Buildpack metadata is empty after cf push with --no-start flag

Products

• VMware Tanzu Application Service

Issue/Introduction

When pushing an application to Tanzu Application Service (TAS) using the Cloud Foundry Command Line Interface (cf CLI) with the --no-start flag, the application summary shows empty buildpack information even if a buildpack is specified in the manifest.yml or via the -b flag.

Waiting for API to complete processing files...

name:              example-app
requested state:   stopped
routes:            
last uploaded:     
stack:             
buildpacks:        

type:           web
sidecars:       
instances:      0/1
memory usage:   1024M
     state   since                  cpu    memory     disk       logging        cpu entitlement   details   ready
#0   down    2026-07-16T14:10:01Z   0.0%   0B of 0B   0B of 0B   0B/s of 0B/s                               -

 

Symptoms

• Pipeline or terminal output shows buildpacks: followed by no value.
• The application requested state is stopped.
• The stack field may also appear empty.
• No staging logs appear in the terminal during the push command.

Environment

• Tanzu Application Service (All versions)
• Cloud Foundry CLI (v7 and v8)

Cause

The --no-start flag instructs the Cloud Foundry API to create the application record and upload the package bits but skips the staging phase. Buildpack detection and assignment only occur during the staging process. Because the app has not been staged, no buildpack is officially associated with the app's current package until the first start command is issued.

Resolution

Start the application to trigger the staging process. Once staging completes, the buildpack metadata is populated.

1. Execute the start command for the application:
   
   

   cf start example-app

   
   
    
2. Observe the staging logs to verify the correct buildpack is detected (e.g., java_buildpack_offline).
3. After the app starts, verify the metadata using the app command
   
   

   cf app example-app

    

   The output now displays the assigned buildpack name and version.

Alternatively, removing the "--no-start" flag from the 'cf push' command will stage (compile) the app and assign the buildpack.