VS403417: ChangedBy value cannot be empty when BypassRules is specified

[balraj-shorthills]

This issue arises multiple times for many tasks; some tasks and epics are migrated, and some are not. Why so?,
I have added myself to the Project Collection Admin group in both the source and destination org
PAT has full access to both orgs
Both the orgs have the same fields
The below is the JSON that I use to move one epic only (for Testing)

{
  "Serilog": {
    "MinimumLevel": "Information"
  },
  "MigrationTools": {
    "Version": "16.1",
    "Endpoints": {
      "Source": {
        "EndpointType": "TfsTeamProjectEndpoint",
        "Collection": "https://dev.azure.com/__SOURCE_ORG__/",
        "Project": "__SOURCE_PROJECT__", 
        "Authentication": {
          "AuthenticationMode": "AccessToken",
          "AccessToken": "__SOURCE_PAT__"
        },
        "ReflectedWorkItemIdField": "Custom.ReflectedWorkItemId",
        "LanguageMaps": {
          "AreaPath": "Area",
          "IterationPath": "Iteration"
        }
      },
      "Target": {
        "EndpointType": "TfsTeamProjectEndpoint",
        "Collection": "https://dev.azure.com/S****i//", 
        "Project": "__TARGET_PROJECT__",    
        "Authentication": {
          "AuthenticationMode": "AccessToken",
          "AccessToken": "__TARGET_PAT__"  
        },
        "ReflectedWorkItemIdField": "Custom.ReflectedWorkItemId",
        "LanguageMaps": {
          "AreaPath": "Area",
          "IterationPath": "Iteration"
        }
      }
    },
    "Processors": [
      {
        "ProcessorType": "TfsWorkItemMigrationProcessor",
        "Enabled": true,
        "UpdateCreatedDate": true,
        "UpdateCreatedBy": true,
        "UpdateChangedDate": true,
        "UpdateChangedBy": true,
        "BypassRules": true,
        "ChangedByMapping": {
          "default": "balraj###",
          "empty": "balraj###"
        },
        "ReplayRevisionsOptions": {
          "ChangedByFallbackUser": "balraj###",
          "ForceUseFallbackUserWhenChangedByEmpty": true
        },
        "WIQLQuery": "SELECT [System.Id] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.TeamProject] = @TeamProject AND ( [System.Id] = 564 OR ( [System.WorkItemType] = 'Task' AND [System.Parent] = 564 ) ) ORDER BY [System.ChangedDate] DESC",
        "WorkItemCommentPrefix": "> **_Original Comment by {revisedBy.displayName} on {revisedDate}_**\\n\\n",
        "WorkItemCreateRetryLimit": 5,
        "FilterWorkItemsThatAlreadyExistInTarget": true,
        "GenerateMigrationComment": false,
        "SourceName": "Source",
        "TargetName": "Target"
      },
      {
        "ProcessorType": "TfsSharedQueryProcessor",
        "Enabled": true,
        "PrefixProjectToNodes": false,
        "SharedFolderName": "Shared Queries",
        "SourceName": "Source",
        "TargetName": "Target"
      }
    ],
    "CommonTools": {
      "FieldMappingTool": {
        "Enabled": false,
        "FieldMaps": []
      }
    }
  }

}

The fields below I added as suggested by GPT when the bypass error came

"BypassRules": true,
        "ChangedByMapping": {
          "default": "balraj###",
          "empty": "balraj###"
        },
        "ReplayRevisionsOptions": {
          "ChangedByFallbackUser": "balraj###",
          "ForceUseFallbackUserWhenChangedByEmpty": true
        },

