Overview

If you are experiencing issues with scheduled pipelines not running in CircleCI, particularly receiving an error message stating "No .circleci/config.yml was found in your project. Add a configuration file to your repository or refer to documentation," it’s essential to understand the potential causes behind this problem, especially concerning valid followers in your project.

Understanding the Error

"No .circleci/config.yml Found"

This error indicates that CircleCI cannot find the required configuration file for your project. The configuration file (.circleci/config.yml) is critical as it defines all the workflows, jobs, and parameters required for your CI/CD process. Without this file, CircleCI cannot execute any pipelines or workflows, including scheduled jobs.

Importance of Valid Followers

One critical aspect for scheduled pipelines in CircleCI is the presence of valid followers for the project. Here’s why this matters:

• OAuth Tokens: Scheduled pipelines require OAuth tokens to access the necessary resources and execute tasks. These tokens are fetched from the project’s followers. If there are no valid followers with the correct permissions, CircleCI will be unable to run the scheduled jobs.
• Workflow Execution: When a scheduled workflow triggers, it attempts to retrieve the latest configuration and job definitions. If it cannot find a valid token due to a lack of followers, it may either fail to run or skip execution entirely.

Steps to Resolve Issues

1. Check for Configuration File: Ensure that there is a .circleci/config.yml file in your repository. This file should be placed in the root directory of your project. If it’s missing, you need to create one.
2. Verify Followers:
   • Check who is currently following your project. If there are no followers or the existing followers are inactive or have left the organization, you will need to add new followers.
   • Ensure that the important stakeholders (e.g., developers or team members) have followed the repository to provide the necessary OAuth tokens.

Conclusion

To successfully run scheduled pipelines in CircleCI, it is imperative to have both a properly configured .circleci/config.yml file and at least one valid follower with the necessary OAuth token. Regularly monitoring and updating the follower list can help avoid issues related to token availability.

Additional Resources

• CircleCI Configuration Reference
• GitHub Permissions Guide