Getting ICU error when trying to build with globalization - Updated from #10989

[DevOpsAzurance]

Description

Ubuntu image is not built with required ICU packages needed for dotnet build:

Process terminated. Couldn't find a valid ICU package installed on the system. Set the configuration flag System.Globalization.Invariant to true if you want to run with no globalization support.

Setting environment variable to:

$export DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT=1

is not viable as dev requires globalization.

Per the recommendation of:

https://github.com/actions/runner-images/issues/10989

But still having an issue. My Pipeline YAML is running this:

    - task: bash@3
      displayName: 'Install ICU Globalization on Linux'
      condition: eq(variables['Agent.OS'], 'Linux')
      inputs:
        targetType: 'inline'
        script: >
          echo "##vso[task.setvariable variable=DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT;]0"

          sudo apt-get update

          sudo apt-get -U install -y libicu-dev

Dev teams can set whether invariant is set to 0 or 1. If '0' and running on linux machine, it needs to install libicu-dev. The output of said steps is:

Author       : Microsoft Corporation
Help         : https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/devops/pipelines/tasks/utility/bash
==============================================================================
Generating script.
========================== Starting Command Output ===========================
/usr/bin/bash /agent/_work/_temp/0d5f30fd-8992-4d16-9031-22d0699ca3ef.sh
Get:1 file:/etc/apt/apt-mirrors.txt Mirrorlist [142 B]
Hit:2 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble InRelease
Get:3 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates InRelease [126 kB]
Get:4 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports InRelease [126 kB]
Hit:6 https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/azure-cli noble InRelease
Hit:7 https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/18.04/prod bionic InRelease
Get:5 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security InRelease [126 kB]
Get:8 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/main amd64 Packages [775 kB]
Get:9 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/main amd64 Components [151 kB]
Get:10 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/universe amd64 Packages [974 kB]
Get:11 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/universe amd64 Components [309 kB]
Get:12 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/restricted amd64 Components [212 B]
Get:13 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/multiverse amd64 Components [940 B]
Get:14 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/main amd64 Components [208 B]
Get:15 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/universe amd64 Components [11.7 kB]
Get:16 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/restricted amd64 Components [216 B]
Get:17 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/multiverse amd64 Components [212 B]
Get:18 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/main amd64 Components [7240 B]
Get:19 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/universe amd64 Components [52.0 kB]
Get:20 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/restricted amd64 Components [212 B]
Get:21 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/multiverse amd64 Components [212 B]
Fetched 2661 kB in 2s (1439 kB/s)
Reading package lists...
Get:1 file:/etc/apt/apt-mirrors.txt Mirrorlist [142 B]
Hit:2 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble InRelease
Hit:3 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates InRelease
Hit:6 https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/azure-cli noble InRelease
Hit:4 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports InRelease
Hit:7 https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/18.04/prod bionic InRelease
Hit:5 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security InRelease
Reading package lists...
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
libicu-dev is already the newest version (74.2-1ubuntu3.1).
libicu-dev set to manually installed.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 68 not upgraded.

Finishing: Install ICU Globalization on Linux

but then still fails with:

/agent/_work/4/s/SourceCodeRepo/src/Services/MyProject/Exceptions/MyClasses.cs(35,13): warning SYSLIB0051: 'Exception.Exception(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)' is obsolete: 'This API supports obsolete formatter-based serialization. It should not be called or extended by application code.' (https://aka.ms/dotnet-warnings/SYSLIB0051) [/agent/_work/4/s/SourceCodeRepo/src/Services/MyProject/MyProject.csproj]
  MyProject -> /agent/_work/4/s/SourceCodeRepo/src/Services/MyProject/bin/release/net8.0/MyProject.dll
  Process terminated. Couldn't find a valid ICU package installed on the system. Set the configuration flag System.Globalization.Invariant to true if you want to run with no globalization support.
     at System.Environment.FailFast(System.String)
     at System.Globalization.GlobalizationMode.GetGlobalizationInvariantMode()
     at System.Globalization.GlobalizationMode..cctor()
     at System.Globalization.CultureData.CreateCultureWithInvariantData()
     at System.Globalization.CultureData.get_Invariant()
     at System.Globalization.CultureInfo..cctor()
     at System.Resources.ManifestBasedResourceGroveler.GetNeutralResourcesLanguage(System.Reflection.Assembly, System.Resources.UltimateResourceFallbackLocation ByRef)
     at System.Resources.ResourceManager.CommonAssemblyInit()
     at System.Resources.ResourceManager..ctor(System.Type)
     at System.SR.get_ResourceManager()
     at System.SR.GetResourceString(System.String, System.String)
     at System.SR.get_XmlConvert_BadUri()
     at System.Xml.XmlReaderSettings.CreateReader(System.String, System.Xml.XmlParserContext)
     at System.Xml.XmlReader.Create(System.String, System.Xml.XmlReaderSettings, System.Xml.XmlParserContext)
     at System.Xml.XmlReader.Create(System.String, System.Xml.XmlReaderSettings)
     at System.Xml.Linq.XDocument.Load(System.String, System.Xml.Linq.LoadOptions)
     at System.Xml.Linq.XDocument.Load(System.String)
     at Vsxmd.Program.Main(System.String[])
  Aborted (core dumped)
##[error]/home/AzDevOps/.nuget/packages/vsxmd/1.4.5/build/Vsxmd.targets(17,5): Error MSB3073: The command ""/home/AzDevOps/.nuget/packages/vsxmd/1.4.5/build//../tools/linux-x64/Vsxmd" "" "" "True"" exited with code 134.
/home/AzDevOps/.nuget/packages/vsxmd/1.4.5/build/Vsxmd.targets(17,5): error MSB3073: The command ""/home/AzDevOps/.nuget/packages/vsxmd/1.4.5/build//../tools/linux-x64/Vsxmd" "" "" "True"" exited with code 134. [/agent/_work/4/s/SourceCodeRepo/src/Services/MyProject/MyProject.csproj]

