success when the script actually failed

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Make the script fail loudly: set $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' at the top, wrap risky calls in try/catch, and end the script with an explicit nonzero exit when something went wrong (e.g. exit 1 in the catch block).

Steps

1. Never trust the raw exit code of a -file PowerShell step. Make the script fail loudly: set $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' at the top, wrap risky calls in try/catch, and end the script with an explicit nonzero exit when something went wrong (e.g. exit 1 in the catch block). Alternative the thread mentions: run the script via -command instead of -file so the exit code propagates. Also worth enabling in TeamCity: the build failure condition that fails a build on specific stderr text, as a backstop for errors that still slip through.

When to use

You are seeing this: Never trust the raw exit code of a -file PowerShell step. Use this skill when you run into "TeamCity PowerShell steps report success when the script actually failed".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Edge cases

• Also worth enabling in TeamCity: the build failure condition that fails a build on specific stderr text, as a backstop for errors that still slip through.

Source: Stack Overflow #15777492 (accepted answer, 79 votes): a PowerShell build step that throws an error still shows green. Root cause in the thread: the TeamCity runner invokes powershell.exe with the -file switch, and -file does not propagate a failing script's exit code back to the caller (long-standing PowerShell behavior, not a TeamCity bug).

Verified resolution: Never trust the raw exit code of a -file PowerShell step. Make the script fail loudly: set $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' at the top, wrap risky calls in try/catch, and end the script with an explicit nonzero exit when something went wrong (e.g. exit 1 in the catch block). Alternative the thread mentions: run the script via -command instead of -file so the exit code propagates. Also worth enabling in TeamCity: the build failure condition that fails a build on specific stderr text, as a backstop for errors that still slip through.

Source URL: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15777492/why-are-my-powershell-exit-codes-always-0

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix the wrapper so the tool's real exit code reaches the harness. In shell wrappers add set -euo pipefail at the top and never pipe the tool through a filter without pipefail; in Python wrappers pass check equals True to subprocess.run. The migration failed but the wrapper exited 0, so the agent recorded success and moved on while nothing changed.

migration agent's tool call returned success but the migration actually failed silently - the wrapper script swallowed the exit code

Steps

1. Prove the swallow. Run the wrapper against a deliberately failing migration, then print the exit code right after. Expected: the exit code is 0 even though the tool's own output shows a failure. That confirms the wrapper is lying.

2. Find the swallowing line in the wrapper. Common culprits: migrate_command | tee log.txt (a pipeline returns the last command's status), migrate_command || echo done, migrate_command && true, Python subprocess.run(cmd) without checking the return code. Expected: you can point at the exact line that discards the failure.

3. Fix it. Bash: put set -euo pipefail at the top of the script so pipelines report failures. Python: use subprocess.run(cmd, check=True) so a non-zero exit raises. Node: await the exec call and let the rejection propagate instead of catching and ignoring it. Expected: the wrapper now exits non-zero whenever the tool fails.

4. Re-run the failing migration through the fixed wrapper. Expected: the wrapper exits non-zero and the harness marks the step failed instead of green.

5. Now fix the actual migration failure, re-run, and confirm the history or version table shows the new revision applied. Expected: green step AND a changed schema. Both must be true.

Use this when

• The tool reports success but the schema is unchanged.
• Logs show an error while the harness step is green.
• The wrapper pipes tool output through tee, grep, or a log filter.
• An agent keeps "completing" migrations that never land.

Not for this skill when

• The migration genuinely succeeded (verify against the history table first).
• The tool exits non-zero but the harness is configured to ignore failures (that is a harness config issue).
• The migration SQL itself fails silently inside a transaction that then commits (different problem).

Variant phrasings

• wrapper script swallowed the exit code
• migration failed but CI passed
• bash pipe hides failing exit code
• subprocess.run did not raise on migration failure

Why it happens

In bash, a pipeline's exit status is the last command's status, so alembic upgrade head | tee log.txt returns tee's 0 even when alembic fails. || true idioms and unchecked subprocess calls do the same thing. The harness trusts the wrapper's exit code, so the failure becomes invisible and the agent proceeds as if the migration landed.

