diff --git a/cli/pipeline/purge.go b/cli/pipeline/purge.go
index c71b6ee79..3781f8458 100644
--- a/cli/pipeline/purge.go
+++ b/cli/pipeline/purge.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Copyright 2022 Woodpecker Authors
+// Copyright 2024 Woodpecker Authors
 //
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ package pipeline
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
@@ -121,6 +123,11 @@ func pipelinePurge(c *cli.Command, client woodpecker.Client) (err error) {
 
 		err := client.PipelineDelete(repoID, p.Number)
 		if err != nil {
+			var clientErr *woodpecker.ClientError
+			if errors.As(err, &clientErr) && clientErr.StatusCode == http.StatusUnprocessableEntity {
+				log.Error().Err(err).Msgf("failed to delete pipeline %d", p.Number)
+				continue
+			}
 			return err
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/cli/pipeline/purge_test.go b/cli/pipeline/purge_test.go
index 12356dd0b..728a947d4 100644
--- a/cli/pipeline/purge_test.go
+++ b/cli/pipeline/purge_test.go
@@ -16,13 +16,14 @@ import (
 
 func TestPipelinePurge(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
-		name          string
-		repoID        int64
-		args          []string
-		pipelinesKeep []*woodpecker.Pipeline
-		pipelines     []*woodpecker.Pipeline
-		wantDelete    int
-		wantErr       error
+		name            string
+		repoID          int64
+		args            []string
+		pipelinesKeep   []*woodpecker.Pipeline
+		pipelines       []*woodpecker.Pipeline
+		mockDeleteError error
+		wantDelete      int
+		wantErr         error
 	}{
 		{
 			name:   "success with no pipelines to purge",
@@ -53,6 +54,24 @@ func TestPipelinePurge(t *testing.T) {
 			args:    []string{"purge", "--older-than", "invalid", "repo/name"},
 			wantErr: errors.New("time: invalid duration \"invalid\""),
 		},
+		{
+			name:   "continue on 422 error",
+			repoID: 1,
+			args:   []string{"purge", "--older-than", "1h", "repo/name"},
+			pipelinesKeep: []*woodpecker.Pipeline{
+				{Number: 1},
+			},
+			pipelines: []*woodpecker.Pipeline{
+				{Number: 1},
+				{Number: 2},
+				{Number: 3},
+			},
+			wantDelete: 2,
+			mockDeleteError: &woodpecker.ClientError{
+				StatusCode: 422,
+				Message:    "test error",
+			},
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {
@@ -80,7 +99,9 @@ func TestPipelinePurge(t *testing.T) {
 				return []*woodpecker.Pipeline{}, nil
 			}).Maybe()
 
-			if tt.wantDelete > 0 {
+			if tt.mockDeleteError != nil {
+				mockClient.On("PipelineDelete", tt.repoID, mock.Anything).Return(tt.mockDeleteError)
+			} else if tt.wantDelete > 0 {
 				mockClient.On("PipelineDelete", tt.repoID, mock.Anything).Return(nil).Times(tt.wantDelete)
 			}
 
diff --git a/woodpecker-go/woodpecker/client.go b/woodpecker-go/woodpecker/client.go
index 3a26f5dc2..8871f654a 100644
--- a/woodpecker-go/woodpecker/client.go
+++ b/woodpecker-go/woodpecker/client.go
@@ -34,6 +34,15 @@ const (
 	// pathVersion        = "%s/version"
 )
 
+type ClientError struct {
+	StatusCode int
+	Message    string
+}
+
+func (e *ClientError) Error() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("client error %d: %s", e.StatusCode, e.Message)
+}
+
 type client struct {
 	client *http.Client
 	addr   string
@@ -140,7 +149,10 @@ func (c *client) open(rawURL, method string, in any) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	if resp.StatusCode > http.StatusPartialContent {
 		defer resp.Body.Close()
 		out, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("client error %d: %s", resp.StatusCode, string(out))
+		return nil, &ClientError{
+			StatusCode: resp.StatusCode,
+			Message:    string(out),
+		}
 	}
 	return resp.Body, nil
 }