Azure devops pipeline CopyFiles@2 stopped working and python function app cannot find module

Question

Azure devops pipeline CopyFiles@2 stopped working and python function app cannot find module

Lauren Lewis 0

yesterday the task CopyFile@2 started failing with the following error

this is the yaml: # - task: CopyFiles@2 # inputs: # SourceFolder: $(Agent.BuildDirectory)/InvestmentPaperAPI/InvestmentPaperAPI # OverWrite: true # Contents: '**' # TargetFolder: $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Merged

Error:

##[error]Error: Failed cp: Error: ENOTDIR: not a directory, scandir '/opt/hostedtoolcache/Python/3.10.17/x64/bin/python'
    at Object.readdirSync (node:fs:1506:26)
    at copyDirectoryWithResolvedSymlinks (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/node_modules/azure-pipelines-task-lib/task.js:1057:22)
    at retry.retryCount (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/node_modules/azure-pipelines-task-lib/task.js:1044:17)
    at retry (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/node_modules/azure-pipelines-task-lib/task.js:1148:25)
    at Object.cp (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/node_modules/azure-pipelines-task-lib/task.js:999:5)
    at /home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/copyfiles.js:209:65
    at RetryHelper.<anonymous> (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/retrylogichelper.js:22:42)
    at Generator.next (<anonymous>)
    at /home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/retrylogichelper.js:8:71
    at new Promise (<anonymous>) {
  errno: -20,
  code: 'ENOTDIR',
  syscall: 'scandir',
  path: '/opt/hostedtoolcache/Python/3.10.17/x64/bin/python'
}
##[debug]Processed: ##vso[task.issue type=error;source=TaskInternal;correlationId=0804e5ac-93db-43e7-8b5c-f309ca024648;]Error: Failed cp: Error: ENOTDIR: not a directory, scandir '/opt/hostedtoolcache/Python/3.10.17/x64/bin/python'
    at Object.readdirSync (node:fs:1506:26)
    at copyDirectoryWithResolvedSymlinks (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/node_modules/azure-pipelines-task-lib/task.js:1057:22)
    at retry.retryCount (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/node_modules/azure-pipelines-task-lib/task.js:1044:17)
    at retry (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/node_modules/azure-pipelines-task-lib/task.js:1148:25)
    at Object.cp (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/node_modules/azure-pipelines-task-lib/task.js:999:5)
    at /home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/copyfiles.js:209:65
    at RetryHelper.<anonymous> (/home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/retrylogichelper.js:22:42)
    at Generator.next (<anonymous>)
    at /home/vsts/work/_tasks/CopyFiles_5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c/2.256.0/retrylogichelper.js:8:71
    at new Promise (<anonymous>) {
  errno: -20,
  code: 'ENOTDIR',
  syscall: 'scandir',
  path: '/opt/hostedtoolcache/Python/3.10.17/x64/bin/python'
}

I changed the copy to use bash:

    - script: |
        cp -a \
          '$(Agent.BuildDirectory)/EnhancementPaperAPI/EnhancementPaperAPI' \
          '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Merged'
        cp -af \
          '$(Agent.BuildDirectory)/InvestmentPaperAPI/InvestmentPaperAPI' \
          '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Merged'
        ls -la '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Merged'
      displayName: 'CopyFiles'

which allowed the build to pass - but now the function app is failing because it cnanot find the app module.

WHat's causing the build failure and how do I fix it?

Siva Pavuluri 490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-23T09:55:13.2266667+00:00

Hi Lauren Lewis,
If this answers your query, do click Upvote for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you.
Siva Pavuluri 490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-26T05:02:11.9166667+00:00

Hi Lauren Lewis,

I just wanted to check if you got a chance to review my information and please let me know if you have any further queries. If the information is helpful, please "Upvote it."

Thank you.

2 answers

Your answer

Siva Pavuluri 490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-23T09:55:13.2266667+00:00

Hi Lauren Lewis,
If this answers your query, do click Upvote for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you.
Siva Pavuluri 490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-26T05:02:11.9166667+00:00

Hi Lauren Lewis,

I just wanted to check if you got a chance to review my information and please let me know if you have any further queries. If the information is helpful, please "Upvote it."

Thank you.

