How to refresh user in MSAL cache

Question

How to refresh user in MSAL cache

aot 111

I recently updated my Active Directory password. Since then, I have been unable to run my Azure Machine Learning pipelines from VS Code. When running my code in the Azure CLI (pipeline using Azure ML SDK version: 1.53.0), an interactive authentication session is being launched, and I authenticate (successfully) through the pop up window in the browser. After doing so, the pipeline crashes with the message user ******@xxxx.com does not exist in MSAL token cache, run 'az login' .

This is despite me running an az login beforehand, or running it afterwards and try again. What has been attempted so far:

Running a normal az login prior to running my pipeline
Running az login --use-device-code before running pipeline
Running an az account clear before a login
Running az login while explicitly providing the desired subscription
Setting the desired subscription to the default subscription before logging in.
Logging in and out of Azure through the Azure portal
Logging in and out of my MS account through edge.
Restarting all programs (and PC) multiple times
Signing in to Windows with new password, rather than PIN
Manually removing the msal.cache file and repeating the above.

How do I refresh the MSAL token cache, so my Azure ML pipelines recognises the authentication? I have not had this issue before.

Sridevi Machavarapu 5,885 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-04-10T08:11:13.53+00:00
Hello aot,

I understand you're facing authentication issues after updating your password, and I can see you've already tried several troubleshooting steps.

To help resolve the issue, here are a few things you could try:

Start by running the az cache purge command, which will clear all cached Azure CLI tokens and configurations. After doing this, try logging in again with az login to ensure you're using the updated credentials.

Since you're running the pipeline in VS Code, try to sign out and sign back in through the Azure extension. This will ensure the new authentication session is properly recognized.

Check whether your MSAL library and Azure ML SDK are up to date. You can update them by running the command: pip install --upgrade msal azureml-sdk

Hope this helps!
Anonymous

2025-04-11T00:42:36.82+00:00

Hello aot, We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution, please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, please respond with more details and we will try to help.
Sridevi Machavarapu 5,885 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-04-14T03:20:00.0366667+00:00

Hello aot,

Did you get a chance to see my previous comment and let me know if it's helpful? Just checking back to see if you could provide more details on your requirement so I can assist you further.
James, Darryl 0 Reputation points

2025-09-08T22:42:29.78+00:00

I have the same problem, running bicep from vs code. I log in successfully but get the MSAL token cache error. I have tried all the things aot did plus the msal update you suggested. The update was successful but I still have the same problem.
Vaibhav Agarwal 0 Reputation points

2026-01-12T15:22:44.7633333+00:00

In my case az account clear resolved the issue.

Your answer

Sridevi Machavarapu 5,885 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-04-10T08:11:13.53+00:00

Hello aot,

I understand you're facing authentication issues after updating your password, and I can see you've already tried several troubleshooting steps.

To help resolve the issue, here are a few things you could try:

Start by running the az cache purge command, which will clear all cached Azure CLI tokens and configurations. After doing this, try logging in again with az login to ensure you're using the updated credentials.

Since you're running the pipeline in VS Code, try to sign out and sign back in through the Azure extension. This will ensure the new authentication session is properly recognized.

Check whether your MSAL library and Azure ML SDK are up to date. You can update them by running the command: pip install --upgrade msal azureml-sdk

Hope this helps!
Anonymous

2025-04-11T00:42:36.82+00:00

Hello aot, We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution, please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, please respond with more details and we will try to help.
Sridevi Machavarapu 5,885 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-04-14T03:20:00.0366667+00:00

Hello aot,

Did you get a chance to see my previous comment and let me know if it's helpful? Just checking back to see if you could provide more details on your requirement so I can assist you further.
James, Darryl 0 Reputation points

2025-09-08T22:42:29.78+00:00

I have the same problem, running bicep from vs code. I log in successfully but get the MSAL token cache error. I have tried all the things aot did plus the msal update you suggested. The update was successful but I still have the same problem.
Vaibhav Agarwal 0 Reputation points

2026-01-12T15:22:44.7633333+00:00

In my case az account clear resolved the issue.