DocumentationExperience Cloud KCS

AEM as a Cloud Service: Cloud Manager pipeline fails with INDEXING_FAILED after Content Transfer Tool wipe

Last update: September 9, 2026

This article describes how to address Cloud Manager production pipeline failures due to index version conflicts that occur after running the Content Transfer Tool in wipe mode.

Description description

Environment

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) as a Cloud Service (all versions)

Symptoms

  • The production pipeline in Cloud Manager fails during deployment of the release branch.
  • The failure occurs in the aem-index-updates pre-job for both Author and Publish environments, with the error classification INDEXING_FAILED.
  • After a recent Content Transfer Tool (CTT) operation in wipe mode, the Production environment contains a newer DAM base index: /oak:index/damAssetLucene-14.
  • The deployment attempts to add a custom index: /oak:index/damAssetLucene-13-custom-1.
  • The pipeline fails, because Oak rejects the older custom index when a newer base index already exists.
  • Error log excerpt: INDEXING_FAILED: Custom index /oak:index/damAssetLucene-13-custom-1 conflicts with existing base index /oak:index/damAssetLucene-14.
  • The issue doesn’t occur in Stage, as its repository and indexes weren’t rebuilt with CTT wipe mode.
  • This problem blocks production deployments and impacts go-live timelines.

Cause

A Content Transfer Tool wipe rebuilt the repository and indexes, resulting in a newer DAM base index in Production. The deployment referenced an outdated custom index based on an older DAM index version, causing a version conflict and pipeline failure.

Resolution resolution

Follow the steps below to resolve the issue:

  1. Review the failed pipeline execution logs in Cloud Manager.
  2. Confirm that the error occurs in the aem-index-updates pre-job and references a conflict between /oak:index/damAssetLucene-13-custom-1 and /oak:index/damAssetLucene-14.
  3. In your source control, update the custom DAM index definition to reference the latest base version present in Production (damAssetLucene-14).
  4. Ensure the custom index is compatible with the new base index structure.
  5. Commit and push the updated index definition to your repository.
  6. Trigger a new deployment via Cloud Manager to apply the changes.
  7. Monitor the pipeline execution to ensure the aem-index-updates pre-job completes successfully.
  8. Confirm that the deployment proceeds without the INDEXING_FAILED error.
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