Answer 1

Rolandas Rimkus 5

Until this is resolved our workaround is to be specific with the version of the task that we consume. See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/process/tasks?view=azure-devops&tabs=yaml#task-versions

So until this is resolved all the tasks that fail we will be updating to use:

task: CopyFiles@2.246.0

instead of

task: CopyFiles@2

as that seems to be what our last successful builds were using since we spotted this.

With this solution it will also be much easier to test new releases without rewriting the yaml files later. This sadly doesn't work as well for Classic pipelines as through the UI you can only select 1.* or 2.* versions. For those more significant hacks through rest api would need to be used to force a specific task revision to be used.

Hope this helps

Rolandas Rimkus 5

Here is an example of how to use the rest api to modify a classic build pipeline to use a specific revision:

$Headers = az account get-access-token | ConvertFrom-Json | foreach { @{ Authorization = "$($_.tokenType) $($_.accessToken)" } }
$Url = "https://dev.azure.com/{org}/{project}/_apis/build/definitions/{id}?api-version=7.1"

$Def = Invoke-RestMethod $Url -Headers $Headers
$Def.process.phases.steps.task | where { $_.id -eq "5bfb729a-a7c8-4a78-a7c3-8d717bb7c13c" } | foreach { $_.versionSpec = "2.246.0" }
Invoke-RestMethod $Url -Headers $Headers -Method Put -Body ($Def | ConvertTo-Json -Compress -Depth 100) -ContentType "application/json"

The release pipeline one would look really similar just need to check the json layout through the history tab. Also any modification through the UI might reset this as the 2.* will be will be set again.

Answer 2

Siva Pavuluri 490 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Lauren Lewis,

The error you're encountering with the CopyFiles@2 task in your Azure DevOps pipeline is caused by the task mistakenly treating a file as a directory. Specifically, it attempts to scan the following path:

##[debug]Processed: ##vso[task.issue type=error;source=TaskInternal;correlationId=0804e5ac-93db-43e7-8b5c-f309ca024648;]Error: Failed cp: Error: ENOTDIR: not a directory, scandir '/opt/hostedtoolcache/Python/3.10.17/x64/bin/python'

This path points to the Python binary, which is a file (or possibly a symlink), not a directory. The CopyFiles@2 task, when performing a recursive copy, is incorrectly including this path and attempting to scan it as if it were a directory. This results in the ENOTDIR (Error: Not a Directory) exception during execution.
Update your YAML to exclude problematic paths

task: CopyFiles@2

inputs:

SourceFolder: '$(Agent.BuildDirectory)/InvestmentPaperAPI/InvestmentPaperAPI'

Contents: '**/*'

TargetFolder: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Merged'

OverWrite: true

If needed, explicitly exclude the Python path:

task: CopyFiles@2

inputs:

SourceFolder: '$(Agent.BuildDirectory)/InvestmentPaperAPI/InvestmentPaperAPI'

Contents: |

*/

!**/python

TargetFolder: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Merged'

OverWrite: true

Please refer the below document:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/tasks/reference/copy-files-v2?view=azure-pipelines&tabs=yaml

If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you.

JH 5 Reputation points

2025-05-26T14:29:25.59+00:00

I have exactly the same issue - a symlink is being treated as a directory which makes the CopyFiles@2 step fail (which worked reliably before!).

If needed, explicitly exclude the Python path:

This "workaround" can be used to prove that this is a degradation on MS side. Do you think that MS can get this fixed (soon)?
Siva Pavuluri 490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-27T03:44:26.6666667+00:00

Hi JH,
Yes, you're absolutely right: this is a regression in the hosted build agent environment, likely due to a change in how symbolic links (specifically Python binaries or folders) are handled. Microsoft side trying to fix this issueazure-pipelines-tasks. once resolved we will update.

Lauren Lewis 0

Changing it to Contents: '/*'** did not work and failed for the same reason. My work around was to replace the task with a bash script.

    # Merge content from both repos
    - script: |
        cp -a \
          '$(Agent.BuildDirectory)/X/X/.' \
          '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Merged/'
        cp -a \
          '$(Agent.BuildDirectory)/X/X/.' \
          '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Merged/'
      displayName: 'Copy Files to Merged Directory'

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Azure devops pipeline CopyFiles@2 stopped working and python function app cannot find module

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