Cloud Build: step exited with non-zero status Google Cloud / Firebase Origin: Platform & cloud OSI layer 7 · Application Last updated 4 Nov 2026

Cloud Build: ERROR: build step 2 "gcr.io/cloud-builders/npm" failed: step exited with non-zero status: 1

One step of the Cloud Build pipeline returned a non-zero exit code, so the whole build failed.

Exact message you may see build step failed: step exited with non-zero status: 1ERROR: build step 2 failed: step exited with non-zero statusStep #2 - failed: step exited with non-zero statusBUILD FAILURE: Build step failure: build step failedERROR: failed to build: exit status 1 Cloud Build
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Seen on: Google Cloud

Meaning

Open the build log and read the output of that step (the failing command is printed above). Reproduce locally in the same builder image or with cloud-build-local. Typical issues: failing tests, missing files because of .gcloudignore, wrong working directory (dir:), or lack of permissions for deploy steps.

Common causes

  • Tests/build commands failing in the step
  • Files excluded by .gcloudignore/.gitignore
  • Wrong dir or entrypoint
  • Cloud Build service account lacking a role (deploy, push)
  • Missing substitution variables

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Read the failing step's log output
  2. Run locally with cloud-build-local --config=cloudbuild.yaml .
  3. Add required roles to the Cloud Build service account

Detailed fix by platform

gcloud

  1. gcloud builds log BUILD_ID and gcloud builds describe BUILD_ID --format="value(status,failureInfo)"

Code examples

cloudbuild.yaml step

yaml
steps:
  - name: 'gcr.io/cloud-builders/npm'
    args: ['ci']
  - name: 'gcr.io/cloud-builders/npm'
    args: ['test']

How to diagnose

  1. Step — Which number?
  2. Log — First error?
  3. Rights — Build SA roles?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Platform & cloud. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

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