[BUG]: DownloadBuildArtifacts - Failed in Download container

[bernhardgili]

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Task name

DownloadBuildArtifacts

Task version

0.269.1

Issue Description

In classic Release pipelines, the tasks for downloading a build artifact (on a build agent) fails with the following error:

2026-02-25T14:06:19.7014035Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending : 1
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7183366Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7184217Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7187177Z Prefer downloading files through redirect to the content stitcher: true
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7207881Z ##[warning]Failed in Download container - drop with error: TypeError: crypto.createDecipher is not a function
at WebClientFactory._readTaskLibSecrets (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:54:35)
at WebClientFactory.initializeProxy (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:21:41)
at WebClientFactory.getClient (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:11:14)
at new WebProvider (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webProvider.js:16:62)
at DownloadHandlerContainer.getSourceProvider (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandlerContainer.js:50:20)
at DownloadHandlerContainer. (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:32:41)
at Generator.next ()
at C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:8:71
at new Promise ()
at __awaiter (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:4:12)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7213062Z Could not download the files by following a redirect: TypeError: crypto.createDecipher is not a function
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7213272Z at WebClientFactory._readTaskLibSecrets (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:54:35)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7213519Z at WebClientFactory.initializeProxy (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:21:41)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7214638Z at WebClientFactory.getClient (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:11:14)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7214942Z at new WebProvider (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webProvider.js:16:62)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7215544Z at DownloadHandlerContainer.getSourceProvider (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandlerContainer.js:50:20)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7215785Z at DownloadHandlerContainer. (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:32:41)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7215935Z at Generator.next ()
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7216076Z at C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:8:71
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7216222Z at new Promise ()
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7216385Z at __awaiter (C:\Agents\agent2_work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:4:12). Falling back to consuming streamed content from Azure DevOps.
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7370276Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7370465Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7370610Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending : 4
2026-02-25T14:07:49.7254606Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:07:49.7255064Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:07:49.7258863Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending : 3
2026-02-25T14:10:04.7471682Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:10:04.7472681Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:10:04.7476146Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending : 2
2026-02-25T14:16:04.7707365Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:16:04.7709958Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:16:04.7772478Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending : 1
2026-02-25T14:22:04.7978455Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop

This happens since 26.02.2026 about 15:00. At that point, in the agents directory .._work_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb the directory 0.269.1 was downloaded. A workaround is to edit the task.json in that folder and remove the entry for node24.

DevOps is the cloud based version, agent (version 4.269.0) is self hosted on Win 11 Pro (VS 2026 Pro installed on agent as well as dotnet sdk 8.0 and 10.0, nodejs not installed separately but only via VS Installer).

Environment type (Please select at least one enviroment where you face this issue)

• Self-Hosted
• Microsoft Hosted
• VMSS Pool
• Container

Azure DevOps Server type

dev.azure.com (formerly visualstudio.com)

Azure DevOps Server Version (if applicable)

No response

Operation system

Windows 11 Professional

Relevant log output

2026-02-25T14:06:19.7014035Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending  : 1
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7183366Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7184217Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7187177Z Prefer downloading files through redirect to the content stitcher: true
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7207881Z ##[warning]Failed in Download container - drop with error: TypeError: crypto.createDecipher is not a function
    at WebClientFactory._readTaskLibSecrets (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:54:35)
    at WebClientFactory.initializeProxy (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:21:41)
    at WebClientFactory.getClient (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:11:14)
    at new WebProvider (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webProvider.js:16:62)
    at DownloadHandlerContainer.getSourceProvider (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandlerContainer.js:50:20)
    at DownloadHandlerContainer.<anonymous> (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:32:41)
    at Generator.next (<anonymous>)
    at C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:8:71
    at new Promise (<anonymous>)
    at __awaiter (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:4:12)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7213062Z Could not download the files by following a redirect: TypeError: crypto.createDecipher is not a function
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7213272Z     at WebClientFactory._readTaskLibSecrets (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:54:35)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7213519Z     at WebClientFactory.initializeProxy (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:21:41)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7214638Z     at WebClientFactory.getClient (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webClientFactory.js:11:14)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7214942Z     at new WebProvider (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\node_modules\artifact-engine\Providers\webProvider.js:16:62)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7215544Z     at DownloadHandlerContainer.getSourceProvider (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandlerContainer.js:50:20)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7215785Z     at DownloadHandlerContainer.<anonymous> (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:32:41)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7215935Z     at Generator.next (<anonymous>)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7216076Z     at C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:8:71
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7216222Z     at new Promise (<anonymous>)
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7216385Z     at __awaiter (C:\Agents\agent2\_work\_tasks\DownloadBuildArtifacts_a433f589-fce1-4460-9ee6-44a624aeb1fb\0.269.1\DownloadHandlers\DownloadHandler.js:4:12). Falling back to consuming streamed content from Azure DevOps.
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7370276Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7370465Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:07:04.7370610Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending  : 4
2026-02-25T14:07:49.7254606Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:07:49.7255064Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:07:49.7258863Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending  : 3
2026-02-25T14:10:04.7471682Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:10:04.7472681Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:10:04.7476146Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending  : 2
2026-02-25T14:16:04.7707365Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop
2026-02-25T14:16:04.7709958Z Downloading artifact drop from: https://dev.azure.com/XXXXXX//_apis/resources/Containers/51630934?itemPath=drop&isShallow=true&api-version=4.1-preview.4
2026-02-25T14:16:04.7772478Z Error: in Download container - drop, so retrying => retries pending  : 1
2026-02-25T14:22:04.7978455Z Downloading items from container resource #/51630934/drop

Full task logs with system.debug enabled

Details

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Repro steps

[v-schhabra]

Hi @bernhardgili
Thanks for reporting the issue.
We are working on the fixes.

[v-schhabra]

As a workaround we did task override to previously working version, please let us know if still you are facing the issue.

[bernhardgili]

We don't use the standalone task for DownloadBuildArtifacts but the one that is implicitly called from the Agent job. There is no option to set the version for this one (at least none i have found). We did the workaround by editing the specifications of the task definition (removed node24-section in tasks.json) as it wouldn't be feasible to somehow adapt each release pipeline (we have a lot of them). If we undo these changes (or simply let the agent download version 0.269.1 of the task again) it doesn't work as the task.json then contains node24 again and the execution of the task gives us the missing function error for crypto.createDecipher.

[v-schhabra]

With the override in place, agents will pick up v0.247.1 automatically. You should be able to revert your local task.json edits — the override ensures v0.269.1 won't be used. If you've already reverted and are still seeing the createDecipher error, please let us know.