GitLab CI "job is stuck ... no active runner" in CI

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

The job is untagged or tag-compatible but no runner can take it because the project has no runner enabled and online. Shared runners may be disabled, or the only project runner is offline.

What this error means

The job stays pending with "This job is stuck because the project does not have any runners online assigned to it" or "no active runner could process this job".

This job is stuck because the project doesn't have any runners online assigned to it.

Common causes

Shared runners are disabled and no project runner exists

Shared runners are turned off for the project and no specific runner has been registered, so nothing can pick up the job.

The only runner is offline

A registered runner stopped sending heartbeats (stopped service, lost network), so GitLab marks it offline.

How to fix it

Enable a runner for the project

1. In Settings > CI/CD > Runners, enable shared runners or assign a project runner.
2. Confirm the runner shows as online (green).
3. Re-run the stuck job.

# register a runner for the project
sudo gitlab-runner register --url https://gitlab.com --token <REGISTRATION_TOKEN>

Restart an offline runner

Start the runner service and verify it reconnects to GitLab.

sudo gitlab-runner restart
sudo gitlab-runner verify

How to prevent it

• Keep at least one online runner enabled per project.
• Monitor runner heartbeats and alert when a runner goes offline.
• Decide deliberately whether shared runners are enabled.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation