Failed User Authentication

When you see that the pipeline does not run with the below error message, it means that the user who triggered the build could not be authenticated and therefore CircleCI could not retrieve the configuration file (config.yml). 

Could not find a usable config.yml, you may have revoked the CircleCI OAuth app

When a user pushes a commit, opens a PR, or triggers a new CircleCI build via the API or via the UI, CircleCI fetches the configuration file (config.yml) to generate the pipeline. CircleCI will use the author's authentication token to fetch the config.yml file. When this authentication fails because the token has become invalid or has expired, the user will see the above error message.

Solution: Re-Authentication

If this is the case, we recommend this user to re-authenticate with CircleCI.

1. Go to https://app.circleci.com and log out.
2. Go to your personal OAuth application settings for CircleCI: CircleCI OAuth App on GitHub
3. Click Revoke access and confirm.
4. Clear your browser's cache and cookies
5. Log back in to CircleCI via GitHub.

Solution: Verify The User Has a CircleCI Account

This is common for Open Source projects, but if the user that triggers the build does not have an account with CircleCI this error can occur.

To resolve, have the affected user sign up with CircleCI and link their VCS account that is a member of the organization.

Conclusion

If any of the above do not resolve the issue, please raise it as a support ticket with the link to the failed message and we will be happy to investigate further.

Additional Resources

• How to Perform a Re-Authentication
• Discuss