fix(core): Persist run data for Instance AI trigger executions in queue mode (#32498)

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

packages/cli/src/modules/instance-ai/__tests__/instance-ai.adapter.service.test.ts

@@ -2670,4 +2670,31 @@ describe('createExecutionAdapter run()', () => {
 			}),
 		);
 	});
+
+	it('populates executionData for a trigger run with no input so it survives queue persistence', async () => {
+		const { adapter, mockWorkflowRunner } = createRunAdapterForTests({
+			id: 'wf-1',
+			nodes: [
+				{
+					id: 'node-1',
+					name: 'Schedule Trigger',
+					type: 'n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger',
+					typeVersion: 1,
+					parameters: {},
+					position: [0, 0],
+				},
+			],
+		});
+
+		await adapter.run('wf-1');
+
+		const runData = mockWorkflowRunner.run.mock.calls[0][0];
+		expect(runData.executionMode).toBe('trigger');
+		// In queue mode a trigger execution is offloaded to a worker, which reads
+		// `execution.data` back from storage. An undefined `executionData` persists
+		// as an empty payload and deserializes to `undefined`, crashing the worker.
+		expect(runData.executionData).toBeDefined();
+		expect(runData.executionData?.manualData?.userId).toBe('user-1');
+		expect(runData.executionData?.manualData?.triggerToStartFrom?.name).toBe('Schedule Trigger');
+	});
 });

packages/cli/src/modules/instance-ai/instance-ai.adapter.service.ts

@@ -994,6 +994,19 @@ export class InstanceAiAdapterService {
 					if (Object.keys(basePinData).length > 0) {
 						runData.pinData = basePinData;
 					}
+					// In queue mode this execution is offloaded to a worker, which reads
+					// `execution.data` back from storage. Persist a valid run-data object
+					// (the worker reconstructs the run and starts from the trigger) so an
+					// undefined payload doesn't deserialize to `undefined` and crash the worker.
+					runData.executionData = createRunExecutionData({
+						startData: {},
+						resultData: { pinData: runData.pinData, runData: null },
+						manualData: {
+							userId: user.id,
+							triggerToStartFrom: runData.triggerToStartFrom,
+						},
+						executionData: null,
+					});
 				} else if (Object.keys(basePinData).length > 0) {
 					runData.pinData = basePinData;
 				}

packages/cli/src/scaling/__tests__/job-processor.service.test.ts

@@ -126,6 +126,37 @@ describe('JobProcessor', () => {
 		expect(result).toEqual({ success: false });
 	});
 
+	it('should throw a descriptive error when the execution has no run data', async () => {
+		const executionRepository = mock<ExecutionRepository>();
+		const executionPersistence = mock<ExecutionPersistence>();
+		executionPersistence.findSingleExecution.mockResolvedValue(
+			mock<IExecutionResponse>({
+				id: 'execution-id',
+				mode: 'trigger',
+				workflowData: { nodes: [] },
+				data: undefined,
+			}),
+		);
+
+		const manualExecutionService = createManualExecutionServiceMock();
+		const jobProcessor = new JobProcessor(
+			logger,
+			executionRepository,
+			executionPersistence,
+			mock(),
+			mock(),
+			mock(),
+			manualExecutionService,
+			executionsConfig,
+			mock(),
+		);
+
+		const job = mock<Job>({ data: { executionId: 'execution-id', loadStaticData: false } });
+
+		await expect(jobProcessor.processJob(job)).rejects.toThrow(/without run data/);
+		expect(manualExecutionService.runManually).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+	});
+
 	it.each(['manual', 'evaluation'] satisfies WorkflowExecuteMode[])(
 		'should use manualExecutionService to process a job in %p mode',
 		async (mode) => {

packages/cli/src/scaling/job-processor.ts

@@ -96,6 +96,16 @@ export class JobProcessor {
 		 */
 		if (execution.status === 'crashed') return { success: false };
 
+		// A correctly enqueued execution always carries a run-data payload. A missing
+		// one means the producer persisted no data, which would otherwise surface as an
+		// opaque `Cannot read properties of undefined` deref further down. Fail with a
+		// clear, attributable error instead.
+		if (!execution.data) {
+			throw new UnexpectedError(
+				`Worker received execution ${executionId} without run data (job ${job.id})`,
+			);
+		}
+
 		const workflowId = execution.workflowData.id;
 
 		this.logger.info(`Worker started execution ${executionId} (job ${job.id})`, {