The detailed error is below

[04:33:54 INF] [16.1.0] Querying items to be migrated: SELECT [System.Id] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.TeamProject] = @TeamProject AND ( [System.Id] = 564 OR ( [System.WorkItemType] = 'Task' AND [System.Parent] = 564 ) ) ORDER BY [System.ChangedDate] DESC ... 
[04:33:55 INF] [16.1.0] 11 Work items received, verifying 
[04:33:56 INF] [16.1.0] Loading 11 Work Items 
[04:34:11 INF] [16.1.0] Replay all revisions of 11 work items? 
[04:34:11 INF] [16.1.0] Validating::Check all Target Work Items have the RefectedWorkItemId field 
[04:34:11 INF] [16.1.0] Validating::Check that all work item types needed in the Target exist or are mapped 
[04:34:11 INF] [16.1.0] Validating::Check that all Area & Iteration paths from Source have a valid mapping on Target 
[04:34:15 INF] [16.1.0] Validating::Check that all users in the source exist in the target or are mapped! 
[04:34:15 WRN] [16.1.0] TfsUserMappingTool is disabled in settings. You may have users in the source that are not mapped to the target.  
[04:34:15 INF] [16.1.0] Found target project as Pedigree-Web-App 
[04:34:15 INF] [16.1.0] [FilterWorkItemsThatAlreadyExistInTarget] is enabled. Searching for 11 work items that may have already been migrated to the target... 
[04:34:15 INF] [16.1.0] [FilterWorkItemsThatAlreadyExistInTarget] is enabled. Source project PedegreeWebApp is replaced with target project Pedigree-Web-App on the WIQLQuery which resulted into this target WIQLQuery 
 "SELECT [System.Id] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.TeamProject] = @TeamProject AND ( [System.Id] = 564 OR ( [System.WorkItemType] = 'Task' AND [System.Parent] = 564 ) ) ORDER BY [System.ChangedDate] DESC" . 
[04:34:15 INF] [16.1.0] !! After removing all found work items there are 11 remaining to be migrated. 
[04:34:16 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Work Item has 14 revisions and revision migration is set to True 
[04:34:16 INF] [16.1.0] Source: Found 14 revisions to migrate on  Work item:Source 
[04:34:16 INF] [16.1.0] Source: Found 14 revisions to migrate on  Work item:Source 
[04:34:16 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | WorkItem has changed type at one of the revisions, from Issue to Task 
[04:34:16 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null |  Processing Revision [1] 
[04:34:16 INF] [16.1.0] EmbededImagesRepairEnricher: Fixing HTML field attachments for work item 0 from https://dev.azure.com/Pedegree/ to https://dev.azure.com/ShorthillsAi// 
[04:34:16 INF] [16.1.0] TfsWorkItemEmbededLinkTool: Fixing embedded mention links on target work item 0 from https://dev.azure.com/Pedegree/ to https://dev.azure.com/ShorthillsAi// 
Error logged to Elmah.io! 
!! Check for latest version - We fix issues constantly - If not, please create a discussion on https://github.com/nkdAgility/azure-devops-migration-tools/discussions so we can get this fixed !!
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | ...FAILED to Save 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] =============================================================== 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Custom.ReflectedWorkItemId (ReflectedWorkItemId) | https://dev.azure.com/Pedegree/PedegreeWebApp/_workitems/edit/642 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Scheduling.DueDate (Due Date) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Scheduling.Effort (Effort) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.StackRank (Stack Rank) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority (Priority) | 2 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ClosedBy (Closed By) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ClosedDate (Closed Date) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ResolvedBy (Resolved By) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ResolvedDate (Resolved Date) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ActivatedBy (Activated By) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ActivatedDate (Activated Date) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.StateChangeDate (State Change Date) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.BoardLane (Board Lane) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.BoardColumnDone (Board Column Done) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.BoardColumn (Board Column) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.Tags (Tags) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.RelatedLinkCount (Related Link Count) | 0 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.History (History) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.Description (Description) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.CreatedBy (Created By) | Harsh Sharma 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.CreatedDate (Created Date) | 02/15/2025 03:55:14 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.WorkItemType (Work Item Type) | Issue 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.AssignedTo (Assigned To) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.Reason (Reason) | Added to backlog 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.ChangedBy (Changed By) | Harsh Sharma 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.Rev (Rev) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.Watermark (Watermark) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.AuthorizedDate (Authorized Date) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.State (State) | To Do 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.Title (Title) | Doctor Flow implementation 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.AuthorizedAs (Authorized As) |  
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.AreaId (Area ID) | 96 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.Id (ID) | 0 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.ChangedDate (Changed Date) | 02/15/2025 03:55:14 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.RevisedDate (Revised Date) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.AreaPath (Area Path) | Pedigree-Web-App 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.NodeName (Node Name) | Pedigree-Web-App 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.AttachedFileCount (Attached File Count) | 0 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.HyperLinkCount (Hyperlink Count) | 0 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.CommentCount (Comment Count) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.RemoteLinkCount (Remote Link Count) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.Parent (Parent) | null 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.TeamProject (Team Project) | Pedigree-Web-App 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.ExternalLinkCount (External Link Count) | 0 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.IterationId (Iteration ID) | [140](https://github.com/shorthills-ai/Azure-migration/actions/runs/14988234506/job/42106124918#step:6:141) 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] [                Task][Complete:     1/11][sid:   642|Rev: 14][tid:  null | System.IterationPath (Iteration Path) | Pedigree-Web-App\Sprint 14 
[04:34:17 INF] [16.1.0] =============================================================== 
[04:34:17 ERR] [16.1.0] Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Client.UnexpectedErrorException: There is a problem on the server. Contact your Azure DevOps Server administrator. ---> System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapException: VS403417: ChangedBy value cannot be empty when BypassRules is specified
   at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Proxy.RetryHandler.HandleSoapException(SoapException se)
   at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Proxy.WorkItemServer.Update(String requestId, XmlElement package, XmlElement& result, MetadataTableHaveEntry[] metadataHave, String& dbStamp, IMetadataRowSets& metadata)
   at Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Client.WorkItemStore.SendUpdatePackage(XmlElement package, XmlElement& result, Boolean bulk)

