Common Issues in TeamCity
TeamCity-related problems often arise due to misconfigured build steps, network connectivity issues, incorrect agent configurations, or artifact storage limitations. Identifying and resolving these challenges improves pipeline stability and deployment success rates.
Common Symptoms
- Builds failing with unclear error messages.
- Slow build execution and high resource usage.
- Disconnected or unregistered build agents.
- Artifacts not being published successfully.
- Permission and authentication failures.
Root Causes and Architectural Implications
1. Build Failures
Misconfigured build steps, missing dependencies, or incorrect environment variables can cause builds to fail.
# Check build logs for errors cat /opt/teamcity/logs/teamcity-server.log
2. Slow Build Execution
Inefficient test execution, high resource consumption, or unnecessary dependencies can slow down builds.
# Monitor resource usage on the TeamCity server top
3. Agent Connectivity Issues
Network restrictions, firewall rules, or incorrect authentication settings can prevent build agents from connecting.
# Check agent connection status systemctl status teamcity-agent
4. Artifact Publishing Failures
Insufficient storage, incorrect artifact paths, or misconfigured build steps can prevent artifact uploads.
# Verify artifact directory permissions ls -lh /opt/teamcity/artifacts
5. Permission and Authentication Errors
Incorrect role-based access control (RBAC) settings, expired API tokens, or misconfigured authentication providers can lead to permission failures.
# Check user roles and permissions curl -u admin:password -X GET http://teamcity-server/httpAuth/app/rest/users
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide
Step 1: Fix Build Failures
Review build logs, validate environment variables, and ensure dependencies are installed correctly.
# Rerun the last failed build curl -u admin:password -X POST http://teamcity-server/httpAuth/app/rest/buildQueue
Step 2: Optimize Build Performance
Cache dependencies, parallelize tests, and allocate more resources to the TeamCity server.
# Enable build caching export CACHE_DIR=/opt/teamcity/cache
Step 3: Resolve Agent Connectivity Issues
Ensure agents have stable network access, correct authentication tokens, and firewall rules allow connections.
# Restart the TeamCity agent systemctl restart teamcity-agent
Step 4: Fix Artifact Publishing Problems
Check storage configurations, verify artifact paths, and clean up disk space if necessary.
# Clear old artifacts rm -rf /opt/teamcity/artifacts/old
Step 5: Resolve Permission and Authentication Issues
Check user roles, reset API tokens, and ensure correct authentication provider settings.
# Generate a new API token for authentication curl -u admin:password -X POST http://teamcity-server/httpAuth/app/rest/users/admin/tokens
Conclusion
Optimizing TeamCity requires structured pipeline configurations, stable agent connectivity, efficient build performance, artifact management, and proper authentication settings. By following these best practices, teams can ensure a seamless CI/CD workflow.
FAQs
1. Why are my TeamCity builds failing?
Check build logs, validate environment variables, and ensure all dependencies are correctly installed.
2. How do I fix slow build execution in TeamCity?
Optimize build steps, enable caching, parallelize tests, and allocate more system resources.
3. Why are my TeamCity agents not connecting?
Ensure network stability, verify authentication tokens, and check firewall settings for blocked connections.
4. How do I resolve artifact publishing failures?
Check artifact paths, ensure enough storage, and verify directory permissions for uploads.
5. How can I fix authentication and permission issues in TeamCity?
Review user roles, regenerate API tokens, and update authentication settings as needed.