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Git Patch Failures and "Already Shadowing" Errors in Umbraco Cloud CI/CD

If your CI/CD pipeline fails at the "Apply git patch to branch" step, and the standard schema-mismatch fix (a small change + redeploy, clearing cached signatures) doesn't clear it, this article explains why and how to resolve it.

Written by Joana Knobbe

Type: Troubleshooting
​Category: Umbraco Cloud > CI/CD & Deployments
​Tags: CI/CD, Azure DevOps, git patch, Already Shadowing, ImportArtifactsUnhandledException, UDA collision, ModelsBuilder, RuntimeMode, V2 scripts, deployment timeout
​

Product: Umbraco Cloud
​Version: All versions using CI/CD V2 scripts

Symptoms

  • The pipeline fails specifically at "Apply git patch to branch."

  • Making a minor schema change and redeploying, or clearing cached signatures, doesn't resolve it.

  • Deployment logs may show Already Shadowing or ImportArtifactsUnhandledException.

Cause

Two independent things can trigger this on CI/CD projects, and they're often mistaken for a regular schema mismatch:

  1. Stale deployment tracking. Umbraco Cloud's deployment tracking (Kudu's Site/Deployments folder) can lose track of which deployment actually succeeded. Your pipeline's "get latest successful deployment" step then references the wrong deployment ID, and the git patch no longer matches what's actually on the target branch.

  2. UDA alias collision. Already Shadowing / ImportArtifactsUnhandledException means two separate .uda files are both trying to claim the same unique Umbraco object (identified by its alias, e.g. adminTemplate).

Solution

Option 1: Confirm you're on the latest V2 scripts

An outdated version of the apply-patch script is a known cause of this failure. Update your CI/CD scripts to the latest V2 versions before troubleshooting further.

Option 2: Resolve the UDA collision

If the log shows Already Shadowing, locate the duplicate .uda file definitions claiming the same alias and remove or merge the duplicate so only one file owns that object.

Option 3: Re-run the pipeline (deployment timeout)

Azure enforces a deployment timeout that can occasionally cause Kudu to lose track of a successful deployment mid-pipeline. If this is what's happening, there's currently no fix beyond re-running the pipeline — this is a platform-level limitation, not something in your project configuration.

Prevention

Set ModelsBuilder mode to Nothing and RuntimeMode to Production on Cloud CI/CD projects. This prevents the UDA collisions that cause Already Shadowing errors in the first place.

Still Having Issues?

If patch failures persist after checking the above, contact Umbraco Cloud support with your deployment log attached (or ask to talk to an human agent, if you're already in a support conversation) — the log timestamp helps confirm whether a deployment-tracking timeout was involved.

Recommended documentation

Last updated on July 27, 2026

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