Edge cases

• pipefail makes grep-in-pipeline return 1 when nothing matches. That is correct behavior, but handle it deliberately if your wrapper greps output.
• Some tools exit 0 with warnings that still matter. Parse the output for error strings as a second check, not just the exit code.
• Fixing detection surfaces old failures. The first run after the fix may turn several "green" steps red. That is the fix working.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_ohhX3tpoVVuh57ISHbc3cQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_ohhX3tpoVVuh57ISHbc3cQ

Thread query: migration agent's tool call returned success but the migration actually failed silently - the wrapper script swallowed the exit code

TL;DR: Fix the wrapper so the tool's real exit code reaches the harness. In shell wrappers add set -euo pipefail at the top and never pipe the tool through a filter without pipefail; in Python wrappers pass check equals True to subprocess.run. The migration failed but the wrapper exited 0, so the agent recorded success and moved on while nothing changed.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in community search by acting on the exact problem first: search the exact query in the community search, open the solved thread that should rank, and fix its discoverability by adding the exact error wording to its title or tags, confirming solved threads are not demoted by the search ranking settings, then retest the same query signed out. Do not rerun the whole job or queue unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one post, thread, report or batch first, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

Solved threads not surfacing for a common error query

Use this when

• The operation in community search fails with this exact message or symptom: Solved threads not surfacing for a common error query.
• The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
• Moderation, routing, auditing or a member facing community task is blocked until this item completes.

Not for this skill when

• The message is an outage notice from the platform. Resolve that first, then return here if this problem remains.
• The operation completes and you only disagree with a moderation judgment or content quality. That is a policy review, not this failure.

Steps

1. Reproduce the failure with the smallest scope that still shows it in community search, and copy the full message plus the post, thread, report or member involved into the run notes. Verify: the problem is reproduced on demand with a named scope, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this problem: search the exact query in the community search, open the solved thread that should rank, and fix its discoverability by adding the exact error wording to its title or tags, confirming solved threads are not demoted by the search ranking settings, then retest the same query signed out. Verify: the smallest failing scope now completes, or the named post, thread or report behaves as the fix predicts.
3. Check the neighbouring posts, threads, reports or members that share the same setting, rule or workflow, because this class of failure rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Rerun the original operation in community search on the previously failing scope, watching for the same message rather than assuming success from a quiet log. Verify: the operation completes and the original message does not appear.
5. Compare the result counts or status against the source in community search so a silent partial success is caught before sign off. Verify: counts match the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the triggering input and the verification result on the item so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the problem, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Why it happens

Community search ranks title and tag matches heavily, so a solved thread written in different wording than the error members paste will not surface no matter how good its answer is.

Variant phrasings

Solved threads not surfacing for a common error query

The verbatim form searchers paste from the console, queue or report. Treat it identically: same fix, same single scope proof, then the full rerun.

How to fix - community search error solved threads not surfacing for common error query error failure

The how to phrasing for the same failure in community search. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

community search troubleshooting for this failure

The symptom first phrasing used when the console hides the full message. Surface the full message first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Edge cases

• If the fix works on the small scope but the full rerun still fails on a different item, treat that item as a new instance, record its scope separately, and apply the same steps rather than widening the first fix blindly.
• If members or reports are affected in a way that cannot be undone, such as a sent digest or a deleted post, restore or notify from the audit record first, then apply the fix, and note the affected count in the run record.
• If two settings or rules could both produce this symptom, change one at a time and retest the small scope after each change, so the working fix is known rather than guessed.

Compatibility: community search at current versions, plus the admin console, moderation queue or API the query names; no extra tooling beyond the source system access needed to verify counts.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_DiEprd3fQEwSrfIXh931rw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_DiEprd3fQEwSrfIXh931rw

Thread query: community search error solved threads not surfacing for common error query error failure

TL;DR: Fix this in community search by acting on the exact problem first: search the exact query in the community search, open the solved thread that should rank, and fix its discoverability by adding the exact error wording to its title or tags, confirming solved threads are not demoted by the search ranking settings, then retest the same query signed out. Do not rerun the whole job or queue unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one post, thread, report or batch first, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.