GitHub Pages returns HTTP 503 despite successful deployment – Unicorn error page

[Miyaz-U]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Other

Discussion Details

Hello GitHub Community,

I'm experiencing an issue with my personal portfolio website hosted using GitHub Pages. My website is displaying the GitHub unicorn error page instead of loading the portfolio.

1. Website and Repository Details :-
   - Repository: https://github.com/Miyaz-U/Miyaz-U.github.io
   - Portfolio URL: https://miyaz-u.github.io/
   - Direct HTML URL: https://miyaz-u.github.io/index.html
   - Hosting: GitHub Pages
   - Publishing Source: Deploy from a branch
   - Branch: main
   - Folder: / (root)

2. Issue Description :-
   - When I visit my portfolio website, I see the following error:
   "We're having a really bad day. The Unicorns have taken over. We're doing our best to get them under control and get GitHub back up and running."
   - The same error appears when accessing both the main portfolio URL and the direct index.html URL.
   - I have tested the website on :-
   - Desktop browser
   - Mobile browser
   - Mobile data (different network)
   - The issue persists across all these environments.

3. Troubleshooting Performed :-
   - I have already tried the following :-
   1. Verified GitHub Pages settings. The website is configured to deploy from the main branch and root folder.
   2. Verified that index.html, styles.css, and scripts.js exist in the repository root.
   3. Checked GitHub Actions workflow runs.
   4. Checked GitHub Actions workflow runs.
   5. Verified that the deployment artifact is generated successfully.
   6. Checked deployment logs, which show that GitHub creates the Pages deployment and reports success in one execution.
   7. Attempted to redeploy the website using the Re-run all jobs option.
   8. Tested the website on different devices and networks.
   - Despite these checks, the website remains inaccessible.

4. GitHub Actions Deployment Observations :-
   - My workflow is named pages build and deployment.
   - I observed the following :-
   - Build job: Successful.
   - Report-build-status job: Successful.
   - Deployment attempts: Some were cancelled or failed.
   - Another deployment execution reported success, but the website still displayed the unicorn error page.
   - A subsequent rerun remained queued.
   - The deployment environment is github-pages.

5. Expected Result :-
   My portfolio website should load normally when visiting :-
   https://miyaz-u.github.io/

6. Actual Result :-
   The GitHub unicorn error page appears instead of my portfolio.

7. Help Required :-
   - Could someone from the GitHub team or community help investigate whether this is a GitHub Pages hosting, deployment provisioning, or serving issue?
   - I would appreciate any guidance on resolving this problem.

Thank you for your time and assistance!

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[GgauravJ05]

Good news: I checked your site just now and it's up. https://miyaz-u.github.io/ and /index.html both return HTTP 200 with your full page, and a path that doesn't exist returns a normal 404, so Pages is serving your site correctly.

I also looked at the repo, and nothing in it would cause this. It's four small files with index.html at the root, no submodules, and the Pages API reports status: built. Your builds on Nov 7 completed too. The unicorn page is an error from GitHub's side rather than something a static site produces, so there was nothing for you to fix in your code.

I can't say exactly what caused it on your side. GitHub's status history shows an incident affecting Pages on Nov 5 but nothing listed for Nov 7, so it may have been a short-lived problem that never got an incident.

If you still see the error on your device:

1. Open the site in a private window, or hard-refresh it, to rule out a cached error page.
2. Run curl -I https://miyaz-u.github.io/ and check the status code.
3. If you get a 5xx there, note the time and the response headers, then open a GitHub Support ticket with them. A status code with a timestamp is much easier for them to trace than a screenshot.

If it's loading for you now, you can mark this as resolved so anyone else who hits the same page knows it can clear up without code changes.

[foozy74]

Hi @Miyaz-U,

As @GgauravJ05 rightly pointed out, your portfolio is currently up and serving a clean HTTP 200. The "Unicorn page" is strictly a GitHub infrastructure desync (often an internal proxy or routing breakdown on their server side) rather than an issue with your code.

If you ever encounter this "successful deployment but 503 Unicorn" state again, here is a quick self-service trick to force GitHub's router to rebuild your site's path immediately without waiting for a backend timeout:

1. Go to your repository Settings -> Pages.
2. Under Build and deployment, temporarily change the Source from "Deploy from a branch" to "GitHub Actions" (or vice versa).
3. Wait 30 seconds, then change it back to "Deploy from a branch" (selecting your main branch and root / folder).
4. Save it.

This action explicitly triggers an un-publishing and re-publishing routine on the GitHub Pages edge routing infrastructure, purging any stuck 503/504 cache states instantly.

If everything is working on your end now, feel free to mark the thread