Automation · Operations and reporting
Find out on WhatsApp why a CircleCI build failed
Ask on WhatsApp why the build failed: an AI agent reads the CircleCI run, the job logs and the failed tests, and sums it up for you.
How do I find out on WhatsApp why my CircleCI build failed without opening the dashboard?
You text your Met on WhatsApp "why did the last build on the main branch fail?". The Met looks up the project's runs filtered by branch or status, opens the one that failed and its workflow, finds the job that did not pass, reads the output of its failed steps and the list of failed tests, and answers in the chat with which step broke and with what error. If the failure was a fluke and the admin left the rerun workflow action on, which starts off, the Met reruns it from the failed jobs only. It is meant for a small business's tech team or the agency that maintains its site or app.
What starts it
When someone asks for it
It starts when someone on the team or at the agency asks the Met on WhatsApp about a failed build. Each check is on request: in this procedure the Met does not watch your CI on its own.
A manual task: someone on the team runs it with a button, or asks the Met for it in chat.
Who runs it
Internal Met that checks your CI on CircleCI
This is not a named, seeded Met. It is an internal Met with CircleCI connected, for whoever maintains the business's site or app: it is done when it tells you which step failed and with what error, or when the rerun you asked for is running.
Channels: WhatsApp
What you need connected
- CircleCI Automate and collaborate
5 steps · 7 tools
The procedure, step by step
Each step shows the tool that runs. They belong to the real connector: if one of them stopped existing, this page would not build.
- 1
Find the failed run
The Met lists the project's runs filtered by the branch or status you mentioned and keeps the most recent one that failed. If you do not name a project, it checks your runs across all projects.
- 2
Open the run and its workflow
The Met opens the run to see its phase, its outcome, the repository and any configuration errors, and then the workflow, to learn which part of it ended in failure.
- 3
Find the step that broke
The Met opens the failed job and reviews the detail of each step with its exit code. That is how it tells you which step stopped the build, instead of pasting the whole log.
- 4
Read the error and the failed tests
The Met reads the output of the failed steps and lists the job's test results, which by default include only the failed ones. It sums up the error message and the name of each broken test.
- 5
Rerun from what failed
If the failure looks like a fluke and you ask for it, the Met reruns the workflow from the failed jobs only. This action starts off: the Met only uses it if the admin switched it on in Connections.
Before you start
What you need ready
The Met solves none of these for you. If one is missing, the automation stops there.
-
A CircleCI account with access to the project
The account your team or agency uses to sign in to CircleCI. The Met only sees the projects that account can access.
-
CircleCI connected in Met
In Met, open Connections → CircleCI → Connect, sign in to CircleCI and authorize Met. To rerun, the admin switches on the rerun workflow action, which starts off.
-
An internal Met on WhatsApp
A team Met with CircleCI connected that you text on WhatsApp. It is not the Met that serves your customers: it is for whoever maintains the site or app.
The limits
What this automation does NOT solve
Better said here than discovered halfway through the rollout.
-
It does not fix the code. The Met tells you what failed and with what error; your team or your agency makes the fix.
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It does not rerun with the default setup: the rerun workflow action starts off, and if the admin switches it on, the Met runs it without asking for confirmation in the chat.
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It does not alert you on its own when a build fails: in this procedure the Met checks when you ask.
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It does not edit the CircleCI configuration or manage orbs, and it does not see projects the connected account cannot access.
FAQ
Questions about this automation
To ask, no: the Met tells you in plain words which step failed. To fix what failed you do need someone who works on the code, on your team or at your agency.
Yes, if the admin switched on the rerun workflow action, which starts off. It can rerun everything or only from the failed jobs.
It reads the output of the job's steps; if you do not point to a step, it reads the failed ones. That is why the answer goes straight to the error instead of pasting the whole log.
You do, with your CircleCI plan. Meteor does not resell CircleCI: the connector uses your company's or your agency's account.
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Want this automation running on your own data?
We will show it to you with your accounts connected, not with a canned demo.