An Argos CI check marked pending on a GitHub pull request can mean several different things: GitHub may be waiting for a status report, an Actions job may be queued, a workflow may have been skipped, or a result may have been reported for the wrong commit. Start with the exact check state, its Details link, and the commit SHA; then compare those details with the Argos build and the repository’s required-check rules.
1. Identify what “pending” means in GitHub
Open the pull request’s checks or merge-status area. Record the exact check name and displayed state, then open its Details link. GitHub uses several states that can look like a stalled check but point to different causes. See GitHub’s status-check reference.
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- Expected: a required status is expected but has not yet been reported.
- Pending: for a GitHub Actions check, the run can be at the front of its queue while a group-based concurrency limit has been reached. GitHub’s definition is: “The check run is at the front of the queue but the group-based concurrency limit has been reached.”
- Queued or in progress: a workflow has been requested or started but has not finished. Inspect the run and job details for its current state.
- Waiting: a deployment protection rule may be holding progress; inspect the associated protection requirement.
The distinction matters: a workflow that never ran needs a different fix from one that is actively queued or awaiting approval.
2. Check whether Argos created a build for this pull request
- Open the Argos project and select Builds.
- Find the entry associated with the pull request. Use status or build-type filters if needed.
- Compare the build’s branch and commit with the pull request’s branch and relevant commit SHA. The Builds list can show build status, pull-request metadata, branch, commit, and build type when available. See the Argos Builds list documentation.
If there is no corresponding build, focus on whether the repository workflow ran and whether it invokes Argos. If a build exists, its status and commit help separate a visual-test delay from a GitHub check-name, event, or SHA mismatch.
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3. If no Argos build exists, inspect workflow triggers and filters
Check the workflow YAML for its on events, branch and path filters, and job-level if conditions. Confirm the pull request’s changes and target branch meet those conditions, and that the workflow actually ran for the relevant commit.
A workflow skipped by branch or path filtering—or by a skip instruction in a commit message—can leave an associated required check pending and block merging. GitHub explicitly warns about this behavior in its required-status-check troubleshooting guide, which says a workflow can be skipped by those mechanisms and its associated checks “stay in a ‘Pending’ state and block merging.” Avoid making a check required if the workflow that produces it can be skipped under the repository’s rules.
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4. Confirm the workflow event is eligible for pull-request checks
Inspect which event triggered the workflow. GitHub documents events such as push and pull_request for workflow jobs that report checks. A manually dispatched workflow on the pull request’s head branch may not satisfy the required check. A run that exists is not necessarily a run GitHub will display in the pull request’s checks section or count for its rules.
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If the repository uses a merge queue, the workflow needs to handle the separate merge_group event as well as the relevant pull-request trigger. Without the merge-queue event, a check that works on ordinary pull requests may not report the status required for the queued merge group. GitHub’s required-check guide covers the event and required-check behavior.
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5. Verify that the check applies to the required commit SHA
A green Argos result on an earlier commit does not satisfy a rule for the pull request’s latest relevant SHA. Compare the SHA shown for the check or run with the SHA GitHub expects. Depending on whether the test merge commit has a status, the required result may need to be attached to the pull request’s head commit or to its test merge commit. A new push can also make an earlier successful result irrelevant. Use the commit shown in the pull request and the run details rather than relying only on the branch name.
6. Review branch protection and ruleset requirements
When Argos has completed but GitHub still blocks merging, inspect the branch protection rule or repository ruleset for the pull request’s target branch:
- Confirm the required check’s name matches the status Argos or the workflow reports.
- If the rule specifies a GitHub App as the expected source, confirm the check is reported by that source.
- Look for similarly named check runs and commit statuses. GitHub notes that if both are required, both results must pass.
- Check that the rule applies to the branch and commit involved in this pull request.
GitHub’s troubleshooting guide explains how required check names, their source, and the commit SHA affect merge eligibility.
7. Use the observed evidence to choose the next check
| What you see | Likely area to inspect | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Required check says it is waiting for a status; no run or Argos build appears | Workflow filters, skipped run, or missing expected status | Review branch/path filters, skip instructions, job conditions, and whether the workflow invokes Argos. |
| A run exists and is queued or pending | Runner queue or concurrency | Inspect the run’s queue state and workflow concurrency settings. GitHub defines the Actions pending state as reaching the front of the queue while its group-based concurrency limit is reached. |
| A workflow ran, but the result is absent from or does not satisfy the PR rule | Workflow event or required-check source | Confirm the event is eligible for the pull request or merge queue, and check the required GitHub App source. |
| Argos build is green but merge is blocked | Commit SHA, required check name, or source mismatch | Compare the build SHA with the required head or test merge commit, then inspect the exact required name and source. |
| Check is marked waiting | Deployment protection | Inspect the deployment protection rule associated with the waiting check. |
8. When an external status report may be involved
If the check is emitted through an external integration, use the reported commit SHA and status context to distinguish a missing or mismatched report from a visual test that is still running. GitHub’s commit status API supports pending, success, failure, and error states against a commit. That API behavior is a diagnostic reference; by itself, it does not show that a particular Argos integration call failed.
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