How to find the working directory for hosted and self-hosted agent

Question

I am working on a windows agent and having some issues finding the path.

Where do I find the working directory for both self-hosted and hosted agent?

And please, how can I view the content of the path?

I do know that for a self-hosted agent I can login to the VM and view the path, however; I am not sure how I can view the path for a hosted agent.

Answer 1

The work directory is typically located:

• Self-hosted agent:
  • C:\agent\_work on Windows
  • ~/agent/work on macOS
  • /home/agent/_work on Linux.

You can use File Explorer or command-line tools like dir or Get-ChildItem to view the contents of the _work directory:

dir C:\agents\<agent-name>\_workor in PowerShell:

Get-ChildItem C:\agents\<agent-name>\_work

• Microsoft-hosted agent:
  • C:\a on Windows,
  • /Users/runner/work on macOS
  • /home/vsts/work on Linux.

You can use pipeline tasks to list the contents of the working directory:

• For Windows:

    - script: dir %AGENT_WORKFOLDER%
      displayName: 'List Working Directory Contents'For Linux:
  

    - script: ls $AGENT_WORKFOLDER
      displayName: 'List Working Directory Contents'
  

The work directory structure is as follows:

    - /work directory
        - /1 build directory/pipeline workspace
            - /s source/working directory
            - /b binaries directory
            - /a artifacts staging directory
            - /TestResults Test results directory

Answer 2

The working directory for agents varies depending on whether you're using a self-hosted agent or a Microsoft-hosted agent.

1. Finding the Working Directory

• Self-hosted agent:
  • The working directory is typically under:

        C:\agent\_work
    

  • You can also find it by logging into the agent VM and checking the workFolder setting in the C:\agent\config.cmd file.
• Microsoft-hosted agent:
  • The working directory is dynamically assigned for each job under:

        C:\Users\VssAdministrator\AppData\Local\Temp
    

  • The build directory is:

        D:\a\1\
    

  • You can determine the exact path dynamically using:

        - script: echo $(Agent.BuildDirectory)
          displayName: 'Show Working Directory'
    

    or

        - script: dir $(Build.SourcesDirectory)
          displayName: 'List Source Directory'
    

2. Viewing the Path Content

• Self-hosted Agent:
  • Log in to the VM and manually browse the C:\agent\_work folder.
  • Use PowerShell or Command Prompt to list the files:

        Get-ChildItem -Path C:\agent\_work -Recurse
    

• Microsoft-hosted Agent:
  • Add a debug task in your pipeline to print the directory content:

        - script: dir /s $(Agent.BuildDirectory)
          displayName: 'List Working Directory'
    

  • If you need more details, you can use PowerShell:

        - powershell: Get-ChildItem -Path $(Build.SourcesDirectory) -Recurse
          displayName: 'List Source Directory'
    

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hth

Marcin