GitHub Actions Deployment to Azure Web App Fails: 'Resource smartovatewebapp of type Microsoft.Web/Sites doesn't exist'– SR# 2503310040011009

Question

GitHub Actions Deployment to Azure Web App Fails: 'Resource smartovatewebapp of type Microsoft.Web/Sites doesn't exist'– SR# 2503310040011009

Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45

I’m trying to deploy a Next.js application to an Azure Web App using GitHub Actions. The app runs fine locally with yarn dev, and I’ve been attempting to deploy it to Azure App Service (smartovatewebapp) with a custom startup command (yarn dev --port 8080). However, the deployment fails during the azure/webapps-deploy@v3 step with the error:

"Error: Deployment Failed, Error: Resource smartovatewebapp of type Microsoft.Web/Sites doesn't exist"

Prabhavathi Manchala 2,315 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-04-01T21:56:14.9366667+00:00
Hi Abdelkhalek Bakkari,

The error Error: Resource smartovatewebapp of type Microsoft.Web/Sites doesn't exist means the Azure Web App you're trying to deploy to via GitHub Actions can't be found. This could be because the Web App name in your GitHub Actions workflow doesn't match the one in Azure, the Web App is in a different subscription or resource group, it hasn't been created yet, or there’s an issue with the service principal credentials used for deployment.

Please make sure the Web App name is spelled exactly the same in both your Azure portal and GitHub Actions workflow.

Log into the Azure Portal, go to App Services to confirm the smartovatewebapp exists, and verify the exact spelling and names are case-sensitive.

Ensure that the Azure subscription and resource group in your workflow match the Web App's location in the Azure portal and ensure the service principal has access to the correct subscription/resource group.

If the Web App doesn't exist, you can create it manually in the Azure Portal or modify your workflow to create it before deployment.

Please ensure the service principal has the Contributor or Web App Contributor role at the correct scope (subscription or resource group) to enable deployment to the Web App.

If everything looks good in the Azure portal, ensure your YAML file specifies the correct Azure subscription, resource group, and Web App name. Double-check the app-name and slot-name parameters in the azure/webapps-deploy@v3 action.
- name: 'Deploy to Azure Web App' uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v3 with: app-name: 'smartovatewebapp' slot-name: 'production' publish-profile: ${{ secrets.AZURE_WEBAPP_PUBLISH_PROFILE }} package: .

Please refer to the link below for more information on the failed GitHub Actions.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/2225663/how-do-i-fix-a-failed-github-actions-deployment-to
Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45 Reputation points

2025-04-02T10:25:33.3+00:00
Hi Prabhavathi Manchala,

Thank you so much for your support.

I checked the suggestions that you provided me; however everything is well done.

Please find below also the yaml file of the github actions workflow:

However, the result is the same. " Deployment Failed, Error: Resource smartovatewebapp of type Microsoft.Web/Sites doesn't exist."

Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45

name: Deploy Next.js app with yarn dev to Azure Web App
name: Deploy Next.js app with yarn dev to Azure Web App
name: Deploy Next.js app with yarn dev to Azure Web App

	on:
	push:
	branches:
	- main
	workflow_dispatch:

	jobs:
	build-and-deploy:
	runs-on: ubuntu-latest
	permissions:
	id-token: write # Required for OIDC login
	contents: read # Needed for checkout
	steps:
	- uses: actions/checkout@v4

	- name: Set up Node.js
	uses: actions/setup-node@v3
	with:
	node-version: '20.x'

	- name: Install Yarn
	run: npm install -g yarn

	- name: Install dependencies
	run: yarn install

	- name: Zip project
	run: zip -r release.zip . -x ".git"

	- name: Login to Azure using OIDC
	uses: azure/login@v2
	with:
	client-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_CLIENTID }} # Client ID
	tenant-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_TENANTID }} # Tenant ID
	subscription-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_SUBSCRIPTIONID }} # Subscription ID

	- name: Deploy to Azure Web App
	uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v3
	with:
	app-name: 'smartovatewebapp'
	resource-group-name: 'Smartovate'
	slot-name: 'production'
	package: release.zip

Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45 Reputation points

2025-04-02T12:09:29.3866667+00:00

This is the attachment related to the permissionsazure_webapp_access.png

Prabhavathi Manchala 2,315 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Abdelkhalek Bakkari,

The screenshot shows smartovatewebapp is a Managed Identity, not a Web App, which is causing the error: Resource smartovatewebapp of type Microsoft.Web/Sites doesn't exist. A Managed Identity is only for authentication and cannot be deployed to. To fix this, create an App Service (Web App) named smartovatewebapp before deployment.

Before running the workflow, ensure GitHub Actions has the Contributor role.

az role assignment create --assignee <SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_ID> --role "Contributor" --scope /subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>

Replace <SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_ID> and <SUBSCRIPTION_ID> with actual values, or the workflow may fail.

