CI Failure Readout

Purpose

CI logs are notoriously noisy. Extract the one true error, prove it locally, and write a readout — do not dump the entire log into the context window.

When to Use

• A CI pipeline failed and the error is buried in long logs
• A readout is needed before deciding what (or who) fixes the failure
• A CI failure must be reproduced locally before fixing

Inputs

• Access to the CI run (e.g., gh for GitHub Actions) or a downloaded log file
• The repo, to rerun the failing command locally

Workflow

1. Locate the true error. Find the exact step that failed; ignore setup/teardown noise:

   gh run list --limit 10               # find the failing run
   gh run view <run-id>                 # failing job and step
   gh run view <run-id> --log-failed    # logs from failing steps only
   # or, with a downloaded log:
   grep -n -iE "error|failed|exit code" ci.log | head -20
   

2. Extract the trace. Copy only the stack trace or the specific compiler/linter error message — not the surrounding noise.

3. Reproduce locally. The first rule of fixing a CI failure is proving it fails locally. Run the exact command the CI runner used (read it from the workflow/step definition), e.g.:

   npm run test:e2e    # whatever the failing step actually ran
   

4. Draft the readout. Before fixing it, write a 2-sentence summary: "CI failed during the build step because src/types.ts is missing an export." This forces you to understand the problem instead of blindly guessing.

Output

• The failing step, the extracted error (trace or message only), local repro status, and the 2-sentence readout

Verification

• Failing step identified by name, not "somewhere in CI"
• Only the relevant trace/error extracted — no full-log dumps in context
• Failure reproduced locally with the CI's exact command (or the gap explained)
• 2-sentence readout written before any fix

Failure Modes

• Log flooding — pasting thousands of lines into context instead of the failing step's error.
• Fixing without local repro — pushing speculative fixes and using CI as the test loop.
• First-red-line fallacy — the earliest red text may be a symptom; the failing step defines where to look.