It would be great if you help me in that @MrHinsh

[MrHinsh]

It looks like you generated this config with AI; it has many invalid entries. You can always run a config through devopsmigration upgrade to clean out invalid entries.

Id probably debug in visual studio to see whats going on but all the AI made up fields and values could be it.

[balraj-shorthills]

Even though I am using the basic configuration below
`{
"Serilog": {
"MinimumLevel": "Information"
},
"MigrationTools": {
"Version": "16.1",
"Endpoints": {
"Source": {
"EndpointType": "TfsTeamProjectEndpoint",
"Collection": "https://dev.azure.com/__SOURCE_ORG__/",
"Project": "SOURCE_PROJECT",
"Authentication": {
"AuthenticationMode": "AccessToken",
"AccessToken": "SOURCE_PAT"
},
"ReflectedWorkItemIdField": "Custom.ReflectedWorkItemId",
"LanguageMaps": {
"AreaPath": "Area",
"IterationPath": "Iteration"
}
},
"Target": {
"EndpointType": "TfsTeamProjectEndpoint",
"Collection": "https://dev.azure.com/ShorthillsAi/",
"Project": "TARGET_PROJECT",
"Authentication": {
"AuthenticationMode": "AccessToken",
"AccessToken": "TARGET_PAT"
},
"ReflectedWorkItemIdField": "Custom.ReflectedWorkItemId",
"LanguageMaps": {
"AreaPath": "Area",
"IterationPath": "Iteration"
}
}
},
"Processors": [
{
"ProcessorType": "TfsWorkItemMigrationProcessor",
"Enabled": true,
"UpdateCreatedDate": true,
"UpdateCreatedBy": true,
"WIQLQuery": "SELECT [System.Id] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.TeamProject] = @teamproject AND ( [System.Id] = 563 OR ( [System.WorkItemType] = 'Task' AND [System.Parent] = 563 ) ) ORDER BY [System.ChangedDate] desc",
"FixHtmlAttachmentLinks": true,
"AttachmentMigration": true,
"LinkMigration": true,
"EnableCommentMigration": true,
"ReplayRevisions": true,
"AttachmentWorkingPath": "D:\\azure-devops-migration\\attachments\\",
"WorkItemCommentPrefix": "> Original Comment by {revisedBy.displayName} on {revisedDate}\n\n",
"WorkItemCreateRetryLimit": 5,
"FilterWorkItemsThatAlreadyExistInTarget": true,
"GenerateMigrationComment": false,
"SourceName": "Source",
"TargetName": "Target"
}
],
"CommonTools": {
"FieldMappingTool": {
"Enabled": false,
"FieldMaps": []
}
}
}

