Azure DevOps Release Pipeline suddenly started creating 3 relases per trigger 2 of which are empty and dont even run

Question

As said in the title, after February 12th all my release pipeline that only trigger after a new tag appears in the azure container registry for a specific image. Instead of creating 1 release they now create 3, 2 of which appear empty and dont run the automatic stages (deploy to int), We haven't made any changes on our end this just started happening.

Answer 1

Hi @Velizar Danev ,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Make sure that your pipeline's trigger is correctly set up to only respond to the creation of tags. Sometimes, configurations might unintentionally include additional conditions that could lead to multiple triggers.

1. Review Tag Formats: Ensure that the tags being pushed are annotated tags rather than lightweight tags. Lightweight tags without messages may not trigger the pipeline correctly. You can create an annotated tag in your git command as follows:

      
      git tag -a <tag_name> -m "Triggering release pipeline"
      git push origin <tag_name>
   

2. Inspect Release Pipeline Details: Look into the details of the release pipeline to find out what is being queued for those empty releases. Sometimes, they could be stemming from configurations in the YAML file or the classic UI that might be triggering undesired behaviors.

Hope this helps!

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Answer 2

It sounds like the issue you're encountering with your Azure DevOps release pipeline creating multiple releases could be related to the triggers configured for your pipeline. When a new tag appears in the Azure Container Registry, it should ideally trigger a single release. However, if multiple releases are being created, it could be due to the following reasons:

1. Multiple Trigger Conditions: Check if there are multiple triggers defined that could be causing the pipeline to trigger more than once. This could happen if there are overlapping conditions or if the same tag is being recognized multiple times.
2. Empty Releases: The empty releases that are being created might be due to the pipeline not finding any artifacts to deploy. Ensure that the tags being pushed to the Azure Container Registry are correctly configured and that the artifacts are available for the release pipeline to use.
3. Deployment Triggers: Review the deployment triggers and ensure that they are set up correctly. Sometimes, triggers can cause unexpected behavior if not configured properly.
4. Recent Changes in Azure DevOps: Since you mentioned that this started happening after February 12th, it's possible that there were updates or changes in Azure DevOps that could have affected how triggers work. Check the release notes or any announcements from Azure DevOps around that date for any relevant changes.

To troubleshoot, you may want to:

• Review the trigger settings in your release pipeline.
• Check the logs for the releases to see why they are being created.
• Consider reaching out to Azure DevOps support if the issue persists, as they may have more insights into any recent changes that could be affecting your pipelines.

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References:

• Classic release triggers
• FAQ