Aria Orchestrator workflows appear as encoded hexdump or unreadable characters in the UI

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• Workflow script elements (Scriptable Tasks) display raw hexdump/encoded character sequences instead of standard JavaScript.
• The workflow continues to execute successfully in the production environment.
• Attempts to edit the workflow fail or the content cannot be modified because the script is not rendered as plain text.
• This issue typically occurs after the workflow has been exported and imported via a package.

Environment

Aria Automation 8.18.x

Cause

The issue is caused by the presence of non-standard Unicode characters (such as emojis or special symbols) within the workflow script elements. When a workflow containing these characters is exported, the package serialization process may corrupt the metadata. Upon re-import, the vRO service fails to interpret these characters, causing the script to be stored in an encoded format that the workflow editor cannot render as plain text.

Resolution

Broadcom Engineering is aware of the issue and is working on a permanent fix, which will be available in a future release.

As a workaround below steps can be performed:

To restore the workflow to a functional and editable state, perform the following steps:

1. Duplicate the Workflow:
   • Locate the affected workflow and use the Duplicate function to create a clean copy. This allows you to retain the original configuration while isolating the corrupted script elements.
2. Identify and Remove Corrupted Elements:
   • Open the duplicated workflow and navigate to the script element(s) that appear as unreadable hexdump/encoded strings.
   • Delete the affected script element(s).
3. Sanitize and Re-add:
   • Add new script elements to the workflow.
   • Copy your original script logic from a backup or external text editor.
   • Crucial: Carefully review the script to identify and remove any non-standard Unicode characters, special symbols, or emojis. Ensure the code is strictly standard ASCII/UTF-8 compliant.
   • Paste the sanitized code into the new script element.
4. Save:
   • Save the workflow. This action forces the vRO metadata service to re-index the script content and should restore proper readability in the UI.

 

Additional Information

• Avoid using non-standard characters in script variables or logic to prevent metadata corruption during package export/import operations.
• For other issues related to workflow execution failures involving JSON or Scriptable Tasks, refer to KB 388396.
• Hex output of the script can be decrypted by running the below command:
  echo <hex_output> | xxd -r -p