Please try the updated code, it will create an App Service Plan and Web App if needed, set the startup command to yarn dev --port 8080, and deploy the application.

name: Deploy Next.js app with yarn dev to Azure Web App
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
  build-and-deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      id-token: write # Required for OIDC login
      contents: read # Needed for checkout
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Set up Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: '20.x'
      - name: Install Yarn
        run: npm install -g yarn
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: yarn install
      - name: Zip project
        run: zip -r release.zip . -x ".git"
      - name: Login to Azure using OIDC
        uses: azure/login@v2
        with:
          client-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_CLIENTID }}
          tenant-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_TENANTID }}
          subscription-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_SUBSCRIPTIONID }}
      # Create App Service Plan if it doesn't exist
      - name: Create App Service Plan
        run: |
          PLAN_EXISTS=$(az appservice plan list --resource-group "Smartovate" --query "[?name=='SmartovateAppPlan']" --output tsv)
          if [ -z "$PLAN_EXISTS" ]; then
            echo "Creating App Service Plan..."
            az appservice plan create --resource-group "Smartovate" --name "SmartovateAppPlan" --is-linux --sku B1
          else
            echo "App Service Plan exists. Proceeding..."
          fi
      # Create Web App if it doesn't exist  
      - name: Create Web App if needed
        run: |
          echo "Checking if Web App exists..."
          WEB_APP_EXISTS=$(az webapp list --resource-group "Smartovate" --query "[?name=='smartovatewebapp']" --output tsv)
          if [ -z "$WEB_APP_EXISTS" ]; then
            echo "Web App doesn't exist. Creating it now..."
            az webapp create --resource-group "Smartovate" --plan "SmartovateAppPlan" --name "smartovatewebapp" --runtime "NODE:20-lts"
            echo "Configuring startup command..."
            az webapp config set --resource-group "Smartovate" --name "smartovatewebapp" --startup-file "yarn dev --port 8080"
          else
            echo "Web App exists. Proceeding with deployment..."
          fi
      - name: Deploy to Azure Web App
        uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v3
        with:
          app-name: 'smartovatewebapp'
          resource-group-name: 'Smartovate'
          slot-name: 'production'
          package: release.zip

Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45 Reputation points

2025-04-03T11:35:46.7333333+00:00

Hi,

Thank you for your help.
I followed your instructions and I have got an error as shown in the attached image.
Also, please find the screenshot of the Subscription IAM.

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Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45 Reputation points

2025-04-02T10:25:33.3+00:00

Hi Prabhavathi Manchala,

Thank you so much for your support.

I checked the suggestions that you provided me; however everything is well done.

Please find below also the yaml file of the github actions workflow:

However, the result is the same. " Deployment Failed, Error: Resource smartovatewebapp of type Microsoft.Web/Sites doesn't exist."
Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45 Reputation points

2025-04-02T12:07:57.1333333+00:00

name: Deploy Next.js app with yarn dev to Azure Web App

name: Deploy Next.js app with yarn dev to Azure Web App

name: Deploy Next.js app with yarn dev to Azure Web App

on:

push:

branches:

- main

workflow_dispatch:

jobs:

build-and-deploy:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

permissions:

id-token: write # Required for OIDC login

contents: read # Needed for checkout

steps:

- uses: actions/checkout@v4

- name: Set up Node.js

uses: actions/setup-node@v3

with:

node-version: '20.x'

- name: Install Yarn

run: npm install -g yarn

- name: Install dependencies

run: yarn install

- name: Zip project

run: zip -r release.zip . -x ".git"

- name: Login to Azure using OIDC

uses: azure/login@v2

with:

client-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_CLIENTID }} # Client ID

tenant-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_TENANTID }} # Tenant ID

subscription-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_SUBSCRIPTIONID }} # Subscription ID

- name: Deploy to Azure Web App

uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v3

with:

app-name: 'smartovatewebapp'

resource-group-name: 'Smartovate'

slot-name: 'production'

package: release.zip
Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45 Reputation points

2025-04-02T12:09:29.3866667+00:00

This is the attachment related to the permissionsazure_webapp_access.png
Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45 Reputation points

2025-04-03T11:35:46.7333333+00:00

Hi,

Thank you for your help.
I followed your instructions and I have got an error as shown in the attached image.
Also, please find the screenshot of the Subscription IAM.

Answer 1

Hi Abdelkhalek Bakkari,

The log shows that GitHub is attempting to log in using OIDC (OpenID Connect), and it does retrieve the federated token successfully. That means you have created a federated credential under an App Registration in Azure.

Federated credentials are not fully connected to the subscription, which is why GitHub can’t see any resources during login.

You should have an entry there that matches your GitHub repository and branch.

enter image description here

Issuer: https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com
Subject: repo:caustaza/smartovateai_web:ref:refs/heads/main must match your GitHub repo
Audience: api://AzureADTokenExchange

If it’s not there or doesn’t match your repo and branch exactly, you’ll need to add it manually.

Hope it helps!

Please do not forget to click "Accept the answer” and Yes wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

User's image

If you have any other questions or still running into more issues, let me know in the "comments" and I would be happy to help you.

Abdelkhalek Bakkari 45 Reputation points

2025-04-04T15:20:40.96+00:00

Hi,
I followed your steps as shown in the attached image and still the same issue occurs.

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GitHub Actions Deployment to Azure Web App Fails: 'Resource smartovatewebapp of type Microsoft.Web/Sites doesn't exist'– SR# 2503310040011009

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