Expected — Waiting for status to be reported (required check never runs on the pull request)

Branch protection requires a status check that no workflow reports for this PR, so the merge button stays blocked.

Exact message you may see Expected — Waiting for status to be reportedWaiting for status to be reportedRequired status check is expected but never runsExpected — Waiting for status to be reported required check
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Seen on: GitHub Actions

Meaning

A required check is matched by its exact name. If a workflow uses paths filters, if: conditions that skip the job, a renamed job, or matrix names that differ, the check never reports and shows "Expected". Skipped jobs report "Skipped" (which satisfies the rule) but jobs of a workflow that did not trigger report nothing.

Common causes

  • Workflow with paths/branches filters that did not trigger for this PR
  • Job renamed, so the required name no longer exists
  • Matrix job names changed (test (18) vs test (20))
  • Workflow disabled or failing to parse
  • Required check from a GitHub App/service that is not installed

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Make the workflow always run, or add a lightweight "required" job that always passes
  2. Update the required check names in Settings → Branches
  3. Fix the YAML error that prevents the workflow from running

Detailed fix by platform

GitHub Actions

  1. Pattern: a final job needs: [build, test] with if: always() that fails if any needed job failed, and require only that job

Code examples

One stable required check

yaml
jobs:
  all-green:
    if: always()
    needs: [build, test]
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: |
          [[ "${{ contains(needs.*.result, 'failure') }}" == "false" ]]

How to diagnose

  1. Name — Exact required check name?
  2. Trigger — Did the workflow run for this PR?
  3. Filters — paths or if-conditions skipping jobs?

🔧 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…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…Invalid workflow file — GitHub Actions: Invalid workflow file: .github/workflows/ci.yml#L12 — You have an error in your yaml syntax on line 12 (CI/CD)Invalid workflow fileResource not accessible by integration — GitHub Actions: Error: Resource not accessible by integration (403) (CI/CD)Resource not accessib…Unable to download artifact — GitHub Actions: Error: Unable to download artifact(s): Artifact not found for name: build (CI/CD)Unable to download ar…workflow not triggering — GitHub Actions: workflow does not run on push / pull_request / workflow_dispatch button missing (CI/CD)workflow not triggeri…Expected …

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