v2.77 fails with ERROR: cannot use a string pattern on a bytes-like object

[z93blom]

Describe the bug

When running the following script in our Azure Devops pipeline, az-cli version 2.77 fails with the following stacktrace. Reverting back to 2.76 works.

This is similar to #32091 & #32039, but with a different stacktrace, pointing to either the same root cause but in a different location, or at least a similar issue.

Related command

az storage blob delete-batch

Errors

ERROR: The command failed with an unexpected error. Here is the traceback:
ERROR: cannot use a string pattern on a bytes-like object
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/knack/cli.py", line 233, in invoke
    cmd_result = self.invocation.execute(args)
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/core/commands/__init__.py", line 666, in execute
    raise ex
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/core/commands/__init__.py", line 734, in _run_jobs_serially
    results.append(self._run_job(expanded_arg, cmd_copy))
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/core/commands/__init__.py", line 726, in _run_job
    return cmd_copy.exception_handler(ex)
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/command_modules/storage/__init__.py", line 358, in new_handler
    first(ex)
    ~~~~~^^^^
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/command_modules/storage/__init__.py", line 357, in new_handler
    raise ex
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/core/commands/__init__.py", line 703, in _run_job
    result = cmd_copy(params)
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/core/commands/__init__.py", line 336, in __call__
    return self.handler(*args, **kwargs)
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/core/commands/command_operation.py", line 120, in handler
    return op(**command_args)
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/command_modules/storage/operations/blob.py", line 800, in storage_blob_delete_batch
    source_blobs = list(collect_blob_objects(client, source_container_name, pattern))
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/command_modules/storage/util.py", line 52, in collect_blob_objects
    if not pattern or _match_path(blob_name, pattern):
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/site-packages/azure/cli/command_modules/storage/util.py", line 199, in _match_path
    return fnmatch(path, pattern)
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/fnmatch.py", line 36, in fnmatch
    return fnmatchcase(name, pat)
  File "/opt/az/lib/python3.13/fnmatch.py", line 71, in fnmatchcase
    return match(name) is not None
           ~~~~~^^^^^^
TypeError: cannot use a string pattern on a bytes-like object

Issue script & Debug output

See errors above

Expected behavior

The command to work as it did in az-cli 2.76

Environment Summary

Azure Devops (pipelines from pipeline definitions in repo)
az-cli version 2.77

[command]/usr/bin/az --version
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7493596Z azure-cli                         2.77.0
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7548400Z 
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7549459Z core                              2.77.0
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7549901Z telemetry                          1.1.0
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7550542Z 
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7551496Z Extensions:
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7552175Z azure-devops                       1.0.2
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7552768Z 
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7553752Z Dependencies:
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7554530Z msal                            1.34.0b1
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7555219Z azure-mgmt-resource               23.3.0
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7555723Z 
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7556738Z Python location '/opt/az/bin/python3'
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7557557Z Config directory '/home/vsts/.azure'
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7558641Z Extensions directory '/opt/az/azcliextensions'
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7559074Z 
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7560160Z Python (Linux) 3.13.7 (main, Aug 26 2025, 08:47:19) [GCC 13.3.0]
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7568851Z 
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7569808Z Legal docs and information: aka.ms/AzureCliLegal
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7570225Z 
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7570946Z 
2025-09-11T10:17:33.7572185Z Your CLI is up-to-date.

Additional context

Workaround for now:
revert to az-cli v1.76 with the following script executed before running the az commands:

- script: |
                # Install the desired version using pip
                pip install azure-cli==2.76.0
                # Verify the installed version
                az --version
              displayName: 'Install Specific Azure CLI Version'

[yonzhan]

Thank you for opening this issue, we will look into it.

[github-actions]

Here are some similar issues that might help you. Please check if they can solve your problem.

• storage blob download-batch with glob pattern fails in v2.77 #32039

---

Possible solution (Extracted from existing issue, might be incorrect; please verify carefully)

Solution 1:

Downgrade Azure CLI to version 2.76.0. For Azure DevOps pipelines, you can use the following script:

- script: |
    pip install azure-cli==2.76.0
    az --version
  displayName: 'Install Specific Azure CLI Version'

Reference:

• storage blob download-batch with glob pattern fails in v2.77 #32039 (comment)
• storage blob download-batch with glob pattern fails in v2.77 #32039 (comment)

Solution 2:

For GitHub Actions, you can pin Azure CLI to version 2.76.0 using the following step:

- name: 'Pin Azure CLI to 2.76.0'
  run: |
    sudo apt-get remove -y azure-cli || true
    pip install azure-cli==2.76.0

Reference:

• storage blob download-batch with glob pattern fails in v2.77 #32039 (comment)

Solution 3:

For Azure DevOps on Windows-based build agents, you can use the following PowerShell script to uninstall the current version and install Azure CLI 2.76.0:

- powershell: |
    Start-Process msiexec -ArgumentList ' /x {37CCEB8D-306A-4DB4-B25B-7608A093D184} /qn' -NoNewWindow -Wait
  displayName: "Uninstall Azure CLI"

- powershell: |
    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://azurecliprod.blob.core.windows.net/msi/azure-cli-2.76.0-x64.msi" -OutFile "azure-cli-2.76.0.msi"
    Start-Process msiexec -ArgumentList '/i "azure-cli-2.76.0.msi" /quiet /norestart' -NoNewWindow -Wait
  displayName: "Install Azure CLI 2.76.0"

- script: |
    az version
  displayName: "Check Azure CLI version"

Reference:

• storage blob download-batch with glob pattern fails in v2.77 #32039 (comment)

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[calvinhzy]

#32085 PR has been merged. Sorry about this issue.