Rerun Failed Tests - Troubleshooting Parallel Run Failure

Overview

This article provides troubleshooting steps for customers who encounter a parallel run failure when using the Rerun Failed Tests feature in CircleCI. Specifically, this issue occurs when a rerun fails due to the persist_to_workspace step not finding any contents in the specified directory. We will guide you through the necessary steps to avoid this failure and ensure a successful rerun.

 

Issue: Parallel rerun failure

If your job runs tests in parallel and persists files to a workspace, you may encounter a parallel run failure during a rerun. This failure occurs when the persist_to_workspace step cannot find any contents in the specified directory. The reason behind this issue is that the parallel run does not always execute tests on a rerun if there are not enough tests to distribute across all parallel runs.

 

To avoid this failure, follow the steps below:

  1. Add mkdir command: Before running any tests, add a mkdir command to set up the directory (or directories) that will eventually be persisted to a workspace. This ensures that the directory exists even if no tests are executed during a parallel rerun.
        steps:
          - checkout
          - run: mkdir no_files_here
          - run: #test command with circleci tests run that populates no_files_here if tests are run
          - store_test_results:
              path: ./test-results
          - store_artifacts:
              path: ./test-results
          - persist_to_workspace:
              root: .
              paths:
                - no_files_here
  2. Verify directory population: On a rerun, if the parallel run executes tests, the no_files_here directory will be populated. If no tests are executed, the persist_to_workspace step will not fail because the no_files_here directory already exists.

By following these steps, you can prevent the parallel run failure when rerunning tests.

 

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