Build FAILED.

/agent/_work/4/s/SourceCodeRepo/src/Services/MyProject/Entities/ReinsuranceResult.cs(46,53): warning CS8618: Non-nullable property 'Claim' must contain a non-null value when exiting constructor. Consider declaring the property as nullable. [/agent/_work/4/s/SourceCodeRepo/src/Services/MyProject/MyProject.csproj]
/agent/_work/4/s/SourceCodeRepo/src/Services/MyProject/Exceptions/MyClasses.cs(35,13): warning SYSLIB0051: 'Exception.Exception(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)' is obsolete: 'This API supports obsolete formatter-based serialization. It should not be called or extended by application code.' (https://aka.ms/dotnet-warnings/SYSLIB0051) [/agent/_work/4/s/SourceCodeRepo/src/Services/MyProject/MyProject.csproj]

Platforms affected

• Azure DevOps
• GitHub Actions - Standard Runners
• GitHub Actions - Larger Runners

Runner images affected

• Ubuntu 20.04
• Ubuntu 22.04
• Ubuntu 24.04
• macOS 12
• macOS 13
• macOS 13 Arm64
• macOS 14
• macOS 14 Arm64
• macOS 15
• macOS 15 Arm64
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2025

Image version and build link

Current agent version: '3.236.0'
Current image version: '1.0.3'

This image is using the March Build of the Ubuntu OS.

Is it regression?

N/A

Expected behavior

It should be able to build with Globalization using ICU on Ubuntu

Actual behavior

Fails due to missing packages

Repro steps

Run build with ICU install when DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT=0

[Robbbo-T]

Next Steps for Issue #11419

1. Verify the Issue: Confirm if the issue can be reproduced with the provided steps.
2. Check ICU Installation: Ensure that the libicu-dev package is correctly installed and recognized by the system.
3. Review Dotnet Globalization Settings: Verify that the environment variable DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT=0 is correctly set.
4. Consult Related Issues: Refer to similar issues like #10989 for potential solutions.
5. Update Documentation: If a solution is found, update the documentation to help others facing similar issues.
6. Comment and Collaborate: Add comments to the issue to provide updates and ask for additional details if needed.
7. Assign and Prioritize: Assign the issue to a team member and prioritize based on the impact and urgency.

Would you like to take any specific action or need further details on any of these steps?

[yueerchen]

I have the same issue with my latest build. Here's solution I tried:

• Add a step to install the libicu-dev package. Build still failed

- name: Install ICU library # Ensure ICU is available
        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libicu-dev

• Fixed ubuntu version back to 20.04. Build succeed.

I do suspect the recent update altered the default installed packages or runtime configurations, the ICU library might no longer be pre-installed or expected by default. If anyone has an idea, feel free to share, it'll be helpful

[Prabhatkumar59]

Hi @DevOpsAzurance - Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We will look into this issue closely and will update you after investigating.


[Prabhatkumar59]

Hi @DevOpsAzurance - As per your issue description, the issue occurs mostly because the ICU library is not properly linked or compatible with the runtime environment.
-For this, please check once the correct version of libicu-dev installed. For .NET 8, make sure that it's compatible (usually libicu70 ).
Sometimes, .NET doesn't detect the ICU library automatically. So, please try adding the following to your pipeline script and check once:-

export DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT=0
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

-Also make sure that you are using the latest version of NuGet Package vsxmd by running:
dotnet tool update --global vsxmd
However, we are looking to put the fix in the image and will update you shortly on this. Thanks!

[Prabhatkumar59]

Hi @DevOpsAzurance - Did you get a chance to look into the above solutions?
However, we are also replicating the issue on our local and in case of issue found, we will patch the fix in the image.

Also, will post our findings here shortly. Thanks!