Gitea Actions workflows not detected (.gitea/workflows vs .github/workflows) in CI

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

Gitea Actions discovers workflow YAML in .gitea/workflows/ and .github/workflows/ on the pushed branch. If the file is elsewhere, misnamed, or not on the ref that triggered, no run is created at all.

What this error means

A push or PR creates no Actions run and the Actions tab is empty, even though a YAML file exists in the working copy. The file is in the wrong directory or was not committed to the pushed ref.

# No run appears under the Actions tab after push.
# Gitea only scans:
#   .gitea/workflows/*.yml  .gitea/workflows/*.yaml
#   .github/workflows/*.yml .github/workflows/*.yaml

Common causes

The workflow file is not in a scanned directory

Gitea only reads .gitea/workflows and .github/workflows; a file in the repo root or another folder is never picked up.

The file is not on the ref that was pushed

Workflows are read from the commit that triggered; if the YAML lives only on another branch, that push produces no run.

How to fix it

Place the workflow in a scanned path

1. Move the YAML into .gitea/workflows/ (or .github/workflows/).
2. Give it a .yml or .yaml extension.
3. Commit and push it on the branch you expect to trigger.

mkdir -p .gitea/workflows
git mv ci.yml .gitea/workflows/ci.yml
git commit -m "move workflow into .gitea/workflows" && git push

Confirm the trigger matches the pushed ref

Ensure the on: events (push branches, pull_request) include the ref you are pushing so a run is created.

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:

How to prevent it

• Keep workflows only in .gitea/workflows or .github/workflows.
• Verify the YAML is committed on the triggering branch.
• Match on: triggers to the branches your team pushes.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions