Azure deployment is unable to fetch bitbucket branch

Question

Azure deployment is unable to fetch bitbucket branch

GatewayDev-Rex 0

I have been unable to fetch branch from any bitbucket repo. I was able to switch branches without problems before but I have this problem now. I have been unable to come up with a solution for this problem.

Screenshot 2026-05-05 at 11.31.58 AM

Aditya N 2,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-05T05:42:29.43+00:00
Hello @GatewayDev-Rex

Thank you for reaching out Microsoft Q&A. It looks like bitbucket authorization issue.

The “Failed to fetch” branch issue in Azure App Service Deployment Center (when using Bitbucket as the source) is typically related to authentication or configuration issues with the source control connection.

Azure App Service connects to external repositories (such as Bitbucket) using an authenticated connection to retrieve repository and branch information during Deployment Center configuration.

If this connection becomes invalid (for example, due to expired authorization or incorrect configuration), the service may be unable to retrieve branch details, resulting in the“Failed to fetch” message.

Recommended Resolution:

Disconnect the current source control configuration

Go to App Service > Deployment Center > Settings

Select Disconnect to remove the existing connection

Reconfigure the Bitbucket integration

Select Bitbucket as the source again

Complete the authentication flow and ensure proper access permissions

Re-select repository and branch

After reconfiguration, Azure should successfully retrieve the branch list.

Reference:
https://docs.azure.cn/en-us/app-service/deploy-continuous-deployment?tabs=local

Kindly let us know if the above helps or you need further assistance on this issue.

Please "upvote" if the information helped you. This will help us and others in the community as well.
GatewayDev-Rex 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T02:49:43.66+00:00

Thanks Aditya. I did all that but I'm exactly where I was when I posted this question. It happens exactly at step 2.

I was trying to switch to another branch, so I disconnected the current configuration, but when I went to do the steps you outlined I am faced with the problem I posted.

An additional context is that this web app has the runtime stack of PHP 5.6 which is not available anymore, so deleting and recreating this deployment is not an option for me.

1 answer

Your answer

Aditya N 2,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-05T05:42:29.43+00:00

Hello @GatewayDev-Rex

Thank you for reaching out Microsoft Q&A. It looks like bitbucket authorization issue.

The “Failed to fetch” branch issue in Azure App Service Deployment Center (when using Bitbucket as the source) is typically related to authentication or configuration issues with the source control connection.

Azure App Service connects to external repositories (such as Bitbucket) using an authenticated connection to retrieve repository and branch information during Deployment Center configuration.

If this connection becomes invalid (for example, due to expired authorization or incorrect configuration), the service may be unable to retrieve branch details, resulting in the“Failed to fetch” message.

Recommended Resolution:

Disconnect the current source control configuration

Go to App Service > Deployment Center > Settings

Select Disconnect to remove the existing connection

Reconfigure the Bitbucket integration

Select Bitbucket as the source again

Complete the authentication flow and ensure proper access permissions

Re-select repository and branch

After reconfiguration, Azure should successfully retrieve the branch list.

Reference:
https://docs.azure.cn/en-us/app-service/deploy-continuous-deployment?tabs=local

Kindly let us know if the above helps or you need further assistance on this issue.

Please "upvote" if the information helped you. This will help us and others in the community as well.
GatewayDev-Rex 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T02:49:43.66+00:00

Thanks Aditya. I did all that but I'm exactly where I was when I posted this question. It happens exactly at step 2.

I was trying to switch to another branch, so I disconnected the current configuration, but when I went to do the steps you outlined I am faced with the problem I posted.

An additional context is that this web app has the runtime stack of PHP 5.6 which is not available anymore, so deleting and recreating this deployment is not an option for me.

Answer 1

The most likely cause is that the Bitbucket authorization or stored repository metadata in App Service Deployment Center has become invalid, so the backend can no longer list branches and shows “Failed to fetch”. A similar issue is documented for Azure Repos where the stored repo URL/authorization became invalid and re‑authorizing fixed it.

Use these steps to recover:

In the Web App → Deployment → Deployment Center → Settings page, disconnect the existing Bitbucket configuration completely (remove the source control connection rather than just changing the branch).
Save the Web App configuration.
In the same Deployment Center blade, configure the source again:
- Choose Bitbucket as the source.
- When prompted, re‑authorize Bitbucket access (OAuth). Ensure the account has access to the organization and repository.
- Re‑select the organization and repository; the branch list should now populate correctly.
If the problem persists for this app only, delete and recreate the Deployment Center configuration again after some time to clear any stale metadata.
If multiple apps are affected or re‑authorization does not help, configure CI/CD from Azure DevOps Pipelines (using a Bitbucket service connection) instead of Deployment Center, because Deployment Center can keep stale repo URL metadata and fail to read branches.

If none of the above resolves the issue, open a support ticket so that the backend configuration for the Deployment Center can be checked for an invalid or corrupted repo URL.

References:

Error when configuring CD in Deployment Center of Web App ("Expected https or SSH format...") - Microsoft Q&A

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Azure deployment is unable to fetch bitbucket branch

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