Soften language re overlay failures

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ See the [releases page](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/releases) for th
 ## 4.32.5 - 02 Mar 2026
 
 - Repositories owned by an organization can now set up the `github-codeql-disable-overlay` custom repository property to disable [improved incremental analysis for CodeQL](https://github.com/github/roadmap/issues/1158). First, create a custom repository property with the name `github-codeql-disable-overlay` and the type "True/false" in the organization's settings. Then in the repository's settings, set this property to `true` to disable improved incremental analysis. For more information, see [Managing custom properties for repositories in your organization](https://docs.github.com/en/organizations/managing-organization-settings/managing-custom-properties-for-repositories-in-your-organization). This feature is not yet available on GitHub Enterprise Server. [#3507](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/pull/3507)
-- Added an experimental change so that when [improved incremental analysis](https://github.com/github/roadmap/issues/1158) fails on a runner — often due to insufficient disk space — the failure is recorded in the Actions cache so that subsequent runs will automatically skip improved incremental analysis until something changes (e.g. a larger runner is provisioned or a new CodeQL version is released). We expect to roll this change out to everyone in March. [#3487](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/pull/3487)
+- Added an experimental change so that when [improved incremental analysis](https://github.com/github/roadmap/issues/1158) fails on a runner — potentially due to insufficient disk space — the failure is recorded in the Actions cache so that subsequent runs will automatically skip improved incremental analysis until something changes (e.g. a larger runner is provisioned or a new CodeQL version is released). We expect to roll this change out to everyone in March. [#3487](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/pull/3487)
 - The minimum memory check for improved incremental analysis is now skipped for CodeQL 2.24.3 and later, which has reduced peak RAM usage. [#3515](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/pull/3515)
 - Reduced log levels for best-effort private package registry connection check failures to reduce noise from workflow annotations. [#3516](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/pull/3516)
 - Added an experimental change which lowers the minimum disk space requirement for [improved incremental analysis](https://github.com/github/roadmap/issues/1158), enabling it to run on standard GitHub Actions runners. We expect to roll this change out to everyone in March. [#3498](https://github.com/github/codeql-action/pull/3498)

lib/init-action-post.js

@@ -170364,10 +170364,10 @@ async function recordOverlayStatus(codeql, config, features, logger) {
     overlayStatus,
     logger
   );
-  const blurb = "This job attempted to run with improved incremental analysis but it did not complete successfully. This may have been due to disk space constraints: using improved incremental analysis can require a significant amount of disk space for some repositories.";
+  const blurb = "This job attempted to run with improved incremental analysis but it did not complete successfully. One possible reason for this is disk space constraints, since improved incremental analysis can require a significant amount of disk space for some repositories.";
   if (saved) {
     logger.error(
-      `${blurb} This failure has been recorded in the Actions cache, so the next CodeQL analysis will run without improved incremental analysis. If you want to enable improved incremental analysis, increase the disk space available to the runner. If that doesn't help, contact GitHub Support for further assistance.`
+      `${blurb} This failure has been recorded in the Actions cache, so the next CodeQL analysis will run without improved incremental analysis. If you want to enable improved incremental analysis, try increasing the disk space available to the runner. If that doesn't help, contact GitHub Support for further assistance.`
     );
   } else {
     logger.error(

lib/init-action.js

@@ -105925,7 +105925,7 @@ async function addOverlayDisablementDiagnostics(config, codeql, overlayDisabledR
           attributes: {
             languages: config.languages
           },
-          markdownMessage: `Improved incremental analysis was skipped because it previously failed for this repository with CodeQL version ${(await codeql.getVersion()).version} on a runner with similar hardware resources. Improved incremental analysis may require a significant amount of disk space for some repositories. If you want to enable improved incremental analysis, increase the disk space available to the runner. If that doesn't help, contact GitHub Support for further assistance.
+          markdownMessage: `Improved incremental analysis was skipped because it previously failed for this repository with CodeQL version ${(await codeql.getVersion()).version} on a runner with similar hardware resources. One possible reason for this is that improved incremental analysis can require a significant amount of disk space for some repositories. If you want to try re-enabling improved incremental analysis, increase the disk space available to the runner. If that doesn't help, contact GitHub Support for further assistance.
 
 Improved incremental analysis will be automatically retried when the next version of CodeQL is released. You can also manually trigger a retry by [removing](${"https://docs.github.com/en/actions/how-tos/manage-workflow-runs/manage-caches#deleting-cache-entries" /* DELETE_ACTIONS_CACHE_ENTRIES */}) \`codeql-overlay-status-*\` entries from the Actions cache.`,
           severity: "note",

src/init-action-post-helper.ts

@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ async function recordOverlayStatus(
 
   const blurb =
     "This job attempted to run with improved incremental analysis but it did not complete successfully. " +
-    "This may have been due to disk space constraints: using improved incremental analysis can " +
+    "One possible reason for this is disk space constraints, since improved incremental analysis can " +
     "require a significant amount of disk space for some repositories.";
 
   if (saved) {
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ async function recordOverlayStatus(
       `${blurb} ` +
         "This failure has been recorded in the Actions cache, so the next CodeQL analysis will run " +
         "without improved incremental analysis. If you want to enable improved incremental analysis, " +
-        "increase the disk space available to the runner. " +
+        "try increasing the disk space available to the runner. " +
         "If that doesn't help, contact GitHub Support for further assistance.",
     );
   } else {

src/overlay/diagnostics.ts

@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ export async function addOverlayDisablementDiagnostics(
           markdownMessage:
             `Improved incremental analysis was skipped because it previously failed for this repository ` +
             `with CodeQL version ${(await codeql.getVersion()).version} on a runner with similar hardware resources. ` +
-            "Improved incremental analysis may require a significant amount of disk space for some repositories. " +
-            "If you want to enable improved incremental analysis, increase the disk space available " +
+            "One possible reason for this is that improved incremental analysis can require a significant amount of disk space for some repositories. " +
+            "If you want to try re-enabling improved incremental analysis, increase the disk space available " +
             "to the runner. If that doesn't help, contact GitHub Support for further assistance.\n\n" +
             "Improved incremental analysis will be automatically retried when the next version of CodeQL is released. " +
             `You can also manually trigger a retry by [removing](${DocUrl.DELETE_ACTIONS_CACHE_ENTRIES}) \`codeql-overlay-status-*\` entries from the Actions cache.`,