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3.3.3.4. Analyzing Failed Deployments (CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CloudFormation, CloudWatch synthetic monitoring)
3.3.3.4. Analyzing Failed Deployments (CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy)
Deployment failures are the most common operational incidents. Each AWS deployment tool has specific failure patterns and diagnostic paths.
CodePipeline failures:
- Check the pipeline execution history for the failed stage
- Click the failed action for details (error message, execution ID)
- Common causes: source provider unavailable, IAM permission denied, downstream action timeout
CodeBuild failures:
# Get build logs for a failed build
aws codebuild batch-get-builds --ids "project:build-id"
# Check: phase that failed, error message, exit code
| Build Phase | Common Failure | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| INSTALL | Package not found | Check runtime-versions, verify package names |
| PRE_BUILD | Auth failure | Check IAM role permissions, secret access |
| BUILD | Compilation error | Check source code, dependency versions |
| POST_BUILD | Test failures | Review test output, check test environment |
| UPLOAD_ARTIFACTS | S3 permission denied | Check CodeBuild role has S3 write access |
CodeDeploy failures:
- Check deployment event log: which lifecycle hook failed?
- SSH into the instance and check hook script output:
/opt/codedeploy-agent/deployment-root/<group>/<deployment>/logs/scripts.log - Agent communication log:
/var/log/aws/codedeploy-agent/codedeploy-agent.log
Exam Trap: When CodePipeline fails at a CodeDeploy stage, the error often appears as a generic "deployment failed" message in the pipeline. You must drill into the CodeDeploy console (not just CodePipeline) to see which instances failed and which lifecycle hook caused the failure. The pipeline-level error message doesn't contain enough detail for diagnosis.
Written byAlvin Varughese•Founder•15 professional certifications