GitHub Actions workflow not running on push – what am I missing?

[jaiminpatel1327]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Bug

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Workflow Deployment

Discussion Details

Hi everyone,
I’m trying to set up a simple GitHub Actions workflow that runs on every push, but it doesn’t seem to trigger.

My ./github/workflows/main.yml looks roughly like this:

name: CI
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Say hello
        run: echo "Hello from Actions"

But when I push to main, nothing shows up under Actions for this repo.

What are the common things I should check to make sure the workflow actually runs?

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[Jaiminkansagara1327]

A few quick things to double‑check when a workflow won’t run:

The file is in the exact path: .github/workflows/anything.yml (no extra folders, correct spelling).

The on.push.branches value matches your real branch name (main vs master etc.).

The workflow file is committed to the default branch (or the branch you’re pushing to), not only sitting in a different branch.

Workflows are not disabled for the repo/org (check the Actions tab → settings).

After fixing any of these, make one more commit and push again – that usually makes the workflow appear and start running.