GitHub Actions · Checked October 24, 2026

GitHub Actions: "Unable to retry this workflow run because it was created over a month ago"

GitHub lets you re-run a workflow, or jobs in it, up to 30 days after its first run. After that, re-running is refused with HTTP 403 and this message, and the old run cannot be brought back. Start a new run of the same workflow instead: from Run workflow if it has a workflow_dispatch trigger, or with a new commit.

The whole answer

As public reports from July to October 2026 quote it, from gh run rerun and from the REST API's re-run endpoints (for example POST /repos/<owner>/<repo>/actions/runs/<run_id>/rerun-failed-jobs):

HTTP 403
Unable to retry this workflow run because it was created over a month ago

We have not re-run a run that old ourselves; every report that quotes the message in full has this sentence.

Why

GitHub's documentation (Re-running workflows and jobs) allows a re-run "up to 30 days after its initial run". The 30 days count from the first run, not from the last re-run. A re-run never picks up a newer commit either: it uses the same GITHUB_SHA and GITHUB_REF as the run it repeats, and the privileges of the person who first triggered it.

Most of the reports tell the same story: a deploy failed weeks ago (an expired token or secret, a runner problem), the cause is fixed, and the run that should pick it up is now too old to retry, while the workflow only starts on a push.

Start a new run

• Run workflow, if the workflow has a workflow_dispatch trigger: on GitHub open Actions, the workflow, then Run workflow, and choose the branch or tag. With the GitHub CLI:

  gh workflow run deploy.yml --ref main

  GitHub's documentation (Manually running a workflow, Events that trigger workflows): it needs write access to the repository, the workflow file must exist on the default branch, and the run uses the last commit on the branch or tag you choose.
• No workflow_dispatch yet: add it to the workflow's triggers and merge that to the default branch. From then on the workflow can also be started by hand:

  on:
    push:
      branches: [main]
    workflow_dispatch:

• A new commit, for a workflow that runs on push. An empty commit is enough:

  git commit --allow-empty -m "Run the workflow again"
  git push

• A pull request's checks: close and reopen the pull request, or push a commit to its branch. By default a pull_request workflow runs when a pull request is opened, synchronized or reopened (GitHub's documentation).

Each of these makes a new run with its own number, for the latest commit of the branch or tag, not the old commit.

Re-run and start workflows from IntelliJ IDEA

Pipeline Inbox for GitHub Actions Workflows, a plugin by Lesstep for JetBrains IDEs 2024.1 or later, lists the runs of all your repositories in an IDE tool window, with their jobs, steps and logs. Within GitHub's 30 days it re-runs failed jobs, all jobs or one job; Run Workflow starts any workflow with a workflow_dispatch trigger on a branch or tag, with a field for each input, as on GitHub's Actions page. From version 1.0.11, a run older than 30 days shows GitHub's own message and points to Run Workflow or a new commit, instead of blaming the token. Reading is free; re-running, cancelling, running workflows and reviewing deployments are Pro (US$1.50 a month, with a 30-day trial).

GitHub and GitHub Actions are trademarks of GitHub, Inc.; IntelliJ IDEA is a trademark of JetBrains s.r.o. This page is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by GitHub, Inc. or JetBrains.

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