Cannot Publish My Runbook (Powershell type) Which Tests OK

Question

Cannot Publish My Runbook (Powershell type) Which Tests OK

Edward M. Hanna 0

I have created an Automation Account. Within that account, I have created a Runbook (Powershell type). I have successfully tested the Runbook. I have created a Schedule. I wish to associate the Runbook with the Schedule. However, I must "Publish" the Runbook--before I can associate the Schedule.

When I click "Publish", I get a dialogue box--asking if I wish to Publish. When I click "Yes", NOTHING HAPPENS!

I have the "Contributor" role--scoped at the Subscription level--and that role was granted just recently. I suspect this to be yet another permissions issue.

Can anyone advise? How do I get this Runbook to Publish?

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Answer 1

Hello @Edward M. Hanna

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

The Publish button confirming but then doing nothing is a fairly common portal glitch with Automation runbooks, and it’s not always a permissions issue.

Contributor at the subscription level is normally sufficient to publish a runbook. That role includes the necessary actions to create, edit, and publish runbooks. You can review the exact permissions here: Manage role permissions and security in Azure Automation

Make a tiny change and re-save Open the runbook editor, add a blank line or a harmless space somewhere in the script, click Save, then try Publish again. This often clears a stuck draft state that causes the silent failure.

Try a clean browser session Use an InPrivate/Incognito window or a different browser. Portal UI glitches with the Publish action are quite common.

Publish with PowerShell (most reliable workaround) This bypasses the portal UI completely:

PowerShell

   Publish-AzAutomationRunbook `

Official reference: Publish-AzAutomationRunbook

After a successful publish the runbook Status should change to Published. Only then can you link it to a schedule.

Linking the schedule

Once the status shows Published, go to the runbook → Schedules → Add a schedule (or link an existing one). Full steps are here: Manage schedules in Azure Automation

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Answer 2

Hi Edward M. Hanna,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A,

Two likely causes here, and given the timing, permissions is the strong favorite.

RBAC propagation delay. Since you said the Contributor role was granted "just recently," Azure role assignments can take up to 30 minutes to fully propagate across the portal and backend services. If you tried publishing right after the grant, that's likely it. Sign out, sign back in (or open a fresh browser session), and try again.

Portal UI silently swallowing the call. The Publish dialog going quiet after you click Yes is a known portal quirk, often browser cache, an ad blocker, or a stuck token rather than a true permission block. Try an InPrivate/incognito window or a different browser, and check the F12 console for a failed network call to the publish action if it happens again.

To confirm which one it is, publish via PowerShell instead, it'll surface a real error message if this is actually permissions:

powershell

Publish-AzAutomationRunbook -AutomationAccountName "<name>" -Name "<runbookName>" -ResourceGroupName "<rg>"

Or with CLI:

az automation runbook publish --automation-account-name <name> --name <runbookName> --resource-group <rg>

If that also fails with an actual permission error, then it confirms an RBAC problem, and the Contributor role should already include Microsoft.Automation/automationAccounts/runbooks/publish/action, so worth checking there's no Azure Policy or deny assignment blocking it at the subscription level.

Reference: Manage role permissions and security in Azure Automation

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