Is CircleCI having issues or is it something on my end?

Are the issues I am seeing related to CircleCI or something on my end?

When experiencing build failures or unexpected behavior, it can be challenging to determine whether the issue stems from CircleCI's infrastructure or your own configuration and code. This article provides guidance on how to isolate and identify the root cause.

Quick Diagnostic Steps

1. Check CircleCI Status

Visit status.circleci.com to see if there are any ongoing incidents or degraded performance affecting the platform. Subscribe to updates to receive notifications about service disruptions.

2. Review Recent Changes

Consider what changed before the issue started:

Did you modify your .circleci/config.yml file?
Were there recent commits to your repository?
Did you update dependencies, Docker images, or resource classes?
Have you changed environment variables or project settings?

If the issue appeared immediately after a change, that's usually your root cause.

3. Check Build Consistency

Intermittent failures: If builds fail randomly without code changes, this may indicate flaky tests, race conditions, or resource constraints rather than a CircleCI platform issue.
Consistent failures: If every build fails the same way, it's more likely a configuration or code issue.
Timing: If issues started affecting all projects in your organization simultaneously, check the status page for platform incidents.

Common Indicators of Configuration/Code Issues

The issue is likely on your end if you see:

Specific test failures or assertion errors in your logs
Dependency installation failures (network timeouts, package not found)
Docker image pull failures for custom or third-party images
Resource exhaustion (out of memory, disk space) during specific build steps
SSH key or authentication failures with external services
Errors that reference your code, scripts, or custom tooling

Common Indicators of CircleCI Platform Issues

The issue is likely CircleCI-related if you see:

Multiple unrelated projects failing simultaneously
Failures during CircleCI's infrastructure setup (before your config runs)
Widespread reports from other users on the community forum
Incidents reported on status.circleci.com
Errors mentioning CircleCI internal services (e.g., "workflow coordinator failure")

Isolating the Problem

Test locally:

Can you reproduce the issue on your local machine?
If yes, it's likely a code or dependency issue
If no, examine differences between your local and CircleCI environments

Simplify your config:

Create a minimal .circleci/config.yml that reproduces the issue
Comment out unrelated steps to isolate the failing component
Try a basic "hello world" job to verify the executor works

Review recent successful builds:

Compare a failing build to the last successful one
Check the "Diff" view between commits in your VCS
Look for changes in timing, resource usage, or error messages

Still Unsure?

If you've gone through these steps and remain uncertain about the root cause:

Search the community forum: discuss.circleci.com - others may have experienced similar issues
Review our documentation: circleci.com/docs for best practices and troubleshooting guides
Contact support: Submit a support ticket with:
- Links to affected builds
- What changed before the issue started
- Steps you've already taken to troubleshoot
- Whether the issue affects all projects or just specific ones

Providing this context helps our support team investigate more efficiently and provide faster resolution.

Additional Resources