Files
github-action/guides/troubleshooting.md
T
Tirsvad a26a491737 Use bare tokens: PAT_FOR_GITHUB replaces CREDENTIALS_FOR_GITHUB
The sync workflow reads secrets.PAT_FOR_GITHUB as clear text and
parse_github_token and parse_gitea_token only check that the value is not
empty. No secret is JSON any more; the wiki publisher follows. Update the
tests, the guides, the README, PP-001 UC candidate 2 and the wiki pages with
their Danish and Bahasa Malaysia translations.

Task: MIL-002#5
2026-10-10 10:42:04 +08:00

3.9 KiB

Diagnosing a failed run

Open the run in Gitea (Actions) and read the last lines of the failing step. Every failure from the sync script is written as

ERROR: [<category>] <message>

The category tells you where to look. A failure outside the script (the job never starts, or stops before the step) is a runner problem.

Category Meaning First thing to check
configuration A secret or a repository setting is missing or malformed Secret names and format, push mirror setup
credentials A service rejected the token (HTTP 401) Token expired, revoked or mistyped
permissions The token is valid but not allowed (HTTP 403, or no GitHub administration access) Token scopes and repository access
api Another HTTP error, or the service was unreachable Service status, runner network
runner No ERROR: line; the run waits, or the job fails before the script Runner online, label, tools

Messages and fixes

Message (start) Category Cause and fix
PAT_FOR_GITHUB is missing or empty. configuration Add the secret
TOKEN_FOR_GITEA is missing or empty. configuration Add the secret
Could not determine the Gitea source repository. configuration The run has no repository name; report as a defect
Expected at most one GitHub push mirror ... found N configuration Keep one GitHub push mirror
No token for the wiki: set TOKEN_FOR_GITEA_WIKI, or TOKEN_FOR_GITEA. configuration Wiki publishing only: add one of the secrets (see credentials.md)
... HTTP 403 ... while publishing the wiki permissions Wiki publishing only: the token needs write:repository and write access to this repository
The wiki is not enabled on <repo> configuration Wiki publishing only: enable the wiki in the repository settings
The wiki source directory ... has no Markdown pages configuration Wiki publishing only: wiki/ is empty or missing; nothing was changed
Could not determine the GitHub owner and repository ... configuration The mirror address must look like https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>.git
Gitea API request failed with HTTP 401 credentials Create a new Gitea token and update TOKEN_FOR_GITEA
GitHub API request failed with HTTP 401 credentials Create a new GitHub token and update PAT_FOR_GITHUB; the value must be the token only (no name, quotes or JSON)
... HTTP 403 ... (Gitea) permissions Token needs read:repository, and its user needs administrator access to the repository
... HTTP 403 ... (GitHub) permissions Token needs Administration read and write on the mirror repository
The GitHub token cannot administer <repo> permissions Same as above; the token can read the repository but not edit it
... HTTP 404 ... configuration Repository not found, or the token cannot see it; check the mirror address and token repository access
... HTTP 5xx ... api Service problem; re-run later
... API is unreachable ... api Network, DNS or proxy problem on the runner

Not an error

No GitHub push mirror configured for <repo>; nothing to sync. The run succeeds. Not every Gitea repository has a GitHub mirror, so this is expected for those. If the repository should have one, add it in the repository settings.

WARNING: Gitea returned an invalid push mirror list; GitHub metadata was not synced. The run succeeds but nothing was synced. Check that the Gitea version supports the push mirror API and re-run.

Runner problems

See the Runners section. In short: if the run stays waiting, no online runner has the label; if the job fails before the script, the runner image is missing a tool.

Re-running

Use Run workflow (workflow_dispatch) after fixing the cause. The sync is safe to repeat: it overwrites the GitHub description and topics with the Gitea values.