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What each option controls
Concurrency is configured in workflow YAML and applies automatically when a workflow run or job enters a named group. Manual cancellation is a separate action in the GitHub Actions interface: a user with write access selects a particular queued or in-progress run to stop. The [workflow syntax reference](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/workflow-syntax) documents concurrency; GitHub’s [manual cancellation guide](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/how-tos/manage-workflow-runs/cancel-a-workflow-run) documents stopping a selected run.
| Question | Workflow-level concurrency | Job-level concurrency | Manual run cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where is it configured or invoked? | At the top level of workflow YAML | Under jobs.<job_id>.concurrency |
Actions UI on a selected run |
| What does it govern? | Matching workflow runs | Matching jobs | The selected workflow run and its jobs or steps |
| Is it automatic? | Yes, when another item enters the group | Yes, when another item enters the group | No; an authorized user initiates it |
| What must you decide? | Group key and pending/running behavior | Group key and pending/running behavior | Which specific run to stop |
Both YAML scopes use a concurrency group and can specify cancellation behavior. The scope determines whether the policy groups entire runs or individual jobs; the group key determines which runs or jobs are considered together.
How a concurrency group handles new work
A concurrency group limits matching work, but the default is not “cancel whatever is running.” By default, a group allows one running item and one pending item. When a newer matching item is queued, it cancels and replaces the older pending item. The running item remains unless cancellation is enabled.
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Replace pending work, but keep the running item
Use the default behavior when it is useful to retain the current run while ensuring the pending slot holds the latest matching work. For example, a newer push can replace a not-yet-started CI run without interrupting the one currently executing.
Cancel the running item, too
Set cancel-in-progress: true when new matching work should also cancel the running item. This is useful when an older test run or deployment has become stale. The setting only affects work in the matching group; it is not a general command to cancel unrelated jobs or runs.
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Queue pending work instead of replacing it
If pending runs should wait rather than overwrite one another, use queue: max. GitHub allows up to 100 pending items with this option. It cannot be combined with cancel-in-progress: true. GitHub also says dispatch order is not guaranteed: ordering is based on when an item began waiting, so do not rely on strict FIFO execution. See the [workflow syntax reference](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/workflow-syntax).
Choose the group key to match the shared resource
Items interact only when their concurrency group names match. Pick a key that represents the work or resource that must be constrained, such as a workflow and branch for CI, or a shared deployment target for deployments. Group names are case-insensitive, so differences in letter case do not create distinct groups.
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Keep independent workflows separate
To cancel stale CI runs for the same workflow and ref without grouping unrelated workflows that happen to use the same branch, include both workflow identity and ref:
concurrency:
group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
cancel-in-progress: trueThis is GitHub’s documented pattern for grouping by workflow and ref. The precise choice of ref should reflect which executions you intend to treat as matching.
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Use a fallback when an event may not have a pull request branch
For a workflow that runs on pull requests and other event types, github.head_ref is only defined for pull-request events. GitHub’s example uses the run ID as a fallback:
concurrency:
group: ${{ github.head_ref || github.run_id }}
cancel-in-progress: trueWithout a suitable fallback, events lacking a head ref may not get the distinct group key you intend.
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Serialize deployments by target
If only one deployment to a particular shared target should be in progress at a time, make the group represent that target. Then choose whether a new deployment should replace pending work, cancel the current deployment, or wait behind it. Concurrency can serialize deployments; [GitHub’s deployment guidance](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/how-tos/deploy/configure-and-manage-deployments/control-deployments) separately describes environments for protections such as approvals and branch restrictions, and for secrets access.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Cancellation may not stop every job immediately
Cancellation is a process, not an instantaneous rollback. When a run is canceled, GitHub reevaluates conditions on running jobs. A job whose condition still evaluates to true—for example, one using if: always()—can continue. A job without an explicit condition is treated as if it had if: success(). GitHub then reevaluates unfinished step conditions. The [workflow cancellation reference](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/workflow-cancellation) explains this behavior.
For steps selected for cancellation, the runner first sends the entry process an interrupt signal (SIGINT or Ctrl-C). If it does not exit, after 7,500 ms the runner sends a termination signal (SIGTERM or Ctrl-Break), then waits another 2,500 ms before killing the process tree if it is still running. GitHub documents a five-minute cancellation timeout before the server forcibly terminates jobs and steps still marked for cancellation.
This matters for cleanup and side effects: an always() job or step may continue during cancellation, while work already completed against an external system is not thereby rolled back. Design deployment and cleanup logic with those outcomes in mind.
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Quick Recap
Which approach should you use?
- Use workflow-level concurrency when matching workflow runs should share one policy, such as replacing stale CI runs for the same workflow and branch.
- Use job-level concurrency when only a particular job needs to be constrained, such as a deployment job sharing a target with other runs.
- Choose the default pending behavior when a currently running item should finish but newer matching work should replace older pending work.
- Enable
cancel-in-progress: truewhen newer matching work should also interrupt the running item. - Use
queue: maxwhen pending matching work should wait, accepting the documented limit and the lack of guaranteed dispatch order. - Cancel manually when an operator needs to stop one specific queued or in-progress run, rather than establish a reusable group policy.
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