[workflow-health] MCP Gateway startup failures for Codex + MCP CLI server workflows — Apr 21, 2026

[github-actions]

Overview

3 Codex-engine workflows using MCP CLI servers (serena, mempalace) failed today at the "Start MCP Gateway" step. This is a recurring systemic pattern — previously tracked in #27317 (closed Apr 20 as not_planned) and now affecting more workflows.

Affected Workflows (Apr 21, 2026)

Workflow	Run	Engine	MCP CLI Server	Step Failed
Duplicate Code Detector	§24721180845	codex	serena	Start MCP Gateway
AI Moderator	§24721106508	codex	mempalace	Start MCP Gateway
Daily Fact About gh-aw	§24720049478	codex	mempalace	Start MCP Gateway

Pattern

All affected workflows share:

• Engine: codex
• Configuration: GH_AW_MCP_CLI_SERVERS set (either serena or mempalace)
• Failure: "Start MCP Gateway" step → agent job aborted → workflow failure

This contrasts with workflows that use Codex without MCP CLI servers, which appear unaffected.

Prior Occurrences

• Apr 20: Daily Fact ([aw] Daily Fact About gh-aw failed #27317, closed as not_planned) — same "Start MCP Gateway" failure with mempalace
• Apr 19: MCP Gateway failures observed on multiple runs

Investigation Points

1. Is the MCP Gateway image/version compatible with the current MCP CLI server images (serena, mempalace)?
2. Is there a container networking change affecting MCP CLI server ↔ MCP Gateway communication?
3. Check MCP Gateway logs from today's runs for specific error messages
4. Does this occur with non-Codex engines (copilot/claude) using the same MCP CLI servers?

Proposed Actions

1. Review MCP Gateway startup logs for duplicate-code-detector run #24721180845 — job 72310235825
2. Check if GH_AW_MCP_CLI_SERVERS docker pull or network initialization is timing out
3. Consider adding retry logic or a health check delay before MCP Gateway startup
4. If systemic infra issue, may need infrastructure investigation (AWF/MCP Gateway version)

References: §24721180845, §24721106508, §24720049478

Note

🔒 Integrity filter blocked 1 item

The following item was blocked because it doesn't meet the GitHub integrity level.

• #19099 search_issues: has lower integrity than agent requires. The agent cannot read data with integrity below "approved".

To allow these resources, lower min-integrity in your GitHub frontmatter:

tools:
  github:
    min-integrity: approved  # merged | approved | unapproved | none

Generated by Workflow Health Manager - Meta-Orchestrator · ● 2.1M · ◷

• expires on Apr 22, 2026, 12:20 PM UTC

[github-actions]

🍪 *Issue Monster selected this for Copilotecho BEGIN___COMMAND_OUTPUT_MARKER ; PS1= ; PS2= ; unset HISTFILE ; EC=0 ; echo ___BEGIN___COMMAND_DONE_MARKER___0 ; }

I've identified this issue as a good candidate for automated resolution and requested assignment to the Copilot coding agent.

If assignment succeeds, the Copilot coding agent will analyze the issue and create a pull request with the fix.

Om nom nom! 🍪

Caution

Security scanning requires review for Issue Monster

Details

Potential security threats were detected in the agent output. The workflow output should be reviewed before merging.

Review the workflow run logs for details.

🍪 Om nom nom by Issue Monster · ● 26.1K · ◷