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Workflows stuck

Reproduced. An execution stays in Running and never finishes, or a schedule or trigger never starts one.

An execution stays in Running​

Cause: the workflow worker is off​

The worker that claims and runs tasks is off by default (workflow.worker_enabled = false). With it off, Run works: Egret creates the execution, shows it as Running, and nothing ever advances it. There is no error and the flow editor shows no warning.

Reproduced on a server started with the defaults:

  • POST /api/ws/default/workflows/flows/{id}/executions answered with an execution in state RUNNING and history ["CREATED","RUNNING"].

  • Six seconds later, and at any later time, the same execution was still RUNNING with ended_at empty and no logs.

  • The server log said so at start, once:

    workflow worker disabled by config; no claim loop, no reaper
    workflow scheduler disabled by config; no trigger loop

Fix​

Enable the worker, and the scheduler if you use triggers, and restart:

EGRET_WORKFLOW__WORKER_ENABLED=true
EGRET_WORKFLOW__SCHEDULER_ENABLED=true

In the Helm chart, set workflow.workerEnabled=true and workflow.schedulerEnabled=true. A server that was running keeps the old setting until it restarts. Executions created while the worker was off are claimed once it starts; they do not need to be re-run.

Any replica with the worker on can run any execution: there is no leader election. A replica dedicated to serving can keep the worker off.

A schedule or trigger never fires​

CauseCheck and fix
The scheduler is off (workflow.scheduler_enabled, default false)cron: schedule triggers are recorded when you save a flow, and nothing fires them. Set EGRET_WORKFLOW__SCHEDULER_ENABLED=true. The Triggers page warns about this; the flow editor does not.
The scheduler is on but the worker is offExecutions are created and never run. The server logs a warning at start. Turn both on.
The trigger is disabledWorkflows → Triggers shows its state; enable it there.
A flow trigger (a flow that starts after another reaches a state) listens, but the scheduler was offEvents are written to an outbox even with the scheduler off. Turning it on processes the backlog oldest first, at most 500 events or about a second per tick. Expect old transitions to fire.

Triggers are ticked every workflow.trigger_interval_secs (1 second), so latency between a cron instant and its execution is about that.

An execution was running and then stopped moving​

A worker claims a task run with a lease. If the replica dies mid-task, the reaper hands the run back once the lease is older than workflow.working_timeout_s (3600 seconds). Until then the execution looks stuck.

  • Wait for the timeout, or lower workflow.working_timeout_s if your tasks are short. Too low and a live worker that is still inside a slow task has its run handed to a second worker, so the task runs twice.
  • Kill the execution from Workflows → Executions (POST /api/ws/{workspace}/workflows/executions/{id}/kill). The worker polls for a kill every workflow.kill_poll_ms (5000 ms) and records the run as killed.
  • An execution in Paused waits for a person: Resume it.

A script or container task never starts, or is refused​

Script tasks (io.kestra.plugin.scripts.shell.*, ...python.*) need workflow.container_runner set to docker (development) or kubernetes. With the default none no script handler is registered. They also need the workspace feature workflow_containers and an image allowed by workflow.plugin_configurations. Kestra plugin tasks (type: kestra.<class>) need workflow_kestra_plugins and workflow.plugin_host.image. The server refuses to start with a runner other than none and no plugin_host.image. See Configuration keys.

How to tell which case you have​

  1. Open the execution under Workflows → Executions and read the Logs tab. No log lines at all, for an execution older than a few seconds, points at the worker being off.
  2. Read the server log from start for workflow worker disabled by config.
  3. In the database, select state, history, ended_at from workflow.executions order by created_at desc limit 5 shows executions that never ended.

Further reading​