GH-200 - Consume and troubleshoot workflows - Section 2.1

Identify which triggers and configuration produced a workflow run and predict its effects from the workflow file and run history.

Identify which trigger event and configuration caused a particular workflow run by reading run history and run logs. Predict the downstream effects of a run based on the workflow file's job structure and event filters.

run historytrigger interpretationrun logsworkflow behaviour

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleConsume and troubleshoot workflowsmedium

A run-history entry shows a workflow that started with no new commit, no operator named as the actor, and no scheduled time, yet it appears immediately after a separate continuous integration workflow finished. The workflow file declares the on block below. Which trigger produced this run?

on:
  workflow_run:
    workflows: ["CI"]
    types: [completed]
  • AThe schedule event, because a cron timetable happened to fire at the same moment the continuous integration workflow finished, producing a run with no commit and no operator.
  • BThe push event, because completing the continuous integration workflow writes a status commit that this workflow then reacts to through its push trigger on the default branch.
  • CThe workflow_run event, because this workflow is configured to start when the named CI workflow completes, so the run is attributed to that completion rather than to a commit or operator. Correct
  • DThe repository_dispatch event, because the continuous integration workflow posted a custom payload to the REST API on completion, which this workflow consumed as an external dispatch.
Identify the workflow_run trigger from run-history clues showing a run launched by another workflow completing rather than by a commit or operator. The workflow_run event starts a workflow when a separately named workflow reaches a given activity type, here completed. A run produced this way has no new commit and no human operator, and the run history shows it beginning right after the upstream CI workflow finishes. The declared on block names only workflow_run, so schedule, push, and repository_dispatch are ruled out, and the timing tied to a completed workflow confirms the chained trigger.

Why A is wrong: Tempting because schedule also lacks a commit and operator, but no schedule key is declared and the timing is tied to a completed workflow, not a fixed cron time.

Why B is wrong: Tempting because workflows can chain, but completing CI does not create a commit, and no push key is declared, so a push trigger cannot have produced this run.

Why C is correct: The workflow_run trigger fires when the named workflow reaches the completed type, so the run is launched by the upstream workflow finishing rather than by any commit or human actor.

Why D is wrong: Tempting because both events lack a commit, but repository_dispatch needs an explicit external API call, and the declared trigger is workflow_run keyed to the CI workflow.

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