Restarting failed build or release pipeline jobs and stages

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Restarting Failed Build or Release Pipeline Jobs and Stages

    This guide details the process of rerunning failed or canceled build and release pipelines in Azure DevOps integrated with ServiceNow. Reruns are treated as part of the same pipeline execution and are displayed as continuous runs in the DevOps pipeline UI, rather than initiating new executions.

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    Key Features

    • Rerun Options: Users can rerun entire pipelines or specific failed jobs and stages.
    • Change Request Reuse: Instead of creating new change requests for each rerun, you can reuse an existing change request if it is in an appropriate state (implement or post-implement).
    • Attempt Number Tracking: An attemptNumber parameter must be included in the payload for tracking reruns, with defaults set to 1 if omitted.
    • Updated Test and Scan Results: Each rerun updates the associated test summaries, software quality scan results, and retains the original commits and work items.
    • Custom Subflow Implementation: Users can create custom logic for change request reusability using the provided subflows.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing these rerun options, users can streamline their DevOps processes, enhance traceability, and minimize the administrative burden of managing change requests. The enhanced UI allows users to view all attempts and associated information easily, ensuring clarity and efficiency during the development cycle.

    Rerun or redeploy Azure DevOps build, release changes, or pipelines that are failed or canceled in that stage or pipeline. The reattempts display on the DevOps pipeline UI as continuous runs instead of creating new executions.

    Rerun Azure DevOps pipelines or stages

    You can rerun a failed or canceled build or release pipelines or change jobs in Azure DevOps. The reruns are processed as part of the same pipeline execution as the first run in ServiceNow DevOps. You can rerun entire pipelines or specific failed or canceled jobs and stages. You can now choose to reuse a change request instead of creating a new change request each time you restart a stage or a pipeline.

    An attemptNumber parameter is added to the payload which helps us track reruns. Associated test summary, software quality scan results, commits, work items corresponding to every rerun attempt is also updated in ServiceNow DevOps.

    If you are using the Configuring change control using the Azure Invoke REST API you must add the attempt number parameter to your payload body in the specified syntax format for build and release pipelines. If you do not specify the attempt number parameter, the default attempt number is set to 1.

    Example attempt number parameter in build pipeline payload:
    "attemptNumber": "$(system.jobAttempt)"​
    Example attempt number parameter in the release pipeline payload:
    "attemptNumber": "$(Release.AttemptNumber)"
    Note:
    Do not use the existing started and completed notifications for the stage jobs. If your jobs consider the started and completed notifications the rerun functionality does not work.

    Reusing Change Requests

    If a change enabled job is rerun, and a change request exists for the previous run/attempt, you can choose to reuse the previous change request or create a new change request, using the base system ‘DevOps Change Request Reusability Decision Subflow’. The default implementation of this subflow, allows you to reuse a change request from the previous attempt if the change request is in implement, or post-implement states. If the Change request is in any other state, by default, a new change request is created when you rerun the job. Per existing behavior, all associated details such as test summaries, and scans, are newly generated while commits and work items are retained unchanged for new change requests.

    For example, when a pipeline fails at a specific stage after the change request is approved, and you rerun that stage. The change request is reused, the associated test summary and software quality scans, and the commits and work items associated to the artifact are associated with the same change request which you approved.

    To apply a custom logic for reusability, you can copy the existing subflow, make the changes, publish it, and update the new subflow name under DevOps Properties > DevOps Change Request Reusability Decision Subflow.

    In the regular base system flow when a change is created, ‘ Customizing DevOps flows’ is used to update the  State  field of step execution record after a decision is taken on the change request. However, when you reuse a change, the first trigger condition of a change request being created is not met. A base system subflow ‘DevOps Change Request Reusability Model Subflow’ is triggered instead, whenever a change request is reused when a job is a rerun. The default implementation of this subflow is similar to the DevOps Model Change Request flow. You can create a custom subflow and update the subflow name at DevOps Properties > DevOps Change Request Reusability Model Subflow.

    Pipeline UI changes

    ServiceNow DevOps synchronizes all the changes that are caused when you restart or rerun a stage or a job, and displays them in the DevOps pipeline UI.
    • Click a card to view the latest attempt of that stage.
    • Click the View all attempts link to see all the step executions and related information associated to the step or stage that is run more than once.
    • The View change link displays the change request associated with the latest attempt.
    In previous releases, failed jobs were either ignored or a new pipeline execution job was created for reruns and processed accordingly. For more information, see DevOps Pipeline UI.