Why would a post-build step (xcopy) occasionally exit with code 2 in a TeamCity build?

Question

A few projects in my client's solution have a post-build event: xcopy the build output to a specific folder. This works fine when building locally. However, in TeamCity, I occasionally get

xcopy [...] exited with code 2

If I use regular copy, it exits with code 1. I expect this has something to do with file locks, although the specific files being copied are not the same, so perhaps just locking on the shared destination directory. I use /y to not prompt on overwriting files.

Why this fails in TeamCity but not locally?

Warrick

I had similar issues but where related to simultaneously copying the same file in parallel. Could you double check that no file is copied twice? – Huonghupeh

Exit code 2 means The user pressed CTRL+C to terminate xcopy. Hehe. – Synergetic

@SoMoS Yes, the files being copied are definitely distinct. – Warrick

@HansPassant I don't know why teamcity would want to press CTRL+C on me! :( – Warrick

Yah, me neither. The other common convention is that the exit code equals the last Windows error or exception. Error 2 means "file not found". Which does of course make a lot more sense. – Synergetic

What is your TeamCity server/agent configuration? Are you checking out on the server or the agent? What user account is your agent running as? – Wylma

I hope there are still people watching this question: I'm also having exit code 2, but in a completely different context. From the comments below, I'd say that "exit code 2" means "waiting for user input" (which obviously is not possible during pre- or post-build events), is my analysis right or is there another general explanation for "exit code 2"? – Malenamalet

Answer 1

Even if you provide the /Y switch with xcopy, you'll still get an error when xcopy doesn't know if the thing you are copying is a file or a directory. This error will appear as "exited with code 2". When you run the same xcopy at a command prompt, you'll see that xcopy is asking for a response of file or directory.

To resolve this issue with an automated build, you can echo in a pre-defined response with a pipe.

To say the thing you are copying is a file, echo in F:

echo F|xcopy /y ...

To say the thing you are copying is a directory, echo in D:

echo D|xcopy /y ...

Sometimes the above can be resolved by simply using a copy command instead of xcopy:

copy /y ...

However, if there are non-existent directories leading up to the final file destination, then an "exited with code 1" will occur.

Remember: use the /C switch and xcopy with caution.

Juvenal

Thanks @Metro Smurf. I can't test whether this would have resolved my problem, but what you say sounds clever so I've marked it as the answer. Cheers! – Warrick

I was running into the exact same problem and ultimately ended up with piping in the response. Hopefully this will help someone else in the long run. – Juvenal

"This does not work under localised versions of Windows, where the prompt words might be different. An alternative trick is to add an asterisk '' to the end of the destination, then xcopy won't prompt for File/Directory. – Govert Jan 28 at 19:40" So, you can do the copy like this without echo D(which isn't reliable): XCOPY $(ProjectDir)..\scripts* $(TargetDir)scripts* /Y /R . Or do the copy like this without echo F: XCOPY D:\file.zip c:\renamedFile.zip /Y /R – Matrass

@Matrass - will the * work with directories as well? Or is this just for files? – Juvenal

@MetroSmurf Hm, seems the formatting of my example failed, there's missing backslashes (must have thought I was trying to escape a symbol) and missing asterisk. But yes, it does work with directories and files. Here's the link to Govert's answer: https://mcmap.net/q/77330/-vs-2012-post-build-xcopy-error-2 – Matrass

Windows 10 Pro with Visual Studio 2017 professional @MetroSmurf suggestion worked i.e. to use the copy command instead. – Driscoll

You don't need to provide echo output if you certainly know what you are copying. You can use the /I or /-I switch. For example, to copy a folder structure and do not cause the prompt you would run the following command: xcopy "Source Folder" "Target Folder" /s /y /i – Rhapsody

Answer 2

I fixed the error code 2 by adding a \ at the end of my path, without it, xcopy will think that it is a file instead of a folder.

Etty

That's it. Worked just fine on Windows 7, Visual Studio 2013. Thanks a lot! – Porcelain

This worked. I have to say I prefer it to the accepted answer. It's a little more clear and not relying on pushing command prompts. – Entelechy

Answer 3

If you are using xcopy in a post build event use the /Y switch in addition to the /C.

/C           Continues copying even if errors occur.
/Y           Suppresses prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an existing file.

Climb

So simple! /Y suppresses the prompt! Why was this so hard to find? – Heroine

/Y does suppress the overwrite prompt, but that is not the only reason for a code 2. RTFM won't tell you what does cause them. – Inclinable

Answer 4

My fix for this issue was to go into the target bin folder, and ensure that the proper subfolder exists there. Once that subfolder was manually created, the build process completed successfully.

Rokach

Answer 5

Probably you using TeamCity with git. If yes, check that folders you want to copy are exists in git repository. Usually git aviod adding empty project folders to repository, so xcopy fails to find it and generates a error.

You can add some empty text file to empty folder, commit and see folder appears in repository.

Buzzer

Answer 6

copy fixed it for me. xcopy with /c /y did not work. I was getting an exit 4 so I went with xcopy, but turned out I needed quotes around ($TargetPath).

My script:

if $(ConfigurationName) == Debug copy "$(TargetPath)" "$(SolutionDir)\Folder\bin\Debug\$(TargetFileName)"

Pocketbook