}
Still the same issue and when I am trying to run the upgrade with the same configuration, it shows the error below[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] Azure DevOps Migration Tools [Object Model]
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] 16.1.0
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] naked Agility with Martin Hinshelwood
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] ===============================================================================
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] --------------------------------------
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] Telemetry Note:
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] We use Application Insights to collect usage and error information in order to improve the quality of the tools.
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] Currently we collect the following anonymous data:
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] -Event data: application version, client city/country, hosting type, item count, error count, warning count, elapsed time.
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] -Exceptions: application errors and warnings.
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] -Dependencies: REST/ObjectModel calls to Azure DevOps to help us understand performance issues.
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] This data is tied to a session ID that is generated on each run of the application and shown in the logs. This can help with debugging. If you want to disable telemetry you can run the tool with '--disableTelemetry' on the command prompt.
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] Note: Exception data cannot be 100% guaranteed to not leak production data
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] --------------------------------------
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] Start Time: 05/19/2025 08:00:42
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] Running with settings: {"ConfigFile": "configuration.json", "DisableTelemetry": false, "DebugTrace": false, "skipVersionCheck": false, "$type": "UpgradeConfigCommandSettings"}
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] OSVersion: Microsoft Windows NT 6.2.9200.0
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] Version (Assembly): 16.1.0
[08:00:42 INF] [16.1.0] Logpath: D:\a\Azure-migration\Azure-migration\migration-tools\logs\20250519080037
[08:00:43 WRN] [16.1.0] You are either not online or have chosen skipVersionCheck. We will not check for a newer version of the tools.
_
_ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _| | ___
| | | | | ' \ / _ | | '__| / _ | / _ | / _ \ | |_| | | |_) | | (_| | | | | (_| | | (_| | | __/ \__,_| | .__/ \__, | |_| \__,_| \__,_| \___| |_| |___/ [08:00:43 INF] [16.1.0] ConfigFile: configuration.json [08:00:43 INF] [16.1.0] Importing: configuration.json Error logged to Elmah.io! !! Check for latest version - We fix issues constantly - If not, please create a discussion on https://github.com/nkdAgility/azure-devops-migration-tools/discussions so we can get this fixed !! [08:00:44 ERR] [16.1.0] Unhandled exception! System.IO.FileNotFoundException: The configuration file 'configuration.json' was not found and is not optional. The expected physical path was 'D:\a\Azure-migration\Azure-migration\migration-tools\configuration.json'. at System.Runtime.ExceptionServices.ExceptionDispatchInfo.Throw() at Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.FileConfigurationProvider.HandleException(ExceptionDispatchInfo info) at Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.FileConfigurationProvider.Load(Boolean reload) at Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.ConfigurationRoot..ctor(IList1 providers)
at Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.ConfigurationBuilder.Build()
at MigrationTools.Options.OptionsConfigurationUpgrader.UpgradeConfiguration(OptionsConfigurationBuilder optionsBuilder, String configurationFile) in D:\a\azure-devops-migration-tools\azure-devops-migration-tools\src\MigrationTools\Options\OptionsConfigurationUpgrader.cs:line 72
at MigrationTools.Host.Commands.UpgradeConfigCommand.ExecuteInternalAsync(CommandContext context, UpgradeConfigCommandSettings settings) in D:\a\azure-devops-migration-tools\azure-devops-migration-tools\src\MigrationTools.Host\Commands\UpgradeConfigCommand.cs:line 58
at MigrationTools.Host.Commands.CommandBase1.<ExecuteAsync>d__24.MoveNext() in D:\a\azure-devops-migration-tools\azure-devops-migration-tools\src\MigrationTools.Host\Commands\CommandBase.cs:line 94 [08:00:[44](https://github.com/shorthills-ai/Azure-migration/actions/runs/15107517992/job/42459276303#step:6:45) INF] [16.1.0] Command UpgradeConfigCommand completed in 00:00:02.02[45](https://github.com/shorthills-ai/Azure-migration/actions/runs/15107517992/job/42459276303#step:6:46)249 [08:00:44 INF] [16.1.0] Check the logs for errors: D:\a\Azure-migration\Azure-migration\migration-tools\logs\20250519080037 Error: Process completed with exit code 1.

If my execution is working with the same configuration file, then why is it not working

[balraj-shorthills]

I was using some additional parameters suggested by AI, which was the wrong practice. Later, I created a new project and then attempted to run the configuration without any additional parameters, after which it worked fine.