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Product or Service: Umbraco Cloud Version: Affected on Examine versions prior to v3.9

Tags: Examine, search index, Kudu, Azure, UnauthorizedAccessException, index corruption Issue: You may see one or more of the following on an Umbraco Cloud environment:

A <code>System.UnauthorizedAccessException</code> referencing a path like <code>C:\local\Temp\ExamineIndexes\[ID]\ExternalIndex\[file].cfs</code>, with a message such as "Access to the path ... is denied."

Examine indexes appear missing, or search/back office UI stops working and requires a manual rebuild.

The site goes down entirely after an Azure maintenance window, with an error like: <code>The process cannot access the file '...ExamineIndexes\[ID]\ExternalIndex\[file].fdt' because it is being used by another process.</code>

- A <code>System.UnauthorizedAccessException</code> referencing a path like <code>C:\local\Temp\ExamineIndexes\[ID]\ExternalIndex\[file].cfs</code>, with a message such as "Access to the path ... is denied."
- Examine indexes appear missing, or search/back office UI stops working and requires a manual rebuild.
- The site goes down entirely after an Azure maintenance window, with an error like: <code>The process cannot access the file '...ExamineIndexes\[ID]\ExternalIndex\[file].fdt' because it is being used by another process.</code>

Cause: This is a known Examine issue (<a href="https://github.com/Shazwazza/examine/issues/434" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shazwazza/Examine#434</a>). Azure's background maintenance processes can temporarily lock the Lucene/Examine index files stored in the local temp folder. Depending on timing, this shows up as an access-denied error, a corrupted/missing index, or — in the worst case — a full site crash.

Option 1 — Quick workaround (clears the current error):

Open Kudu → Debug Console → CMD.

Navigate to <code>C:\home\site\wwwroot\umbraco\Data</code>.

Delete the TEMP folder. This does not delete your content.

1. Open Kudu → Debug Console → CMD.
2. Navigate to <code>C:\home\site\wwwroot\umbraco\Data</code>.
3. Delete the TEMP folder. This does not delete your content.
4. Restart the environment.

Indexes rebuild automatically on startup. Search may be briefly unavailable while this happens; content and data are not affected.

Option 2 — Permanent fix (recommended):

Update the Examine NuGet package to v3.9 or later, which resolves the underlying file-locking issue.

Clone your Cloud project repository locally.

Update the package reference (via NuGet Package Manager or directly in your <code>.csproj</code>):

1. Clone your Cloud project repository locally.
2. Update the package reference (via NuGet Package Manager or directly in your <code>.csproj</code>):

   &lt;PackageReference Include="Examine" Version="3.9" /&gt;

Build locally to confirm the project resolves correctly.

Commit and push — your Cloud deployment pipeline will pick this up.

1. Build locally to confirm the project resolves correctly.
2. Commit and push — your Cloud deployment pipeline will pick this up.

If your site is down right now and you can't deploy immediately, restarting the environment from the Cloud Portal will release the file lock as an immediate stopgap while you plan the package update.

Prevention: Keep the Examine package at v3.9+ across your environments to avoid recurrence, particularly after Azure maintenance windows.

Still having issues? If the TEMP folder workaround doesn't resolve the symptom, or the deploy-marker shows a separate extraction failure, reach out to support with the contents of Kudu's <code>deploy-failed</code> file (see <a href="https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cloud/optimize-and-maintain-your-site/monitor-and-troubleshoot/power-tools/manual-extractions" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Manually run Extractions on your Cloud Environments</a>) — that's a distinct issue from Examine locking and shouldn't be confused with it.

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Explains why Umbraco Cloud sites see Examine index access-denied errors, corrupted indexes, or crashes after Azure maintenance, and how to fix it with a TEMP folder rebuild or upgrading to Examine v3.9+.

Examine Index Errors on Umbraco Cloud: Access Denied, Missing, or Corrupted Indexes

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Examine Index Errors on Umbraco Cloud: Access Denied, Missing, or Corrupted Indexes

Solution:

Option 1 — Quick workaround (clears the current error):

Option 2 — Permanent fix (recommended):