nx-cloud-ci-failure-review

Nx Cloud CI failure review

Requires the nx-cloud-api skill for all Nx Cloud reads. This workflow is read-only.

Reduce failed pipelines to a small set of diagnostic groups. A failed pipeline does not prove that an agent or platform caused the failure. Classify each group only at the level the evidence supports.

Scope and collection

Use focused investigation mode when the user supplies one or more CIPE or run-group links. Fetch those exact records first. Follow their returned run-group, run, task, and workflow links. Compare the supplied executions directly. Do not run a broad time window or build a workspace-wide ranking unless the user asks for recurrence or scope. Keep cancellations that follow the named critical error as consequences, not separate root-cause groups.

Use review mode when the user asks for a workspace failure review. Review failures from the last 24 hours by default. CIPE and run-group list filters use createdAt, not failure time. Query a 30-hour creation window to cover the maximum normal six-hour CI duration. State the intended 24-hour review period and the 30-hour creation window.

Query statuses=FAILED, statuses=TIMED_OUT, and statuses=CANCELED (the cipes filter accepts only terminal statuses). State the branches, CI contexts, statuses, endpoints, and record counts. Ask before widening the window or mixing unrelated repositories/workspaces.

Use nx-cloud-api (npx nx-cloud api) for every read. Inspect the live schemas with --describe for cipes, run-groups, run-groups/{runGroupId}, runs, runs/{runId}/tasks, and the linked steps and instances endpoints. Use --list-operations to confirm the routes; the public API has no separate workflow routes. Reach child records by following returned links. Start with supplied CIPEs in focused investigation mode. Start with failed CIPEs and their linked run groups in review mode. Use only live documented filters and fields. Fetch one narrow page first and check nextCursor before continuing.

Collect in this order:

1. Failed, timed-out, and canceled CIPEs with status, timestamps, branch, and CI context. Use a small, stated --pages value. Rank groups workspace-wide only after a zero exit with nextCursor: null; otherwise report the data as incomplete.
2. Linked run groups and their documented critical-error fields.
3. Runs and terminal task rows for each selected group.
4. Workflow and instance status only when task data does not explain the group.
5. The smallest relevant task or instance log excerpt for representative cases.

Use a semaphore of at most five narrow detail requests. Fetch logs only after a group reaches the top five. Tell the user before reading CI log content. Quote only redacted error lines.

Treat cancellations as their own category until their reason and timing show that they belong elsewhere. Do not call a cancellation a failure without that context.

Grouping method

Build groups from stable evidence. Prefer a task identifier plus normalized error signature. Normalize timestamps, GUIDs, retry counters, temporary paths, and random ports. Keep stack context, command, and error code that distinguish two otherwise similar messages.

Use these categories only when their evidence exists:

• Repeated task error.
• Task timeout.
• Cancellation.
• Workflow or agent failure.
• Unknown pipeline failure.

Call a group workflow or agent failure only when workflow/instance status, critical error, or agent evidence supports it and no task failure explains the pipeline. Do not infer infrastructure from the absence of a task log.

Reconcile the full pipeline picture before classification. A task can record SUCCEEDED or a cache hit while the main job fails during artifact download, validation, or restoration. Compare the run-group criticalErrorMessage, task status, cache status, workflow status, and later cancellations. In that case, classify the main-job cache restoration error as primary and the canceled runs as consequences.

For every group, record its CIPE count, run-group count, affected task count, first and last occurrence, branches/contexts, and one or two representative IDs. Rank first by affected pipeline count, then recurrence, then blocked duration when it is documented.

Next action rules

• Repeated task error: when a relevant workspace checkout exists, inspect CODEOWNERS and project ownership metadata at the recorded commit. Suggest a likely review owner. Do not assign work or claim ownership when that evidence is absent.
• Task timeout: compare duration and resource evidence. Request a focused reproduction or resource report when it does not show a direct cause.
• Cancellation: identify the documented cancel source, or keep it separate as unknown cancellation.
• Workflow or agent failure: retry or monitor only when the evidence supports a transient event. Otherwise inspect the named workflow/agent asset.
• Unknown: request the smallest log or run detail that can separate the cases.

Do not make code, workflow, or allocation changes without explicit approval.

Report format

# Failed CI review

## Scope

- Window: …
- Data: …

## Failure groups

### 1. <evidence-level category> — <short signature>

- **Confirmed facts:** affected CIPEs/runs/tasks; representative IDs; log excerpt.
- **Assessment:** **Confirmed** / **Likely** / **Needs diagnostic run** — …
- **Impact:** …
- **Highest-leverage next action:** …

## Unclassified or incomplete data

- …

Limit a review report to five groups. In focused investigation mode, report the supplied executions as one comparison when they have the same normalized signature. Link each finding to exact CIPEs, run groups, runs, and tasks where available. State the data limit when pagination, missing assets, or missing context affects the conclusion.