CircleCI continuation/continue Fails - Fix Continuation Payloads
The continuation step ran but the API rejected the handoff. The generated config is invalid, the parameters payload is malformed, or the continuation key was already used - so the second pipeline never schedules.
What this error means
The setup job fails at the continuation/continue step with a 4xx from the continuation API. The first stage is red and the dynamically generated jobs never appear, because the payload CircleCI received could not be turned into a pipeline.
Error calling continuation API: 400 Bad Request
{"message":"config compilation failed","errors":[
"Cannot find a definition for job named test-generated"]}Common causes
The generated config is itself invalid
The continuation API compiles the generated config. If it has a schema error or references an undefined job, the API returns 400 and the continuation fails.
Malformed parameters JSON
The parameters passed to the continuation must be a JSON object whose keys match parameters: declared in the generated config. A type mismatch or stray quoting is rejected.
Continuation key reused or missing
Each setup pipeline has one continuation key. Calling continue twice, or outside the setup workflow, fails because the key is single-use and scoped to the setup run.
How to fix it
Validate the generated config before continuing
Compile the generated file in the setup job so a bad config fails there with a clear message, not as an opaque 400.
- run: circleci config validate .circleci/generated.yml
- continuation/continue:
configuration-path: .circleci/generated.yml
parameters: '{"deploy_env":"staging"}'Match parameters to the generated config
- Declare every key you pass under
parameters:in the generated config. - Use correct JSON types (a boolean is
true, not"true", unless the parameter is a string). - Call continuation exactly once, inside the setup workflow only.
How to prevent it
- Validate the generated config in the setup job before handing it off.
- Keep the parameters payload in sync with the generated config’s
parameters:. - Treat the continuation key as single-use per setup pipeline.