Troubleshooting Atlassian BitBucket Pipelines Deployment Issues

Atlassian BitBucket Pipelines is a powerful tool for automating software deployment processes. However, users may encounter deployment issues from time to time. In this troubleshooting guide, we will summarize a real user support session where deployment errors were faced and the steps taken to troubleshoot and resolve them

Summary of Issues:
The user reported deployment errors while using Atlassian BitBucket Pipelines. Initially, an error was encountered while trying to deploy. Subsequently, another error occurred even though the SSH key was confirmed to be correctly formatted.

Steps to Troubleshoot and Resolve Issues:

1. Check SSH Key Format:

• The user first encountered an error related to the SSH key. It is essential to ensure that the SSH key used for deployment is in the correct format, which should be ed25519.

1. Create a New SSH Key:

• A recommendation was made to create a new ed25519 key using the command: ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f FILE_NAME.

1. Verify Key Format:

• It was confirmed that they were indeed using an ed25519 key.

1. Check Authorized Keys File:

• It was noticed that an SSH-RSA key was added to the authorized_keys file instead of an ed25519 key. It’s crucial to ensure that the correct key is added to the authorized_keys file.

1. Update Authorized Keys File:

• After trying to use the pipeline, the authorized_keys file got updated. Ensure that the authorized_keys file contains the correct ed25519 key.

1. Verify Username and IP:

• It was pointed out that the IP address and username should be correctly configured for the proper environment. Ensure that the IP address and username match the environment requirements.

1. Consider Using RSA Keys:

• It was mentioned that RSA keys should work fine, but ed25519 keys are preferred. If encountering issues with ed25519 keys, consider using RSA keys.

1. Review Error Messages:

• Error messages provided during deployment included “Load key “/root/.ssh/pipelines_id”: invalid format.” These messages can provide valuable insights into the problem.

1. Contact Atlassian Support:

• The user contacted Atlassian support to address the issue related to the “/root/.ssh/pipelines_id” error message, which seemed misleading.

1. Use Password Authentication as a Temporary Solution:
   • As a temporary solution, the user switched to password authentication, which worked successfully. Password authentication can be used if SSH key authentication is problematic.
2. Understand Base64 Encoding Workarounds:
   • It was noted that Atlassian had some workarounds using base64 encoding for repositories with variables that do not support line breaks. Understanding these workarounds can be useful in resolving encoding-related issues.

Conclusion:
Troubleshooting deployment issues in Atlassian BitBucket Pipelines may involve verifying SSH key formats, checking authorized_keys files, confirming IP addresses and usernames, and understanding error messages. In some cases, temporary solutions like password authentication may be necessary. Users encountering encoding issues should be aware of base64 encoding workarounds provided by Atlassian. If problems persist, contacting Atlassian support is recommended for further assistance.