Re-run PR build flow

[Nirajn2311]

Is there a way to restart/redo a build for PRs without making another commit. Currently a build is created for any commit that is pushed to branch but if I try to do restart a failed build, I get an error - Cannot access the repository: <branch-name> does not exist. I believe this is because the PR branch does not exist in the repo and is instead from a fork.

[icarusdust]

Hi @Nirajn2311, it should not be a case if I understood you correctly. So, you are saying that after a PR build fails, any other commit to the same branch that triggered that PR build fails with the error message you shared above, correct ? If so, as your branch has already been registered, it should be alright regardless of the previous builds statuses on that PR branch. Please let me know how you are trying it step by step.

[Nirajn2311]

Hi, no that's not what I meant. If I push any commit to the same branch then the build is triggered but if I try to restart a failed build(lets assume the error is from the code base here) for the latest commit then it fails with the error message.

[icarusdust]

@Nirajn2311 cannot reproduce it, works as expected for me. So, what I am doing is pushing a commit to a branch which triggers a build and then fails, then I go ahead trigger another build on that failing build with the failing latest commit and it triggers a build without your above-mentioned error message. Perhaps try to share a short video on what exactly you are doing.

[Nirajn2311]

@icarusdust Did you try doing that for PRs which come from a fork?

[wudys]

It works fine for the initial PR/commit I sent from the forked private repository. However, when I attempt a retry, I still encounter the same message as mentioned before.

[icarusdust]

@gwanhyeong, does your build with the initial commit get completed or failing at the fetching app sources step ?

@Nirajn2311 yes, I am trying it with a fork of my repo.

So, it is still unclear for me where you are getting that message, as soon as you start a build ? or under the webhooks tab ? or at the fetching app sources step ? Would be easier if you could provide more info about it (a build id where this message is present or a short video, anything really)

To answer your question at the top @Nirajn2311, I can trigger builds via branches in the forked repo, as a source branch it should be alright to trigger the master branch of the actual repo.

[icarusdust]

This discussion is being closed due to no activity in the last 14 days. You can reopen the discussion at any time if needed.

[Nirajn2311]

I may be missing something but how do I reopen a discussion as I don't see a button for it 😅

[Nirajn2311]

Sorry about the late reply, got held up with some stuff.

I'll be writing down the steps that lead me to that error here with the example of https://github.com/freeCodeCamp/mobile repo. That repo is the one connected to Codemagic and where the webhook is set. The triggers set for the CI workflow are pushes to main branch and updates in PR.

1. Make a fork from the repo
2. Create a branch, do some changes
3. Open a PR in the original repo
4. Codemagic run fails(lets assume this is due to code error and the tests in the repo inform that)
5. You make a commit to fix the code and push it your branch. This commit will appear in the PR and another build appears in Codemagic
6. The latest build also fails(lets assume flakiness of test or some setting was not updated)
7. In the respective codemagic failed build page, you click on the "Start new build". A dialog box opens up and you'll see your PR branch already filled in the Select branch field along with Build Branch option selected.
8. Click the "Start new build" button and you'll be redirected to a new build page to track its status
9. Watch the build fail instantly with error:

Cannot access the repository '<your-PR-branch>' does not exist. Please ensure the repository contains the reference before starting a build. Check the available references in the Start new build modal.

As you can see a new build occurs only if a new commit is pushed to the PR but on choosing to make a new build from a failed build page it won't work. My query here is how can I restart a failed build from a forked branch to resolve the above shown error without having to add the webhook to forked repo.

Also the error will not appear if you choose Build commit <latest-commit-in-PR> option in step 7.