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If a new GitHub Actions run cancels an older one, first check whether the older run was pending or already running, then compare the two runs’ resolved concurrency group names. By default, a new run replaces the existing pending run in the same group; a running run is canceled only when matching concurrency configuration enables cancel-in-progress. A generic or reused group name can also make separate workflows interfere with each other.

Why GitHub Actions cancels a run

A concurrency group is the scope GitHub Actions uses to coordinate workflow runs or jobs with the same group key. It can limit overlapping work, replace pending work, or—when configured—cancel running work. The key question is whether the affected run was pending or running.

A pending run was replaced

With the default single-pending queue behavior, only one run can wait in a concurrency group. When another matching run is queued, GitHub cancels the older pending run and puts the new one in its place. This can look like the wrong run was canceled, even though it is the documented default. See GitHub’s concurrency documentation.

A running run was canceled

A newer matching run can cancel work that is already running when the concurrency configuration uses cancel-in-progress: true. That setting is an explicit policy choice; it is not the default. If the older run was active rather than waiting, inspect this setting at both the workflow and job levels.

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Find out whether two runs share a group

Compare the group expression in each affected run’s workflow and job configuration, then determine what each expression resolved to for that run. Group names are case-insensitive and can coordinate runs across different workflows in the same repository. Consequently, a static name such as ci, or a name based only on a branch shared by several workflows, can unintentionally put unrelated work in one group. GitHub recommends using unique group names when workflows are not meant to coordinate.

  • Check whether the runs use workflow-level or job-level concurrency, or both.
  • Compare the resolved group keys, not just the expression text. Expressions can produce the same value for different events or workflows.
  • Check whether cancel-in-progress is true or conditionally true for the affected runs.
  • Decide whether the runs should be isolated or intentionally serialized against a shared resource, such as one deployment environment.

For repository-level operational inspection, GitHub also documents a REST API for listing active concurrency groups: workflow runs API reference.

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Choose the concurrency policy that matches the work

Work Group design Policy to consider
CI checks made obsolete by a newer push Include workflow identity and branch or ref Enable cancellation if stopping older matching work is acceptable
Deployments targeting the same environment Use a deliberately shared environment or deployment key Let an active deployment finish; queue pending deployments if each must run
Independent workflows or branches Include the workflow and ref dimensions needed to keep them separate Avoid accidental group reuse
Release or migration work that must finish Use a dedicated release or target group Do not cancel in-progress work; use a queue if each pending run must get a turn

These are design choices, not universal deployment rules. Sharing a group is useful when work must coordinate around the same target; it is a problem when unrelated work lands in that group by accident.

Fix common group designs

Isolate checks by workflow and ref

For checks where only the latest commit on a branch needs to complete, GitHub documents this pattern:

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concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

The workflow and ref make the group specific to that workflow and reference. New matching work can supersede older in-progress work. If cancellation should apply only to some branches, cancel-in-progress can be an expression—for example, one that excludes release branches.

Use a safe fallback for pull-request-only context

github.head_ref is available for pull-request events but may be absent for other triggers. If the workflow handles multiple event types, GitHub documents using a unique run ID as a fallback:

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concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.head_ref || github.run_id }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

This avoids depending on a context value that is not defined for every trigger.

Let running work finish and decide what to do with pending work

Omit cancel-in-progress or set it to false when active work must finish. That does not, by itself, preserve every waiting run: under default single-pending behavior, a new queued run still replaces the previous pending run.

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To allow multiple pending runs, use queue: max:

concurrency:
  group: production-deploy
  queue: max

GitHub allows up to 100 pending jobs or workflow runs in this queue mode. Additional runs are canceled when the queue is full. queue: max cannot be combined with cancel-in-progress: true.

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Know what a concurrency queue does—and does not—guarantee

Concurrency is not a strict first-in, first-out guarantee based on workflow dispatch time. GitHub says runs are processed according to when they started waiting on the group, and actual start times can vary. Do not rely on a concurrency group to preserve commit arrival or dispatch order.

Cancellation also may not stop every part of a run instantly. GitHub reevaluates running jobs’ if conditions during cancellation; a condition such as always() can keep a job running. For work selected for cancellation, the runner interrupts the step process and escalates if needed. GitHub documents a five-minute cancellation timeout before forced termination. See the workflow cancellation reference.

Diagnose and apply the fix

  1. Open the affected workflow runs. Establish whether the canceled run was pending or running when the newer run arrived.
  2. Inspect the applicable concurrency configuration. Check both workflow-level and job-level settings, including conditional values for cancel-in-progress.
  3. Compare resolved group keys. If different workflows or branches produce the same key, add the missing workflow, ref, or target dimension—or deliberately keep the shared key if those runs need to serialize.
  4. Choose pending-run behavior. Keep the default single pending slot when only the newest waiting run matters; use queue: max when multiple pending runs need a chance to execute.
  5. Commit the corrected workflow configuration. For release, migration, or deployment work, ensure the chosen policy does not cancel active work that must complete.

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