Azure Runbook not found error after Automation Account restore

Question

Azure Runbook not found error after Automation Account restore

Adem 0

I've restored an automation account but I get an error "ressource not found" when I want to open the runbook.
symptoms:

Runbook visible in ARM
Runbook runs fine
Portal returns 404
Content endpoint returns 404
Export-AzAutomationRunbook fails

How can I restore the runbook ?

I don't have a backup of it so it's very critical.

Thank you for your help,

Regards,

Ravi Varma Mudduluru 12,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-12T12:41:09.0233333+00:00
Hello @Adem

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

“Resource not found” / 404 in the portal after restoring an Automation Account can be really painful, especially when the runbook still executes but the UI/content/export endpoints can’t find the definition.

Based on the provided docs, here’s the most relevant recovery path: Azure Automation can restore runbooks deleted in the last 29 days by running a PowerShell restore job inside the Automation Account. This is the documented way to recover a runbook when you don’t have a backup.

Restore a deleted runbook:

In the Azure portal, open your Automation Account.

Find the capability to restore a deleted runbook (it uses a PowerShell script executed as a job in the Automation Account).

Follow the steps from the “Restore deleted runbook” guide to recover the deleted runbook.

This directly matches the scenario where:

the runbook may still appear/runs (depending on what got restored),

but the portal/UI endpoints and exports can return 404 / Resource not found,

and you need restoration without having an external backup.

Doc link: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/automation/manage-runbooks#restore-deleted-runbook

If the runbook you restored is in a draft state (or the published version got cleared), you can’t manage/run it the same way.

The docs note that only the published version is available to run, and publication overwrites the existing published version with the draft.

You can publish via the portal or with PublishAzAutomation if needed:

Publish in portal: open runbook → Edit → Publish

Or use the cmdlet: Publish-AzAutomationRunbook

Doc links: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/automation/manage-runbooks#publish-a-runbook

https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/Az.Automation/Publish-AzAutomationRunbook/Publish-AzAutomationRunbook

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Adem 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T09:39:14.2433333+00:00

@Ravi Varma Mudduluru thank you for your reply.

When I run the PS script to restore the deleted runbook, I get the error "Job Failed. An unhandled exception occurred.".

Regards,
Adem 0 Reputation points

2026-07-14T09:21:11.55+00:00

I have finally recreated the runbook with another name from scratch.

But how can I delete the old runbook having the status "published" but which give the error "ressource not found when I open it.

Regards,

2 answers

Your answer

Adem 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T09:39:14.2433333+00:00

@Ravi Varma Mudduluru thank you for your reply.

When I run the PS script to restore the deleted runbook, I get the error "Job Failed. An unhandled exception occurred.".

Regards,
Adem 0 Reputation points

2026-07-14T09:21:11.55+00:00

I have finally recreated the runbook with another name from scratch.

But how can I delete the old runbook having the status "published" but which give the error "ressource not found when I open it.

Regards,

Answer 1

The runbook code can be recovered even if the portal and content endpoints return 404, as long as there are past jobs for that runbook.

Use the job’s source snapshot to restore it:

In the Azure portal, go to the affected Automation Account.
Open Jobs (Runbook Jobs) and locate a previous successful job for the problematic runbook.
Open that job and select View source snapshot.
Copy the full script shown in the snapshot.
Create a new runbook in the same Automation Account (or edit the existing broken one if the editor opens) and paste the copied script.
Save and publish the new/updated runbook.

This recreates the runbook content from the last executed version, which is the only option when there is no separate backup.

References:

Answer 2

Adem 0

View source snapshot is empty

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