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azdo-build-investigator

Investigate Azure DevOps (AZDO) pipeline build failures by fetching logs, downloading artifacts, and analyzing .binlog files to find the root cause of errors. Use this when users share an AZDO build URL, a GitHub PR URL, or ask about a failing pipeline, build errors, or CI failures.

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dotnet/android
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March 4, 2026 at 18:20
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name
azdo-build-investigator
description
Investigate Azure DevOps (AZDO) pipeline build failures by fetching logs, downloading artifacts, and analyzing .binlog files to find the root cause of errors. Use this when users share an AZDO build URL, a GitHub PR URL, or ask about a failing pipeline, build errors, or CI failures.
# AZDO Build Investigator Given a build URL or GitHub PR URL, fetch run details, find failed jobs/tasks, download logs and .binlog artifacts, and produce a summarized root-cause error trail. ## Prerequisites The tools below are required as follows: `az` is always required; `gh` is required only for GitHub PR URLs; `binlogtool` is required only for .binlog analysis. If any required tool is missing for the current task, **stop immediately**, show the relevant setup link, and do NOT install on the user's behalf. | Tool | Check | Install / Docs | |------|-------|----------------| | `gh` (GitHub CLI) | `gh --version` | https://docs.github.com/github-cli/github-cli/quickstart | | `az` (Azure CLI + DevOps ext) | `az --version` | Install: https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/install-azure-cli — Extension: `az extension add --name azure-devops` — Docs: https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/devops — Then: `az login` and `az devops configure --defaults organization=https://dev.azure.com/ORGNAME project=PROJECTNAME` | | `binlogtool` (.NET global tool) | `dotnet tool list -g` | `dotnet tool install -g binlogtool` — https://www.nuget.org/packages/binlogtool | ## Workflow Follow in order. Stop early if root cause is found. ### 1. Resolve Input URL **GitHub PR** (`https://github.com/{owner}/{repo}/pull/{number}`): ```powershell gh pr checks {prNumber} --repo {owner}/{repo} --json "name,state,link,bucket" ``` Filter `bucket == "fail"`. Each has a `link` with the AZDO build URL. Multiple failures → ask user which to investigate. No failures → report passing/in-progress. **AZDO build URL** patterns: - `https://dev.azure.com/{org}/{project}/_build/results?buildId={id}` - `https://{org}.visualstudio.com/{project}/_build/results?buildId={id}` Extract `{org}`, `{project}` (may be a GUID — that's fine), `{buildId}`, and the full `{orgUrl}` (either `https://dev.azure.com/{org}` or `https://{org}.visualstudio.com`). Use `{orgUrl}` consistently in all subsequent `az` commands. ### 2. Get Build Overview ```powershell az pipelines runs show --id {buildId} --org {orgUrl} --project {project} ``` ### 3. Get Failed Jobs & Tasks (Timeline) ```powershell az devops invoke --area build --resource timeline --route-parameters project={project} buildId={buildId} --org {orgUrl} --project {project} --query "records[?result=='failed'] | [].{name:name, type:type, result:result, log:log, issues:issues, errorCount:errorCount}" --output json ``` Check the `issues` array first — it often contains the root cause directly. ### 4. Fetch Full Logs (if needed) Get log URLs from failed timeline records, then fetch by log ID: ```powershell # The logs endpoint returns raw text; save to a file instead of requesting JSON az devops invoke --area build --resource logs --route-parameters project={project} buildId={buildId} logId={logId} --org {orgUrl} --project {project} --out-file "build-{buildId}-log-{logId}.log" ``` ### 5. Check for .binlog Artifacts ```powershell az pipelines runs artifact list --run-id {buildId} --org {orgUrl} --project {project} ``` Look for artifact names containing `binlog`, `msbuild`, or `build-log`. ### 6. Download & Analyze .binlog ```powershell $tempDir = Join-Path $env:TEMP "azdo-binlog-$buildId" New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $tempDir -Force | Out-Null az pipelines runs artifact download --artifact-name "{artifactName}" --path $tempDir --run-id {buildId} --org {orgUrl} --project {project} ``` Key `binlogtool` commands: ```powershell binlogtool search "$tempDir\*.binlog" "error" # broad search binlogtool search "$tempDir\*.binlog" "XA" # .NET Android errors binlogtool search "$tempDir\*.binlog" "error CS" # C# compiler binlogtool search "$tempDir\*.binlog" "error NU" # NuGet binlogtool reconstruct "$tempDir\file.binlog" "$tempDir\reconstructed" # full text log binlogtool listproperties "$tempDir\file.binlog" # MSBuild properties binlogtool doublewrites "$tempDir\file.binlog" "$tempDir\dw" # double-write issues ``` ### 7. Summarize Report: **Build overview** (pipeline, branch, trigger, result) → **Failed stage/job/task** → **Error messages** (with codes) → **Root cause analysis** → **Suggested fixes**. ### 8. Cleanup ```powershell Remove-Item -Recurse -Force (Join-Path $env:TEMP "azdo-binlog-$buildId") ``` ## Error Patterns (dotnet/android) | Category | Patterns to search | |----------|--------------------| | MSBuild | `XA####` (.NET Android), `APT####` (Android tooling), `error CS####` (C#), `error NU####` (NuGet) | | Tests | `Failed :`, `Assert.`, `System.TimeoutException`, `ADB`, `device not found` | | Infra | `##[error]`, disk space, `Process exit code`, timeout | | NuGet | `NU1100`–`NU1699` (resolution), `NU1301` (feed connectivity) | ## Tips - Auth errors → user needs `az login` + `az devops configure --defaults` - `--detect` auto-detects org/project from git remote when run inside the repo - Focus on the **first** error chronologically — later errors often cascade - `.binlog` has richer detail than text logs; use it when text logs show only generic "Build FAILED" - `binlogtool search` broad terms first, then narrow with specific codes
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