Azure Pipelines Documentation

Introduction to Azure Pipelines

Azure Pipelines is a cloud service that you can use to automate building, testing, and deploying your code to any cloud or on-premises. It's part of Azure DevOps Services, offering a powerful and flexible CI/CD solution.

With Azure Pipelines, you can create pipelines that automatically build, test, and deploy your application to any platform and cloud. It supports a wide range of languages, platforms, and clouds, making it a versatile choice for modern software development.

Getting Started with Azure Pipelines

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• An Azure account.
• An Azure DevOps organization.
• A project within your Azure DevOps organization.
• A repository (e.g., Azure Repos, GitHub, Bitbucket) containing your code.

Creating Your First Pipeline

To create your first pipeline:

1. Navigate to your Azure DevOps project and select "Pipelines" from the left-hand navigation.
2. Click "Create Pipeline".
3. Choose the location of your code (e.g., Azure Repos Git, GitHub).
4. Select your repository.
5. Azure Pipelines will analyze your repository and suggest a pipeline template. You can choose a recommended template or start with a "Starter pipeline".
6. Configure your pipeline using YAML.
7. Save and run your pipeline.

Understanding YAML

Azure Pipelines uses YAML for defining your build and release pipelines. This approach offers several advantages:

• Version Control: Your pipeline definition is stored in your repository, allowing you to track changes and revert if needed.
• Code Review: Pipeline changes can be reviewed just like any other code changes.
• Portability: YAML pipelines are easily shareable and reusable.

A basic YAML pipeline structure includes:

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
- script: echo Hello, world!
  displayName: 'Run a one-line script'

- script: |
    echo Add other tasks to build, test, and deploy your app.
    echo You can also use pre-defined tasks from Azure Pipelines.
  displayName: 'Multi-line script'
            

Core Concepts

Agents

An agent is software that runs on a machine and runs jobs. Azure Pipelines provides Microsoft-hosted agents and allows you to set up self-hosted agents.

• Microsoft-hosted agents: Managed by Microsoft, available in various OS (Windows, Linux, macOS).
• Self-hosted agents: You manage the infrastructure, offering more control and customization.

Pipelines

A pipeline is a configurable process that enables you to continuously deliver your application. It consists of a series of stages.

Stages

Stages are the highest level of division in a pipeline. Each stage typically represents a major part of the deployment process, such as "Build", "Test", and "Deploy".

Jobs

A job is a collection of steps that are executed on the same agent. Pipelines can have multiple jobs, and jobs can run in parallel or sequentially.

Steps

A step is the smallest unit of work in a pipeline. It can be a script, a command, or a pre-defined task.

Tasks

Tasks are pre-built scripts or commands that abstract common actions, such as building code with Maven, publishing artifacts, or deploying to Azure App Service.

Variables

Variables are used to store and manage configuration values, secrets, and other parameters used in your pipeline. They can be defined at different scopes (pipeline, stage, job).

Triggers

Triggers automate the execution of your pipeline based on events, such as code pushes to a specific branch (CI triggers) or the successful completion of another pipeline (CD triggers).

Environments

Environments are logical representations of your deployment targets, such as development, staging, or production servers. They enable you to manage approvals and track deployments.

Advanced Topics

CI/CD Strategies

Explore different Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery strategies like GitOps, Blue/Green deployments, and Canary releases. Azure Pipelines provides the flexibility to implement these.

Service Connections

Service connections allow Azure Pipelines to authenticate with external services and resources, such as Azure subscriptions, GitHub, or Docker Hub. Securely manage credentials for your deployments.

Deployment Strategies

Learn about various deployment strategies supported by Azure Pipelines, including rolling updates, blue-green deployments, and canary releases, to minimize downtime and risk.

Security Best Practices

Implement security best practices by securing service connections, using variable groups for secrets, and adhering to the principle of least privilege for pipeline permissions.

Monitoring and Logging

Leverage Azure Pipelines' built-in logging capabilities to diagnose issues. Integrate with Azure Monitor for comprehensive application and pipeline performance monitoring.

Examples

Here are a few common scenarios:

• Building a .NET Core application: Use the DotNetCoreCLI@2 task.
• Deploying to Azure App Service: Utilize the AzureRmWebAppDeployment@4 task.
• Running unit tests: Employ tasks like VSTest@2 or generic script tasks.

Refer to the official Azure Pipelines Tasks documentation for a comprehensive list of available tasks and their usage.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

When troubleshooting pipeline failures, consider the following:

• Check logs: Detailed logs are available for each step and job.
• Agent availability: Ensure agents are online and have the necessary capabilities.
• Permissions: Verify that the service connection or identity running the pipeline has the required permissions.
• Dependencies: Make sure all dependencies are correctly installed or available on the agent.
• Syntax errors: Carefully review your YAML for typos or structural issues.