What causes "exitcode '%d': failure" in nektos/act?

Inspect the step logs above the error to find the failing command.

exitcode '%d': failure

Error message

exitcode '%d': failure

What it means

Error "exitcode '%d': failure" thrown in nektos/act.

Source

Thrown at pkg/container/docker_run.go:618

switch inspectResp.ExitCode {
case 0:
	return nil
case 127:
	return fmt.Errorf("exitcode '%d': command not found, please refer to https://github.com/nektos/act/issues/107 for more information", inspectResp.ExitCode)
default:
	return fmt.Errorf("exitcode '%d': failure", inspectResp.ExitCode)
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 4f41128141)

Solutions

Inspect the step logs above the error to find the failing command.
Run the same command manually inside the image to reproduce and debug it.
Fix the failing command or script in the workflow step.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at pkg/container/docker_run.go:618 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of nektos/act@4f41128141 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2b8a3174429a1095. Report an issue: GitHub.