azure-pipelines

# Azure Pipelines Skill This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Pipelines. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities. ## How to Use This Skill > **IMPORTANT for Agent**: Use the **Category Index** below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., `L35-L120`), use `read_file` with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., `[security.md](security.md)`), use `read_file` on the linked reference file > **IMPORTANT for Agent**: If `metadata.generated_at` is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If `mcp_microsoftdocs` tools are not available, suggest the user install it: [Installation Guide](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/mcp/blob/main/README.md) This skill requires **network access** to fetch documentation content: - **Preferred**: Use `mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill`. Returns Markdown. - **Fallback**: Use `fetch_webpage` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown`. Returns Markdown. ## Category Index | Category | Lines | Description | |----------|-------|-------------| | Troubleshooting | L37-L48 | Diagnosing and fixing Azure Pipelines issues: service connections (ARM/workload identity), code coverage, logs, web app deployments, triggers, and runs that fail to start or complete. | | Best Practices | L49-L60 | Guidance on YAML template design, caching for faster builds, cross-platform scripts, and best practices for configuring, parallelizing, and stabilizing automated tests (including UI and VSTest). | | Decision Making | L61-L68 | Guidance on choosing GitHub-hosted agents, and safely migrating or replacing pipelines and tasks (from Jenkins, Classic pipelines, or retiring tasks) in Azure Pipelines. | | Architecture & Design Patterns | L69-L76 | Designing end-to-end CI/CD architectures and patterns for Azure Web Apps and IaaS/VM-based applications, including baseline pipelines, DevTest/DevOps environments, and deployment topologies. | | Limits & Quotas | L77-L86 | Managing Azure Pipelines limits: hosted agent quotas and deprecation, parallel jobs and concurrency, large package size constraints, and run retention configuration. | | Security | L87-L135 | Securing Azure Pipelines: auth for agents and service connections, secrets/Key Vault, permissions and approvals, artifact/repo protection, policy/compliance checks, and secure YAML practices. | | Configuration | L136-L505 | Configuring Azure Pipelines: agents, triggers, variables, environments, YAML schema, deployment strategies, and detailed task/step settings for building, testing, and deploying. | | Integrations & Coding Patterns | L506-L534 | Patterns for building/testing apps (ASP.NET, .NET, Java, Python, Ruby, Xcode), integrating tools (Slack, ServiceNow, Jenkins, Key Vault), and scripting/REST/Function automation in pipelines. | | Deployment | L535-L589 | Deploying apps and packages with Azure Pipelines: configuring agents, containers, artifacts, classic releases, databases, and Kubernetes/VM/web app deployments. | ### Troubleshooting | Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Troubleshoot Azure Resource Manager service connections in Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/release/azure-rm-endpoint?view=azure-devops | | Troubleshoot ARM workload identity service connections in pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/release/troubleshoot-workload-identity?view=azure-devops | | Configure and troubleshoot code coverage in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/test/review-code-coverage-results?view=azure-devops | | Review Azure Pipelines logs for diagnostics | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/troubleshooting/review-logs?view=azure-devops | | Troubleshoot Azure Web App deployments in Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/troubleshooting/troubleshoot-azure-web-app-deploy?view=azure-devops | | Troubleshoot Azure Pipelines that fail to start | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/troubleshooting/troubleshoot-start?view=azure-devops | | Troubleshoot Azure Pipelines trigger issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/troubleshooting/troubleshoot-triggers?view=azure-devops | | Diagnose and fix Azure Pipelines run failures | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/troubleshooting/troubleshooting?view=azure-devops | ### Best Practices | Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Design and use Azure Pipelines YAML templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/process/templates?view=azure-devops | | Optimize Azure Pipelines performance with caching | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/release/caching?view=azure-devops | | Apply cross-platform scripting patterns in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/scripts/cross-platform-scripting?view=azure-devops | | Manage flaky tests in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/test/flaky-test-management?view=azure-devops | | Configure parallel test execution for any runner | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/test/parallel-testing-any-test-runner?view=azure-devops | | Run VSTest tests in parallel in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/test/parallel-testing-vstest?view=azure-devops | | Use Test Impact Analysis in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/test/test-impact-analysis?view=azure-devops | | Configure Azure Pipelines for UI test execution | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/test/ui-testing-considerations?view=azure-devops | ### Decision Making | Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Choose and configure GitHub-hosted agents for pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/github-hosted?view=azure-devops | | Migrate from Jenkins to Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/migrate/from-jenkins?view=azure-devops | | Migrate Classic Azure Pipelines to YAML safely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/release/from-classic-pipelines?view=azure-devops | | Choose replacements for retiring Azure Pipelines tasks | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/tasks/task-retirement?view=azure-devops | ### Architecture & Design Patterns | Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Design CI/CD architecture for Azure Web Apps | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/architectures/devops-pipelines-azure-web-apps-architecture?view=azure-devops | | Apply baseline CI/CD architecture with Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/architectures/devops-pipelines-baseline-architecture?view=azure-devops | | Architect DevTest and DevOps pipelines for IaaS | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/architectures/devops-pipelines-devtest-iaas-architecture?view=azure-devops | | DevOps architecture for IaaS applications with VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/architectures/devops-pipelines-iaas-vms-architecture?view=azure-devops | ### Limits & Quotas | Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Track deprecation schedule for hosted build images | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/hosted-deprecation-schedule?view=azure-devops | | Use Microsoft-hosted agents and understand their limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/hosted?view=azure-devops | | Analyze Azure Pipelines agent pool concurrency | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/pool-consumption-report?view=azure-devops | | Publish and download large Universal Packages | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/artifacts/universal-packages?view=azure-devops | | Configure and estimate Azure Pipelines parallel jobs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/licensing/concurrent-jobs?view=azure-devops | | Configure Azure Pipelines run retention limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/retention?view=azure-devops | ### Security | Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Choose and configure auth methods for self-hosted agents | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/agent-authentication-options?view=azure-devops | | Run Azure Pipelines agent with self-signed certificate | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/certificate?view=azure-devops-server | | Register Azure Pipelines agent using device code flow | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/device-code-flow-agent-registration?view=azure-devops | | Register Azure Pipelines agent using PAT authentication | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/personal-access-token-agent-registration?view=azure-devops | | Register Azure Pipelines agents with a service principal | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/agents/service-principal-agent-registration?view=azure-devops | | Securely sign mobile apps in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/apps/mobile/app-signing?view=azure-devops | | Configure Docker Content Trust signing in Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/ecosystems/containers/content-trust?view=azure-devops | | Secure Azure DevOps pipelines with Entra workload identities | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/library/add-devops-entra-service-connection?view=azure-devops | | Assign administrators for protected pipeline resources | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/library/add-resource-protection?view=azure-devops | | Handle special-case ARM service connections in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/library/azure-resource-manager-alternate-approaches?view=azure-devops | | Configure Azure Resource Manager service connections securely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/library/connect-to-azure?view=azure-devops | | Link Azure Pipelines variable groups to Key Vault | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/library/link-variable-groups-to-key-vaults?view=azure-devops | | Manage secure files and access in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/library/secure-files?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines variable groups and access | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/library/variable-groups?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Manage Azure Pipelines permissions and security groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/permissions?view=azure-devops | | Add users and manage Azure Pipelines permissions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/policies/set-permissions?view=azure-devops | | Configure Azure Pipelines job access tokens securely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/process/access-tokens?view=azure-devops | | Configure deployment approvals and checks in pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/process/approvals?view=azure-devops | | Configure artifact policy checks for secure deployments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/process/artifact-policy?view=azure-devops | | Protect repository resources in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/process/repository-resource?view=azure-devops | | Use secret variables securely in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/process/set-secret-variables?view=azure-devops | | Create ARM service connection using client secret | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/release/configure-app-secret?view=azure-devops | | Manually configure ARM workload identity service connections | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/release/configure-workload-identity?view=azure-devops | | Convert Azure DevOps issuer connections to Entra issuer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/release/convert-service-connections?view=azure-devops | | Secure Azure Pipelines access to private Key Vault | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/release/key-vault-access?view=azure-devops | | Plan an approach for securing YAML pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/approach?view=azure-devops | | Securely handle variables and parameters in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/inputs?view=azure-devops | | Secure Azure Pipelines agents, projects, and containers | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/misc?view=azure-devops | | Apply security configurations for Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/overview?view=azure-devops | | Automate Azure Pipelines security with REST and PowerShell | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/project-security-script?view=azure-devops | | Configure pipeline resource security and approvals | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/resources?view=azure-devops | | Protect and manage secrets in Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/secrets?view=azure-devops | | Secure Azure Pipelines access to source repositories | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/secure-access-to-repos?view=azure-devops | | Use YAML templates to improve pipeline security | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/security/templates?view=azure-devops |