Azure Pipelines pipeline resource "could not be found"

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

A resources.pipelines entry references a source pipeline by source and the run could not resolve it. The source must equal the producing pipeline definition name, and a cross-project reference needs project set.

What this error means

The run fails with The pipeline resource X could not be found or a download from the pipeline resource fails because the source never resolved.

Azure DevOps

##[error]The pipeline resource 'buildPipeline' references a source pipeline
that could not be found in this project.

Common causes

The source name does not match the definition

source must be the exact name of the producing pipeline definition, not its YAML file or repo name.

A cross-project reference without project

When the source pipeline lives in another project, the resource must set project or it cannot be found.

How to fix it

Reference the source pipeline by its definition name

Set source to the producing pipeline name, and add project when it is in another project.

azure-pipelines.yml

resources:
  pipelines:
    - pipeline: upstream
      source: 'Build-Service-CI'
      project: 'Platform'
      trigger: true

Download from the resource alias

Use the pipeline alias (not source) when downloading the artifact from the resource.

azure-pipelines.yml

- download: upstream
  artifact: drop

How to prevent it

Set source to the exact source pipeline definition name.
Add project for cross-project pipeline resources.
Reference the resource by its pipeline alias when downloading.

Frequently asked questions

What causes ""pipeline resource ... could not be found""?

source must be the exact name of the producing pipeline definition, not its YAML file or repo name.

How do I fix "pipeline resource ... could not be found"?

Set source to the producing pipeline name, and add project when it is in another project.

References

GitHub Actions documentation