Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server 2022 - Azure DevOps Server 2019
Learn how to install extensions to your organization for custom build or release tasks in Azure DevOps. For more information, see What is Azure Pipelines?
Note
This article covers agent tasks in agent-based extensions. For more information on server tasks and server-based extensions, see the Server Task GitHub Documentation.
Prerequisites
To create extensions for Azure DevOps, you need the following software and tools.
The home directory of a build or release task extension should look like the following example after you complete the steps in this article.
|--- README.md
|--- images
|--- extension-icon.png
|--- buildandreleasetask // where your task scripts are placed
|--- vss-extension.json // extension's manifest
Important
The dev machine must run the latest version of Node to ensure that the written code is compatible with the production environment on the agent and the latest non-preview version of azure-pipelines-task-lib. Update your task.json file as per the following command:
Do every part of this procedure within the buildandreleasetask folder.
Note
This example walk-through uses Windows with PowerShell. We made it generic for all platforms, but the syntax for getting environment variables is different. If you're using a Mac or Linux, replace any instances of $env:<var>=<val> with export <var>=<val>.
Create task scaffolding
Create the folder structure for the task and install the required libraries and dependencies.
Open a PowerShell command window, go to your buildandreleasetask folder, and run the following command.
npm init --yes
npm init creates the package.json file. We added the --yes parameter to accept all of the default npm init options.
Tip
The agent doesn't automatically install the required modules because it's expecting your task folder to include the node modules. To mitigate this, copy the node_modules to buildandreleasetask. As your task gets bigger, it's easy to exceed the size limit (50MB) of a VSIX file. Before you copy the node folder, you may want to run npm install --production or npm prune --production, or you can write a script to build and pack everything.
Add azure-pipelines-task-lib to your library.
npm install azure-pipelines-task-lib --save
Ensure that TypeScript typings are installed for external dependencies.
Create a .gitignore file and add node_modules to it. Your build process should do an npm install and a typings install so that node_modules are built each time and don't need to be checked in.
Make sure that TypeScript is installed globally with npm in your development environment, so the tsc command is available. If you skip this step, TypeScript version 2.3.4 gets used by default, and you still have to install the package globally to have the tsc command available.
Create tsconfig.json compiler options. This file ensures that your TypeScript files are compiled to JavaScript files.
tsc --init --target es2022
Create task
Now that the scaffolding is complete, we can create our custom task.
Create a task.json file in the buildandreleasetask folder. The task.json file describes the build/release task and is what the build/release system uses to render configuration options to the user and to know which scripts to execute at build/release time.
Copy the following code and replace the {{placeholders}} with your task's information. The most important placeholder is the taskguid, and it must be unique.
To compile an index.js file from index.ts, enter "tsc" from the buildandreleasetask folder.
task.json components
See the following descriptions of some of the components of the task.json file.
Property
Description
id
A unique GUID for your task.
name
Name with no spaces.
friendlyName
Descriptive name (spaces allowed).
description
Detailed description of what your task does.
author
Short string describing the entity developing the build or release task, for example: "Microsoft Corporation."
instanceNameFormat
How the task displays within the build/release step list. You can use variable values by using $(variablename).
groups
Describes the logical grouping of task properties in the UI.
inputs
Inputs to be used when your build or release task runs. This task expects an input with the name samplestring.
execution
There are multiple execution options for this task, including scripts, like Node, PowerShell, PowerShell3, or Process.
restrictions
Restrictions being applied to the task about GitHub Codespaces commands task can call, and variables task can set. We recommend that you specify restriction mode for new tasks.
Note
Create an id with the following command in PowerShell:
Create a tests folder containing a _suite.ts file with the following contents:
import * as path from 'path';
import * as assert from 'assert';
import * as ttm from 'azure-pipelines-task-lib/mock-test';
describe('Sample task tests', function () {
before( function() {
});
after(() => {
});
it('should succeed with simple inputs', function(done: Mocha.Done) {
// Add success test here
});
it('it should fail if tool returns 1', function(done: Mocha.Done) {
// Add failure test here
});
});
Tip
Your test folder should be located in the buildandreleasetask folder. If you get a sync-request error, you can work around it by adding sync-request to the buildandreleasetask folder with the command
npm i --save-dev sync-request.
Create a success.ts file in your test directory with the following contents. This file creation simulates running the task and mocks all calls to outside methods.
import ma = require('azure-pipelines-task-lib/mock-answer');
import tmrm = require('azure-pipelines-task-lib/mock-run');
import path = require('path');
let taskPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'index.js');
let tmr: tmrm.TaskMockRunner = new tmrm.TaskMockRunner(taskPath);
tmr.setInput('samplestring', 'human');
tmr.run();
The success test validates that with the appropriate inputs, it succeeds with no errors or warnings and returns the correct output.
To run the task mock runner, add the following example success test to your _suite.ts file.
it('should succeed with simple inputs', function(done: Mocha.Done) {
this.timeout(1000);
let tp: string = path.join(__dirname, 'success.js');
let tr: ttm.MockTestRunner = new ttm.MockTestRunner(tp);
// tr.run(); //current, old function.
tr.runAsync().then(() => {
console.log(tr.succeeded);
assert.equal(tr.succeeded, true, 'should have succeeded');
assert.equal(tr.warningIssues.length, 0, "should have no warnings");
assert.equal(tr.errorIssues.length, 0, "should have no errors");
console.log(tr.stdout);
assert.equal(tr.stdout.indexOf('Hello human') >= 0, true, "should display Hello human");
done();
}).catch((error) => {
done(error); // Ensure the test case fails if there's an error
});
});
Create a failure.ts file in your test directory as your task mock runner with the following contents:
import ma = require('azure-pipelines-task-lib/mock-answer');
import tmrm = require('azure-pipelines-task-lib/mock-run');
import path = require('path');
let taskPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'index.js');
let tmr: tmrm.TaskMockRunner = new tmrm.TaskMockRunner(taskPath);
tmr.setInput('samplestring', 'bad');
tmr.run();
The failure test validates that when the tool gets bad or incomplete input, it fails in the expected way with helpful output.
To run the task mock runner, add the following code to your _suite.ts file.
it('should fail if tool returns 1', function(done: Mocha.Done) {
this.timeout(1000);
const tp = path.join(__dirname, 'failure.js');
const tr: ttm.MockTestRunner = new ttm.MockTestRunner(tp);
tr.runAsync().then(() => {
console.log(tr.succeeded);
assert.equal(tr.succeeded, false, 'should have failed');
assert.equal(tr.warningIssues.length, 0, 'should have no warnings');
assert.equal(tr.errorIssues.length, 1, 'should have 1 error issue');
assert.equal(tr.errorIssues[0], 'Bad input was given', 'error issue output');
assert.equal(tr.stdout.indexOf('Hello bad'), -1, 'Should not display Hello bad');
done();
});
});
Run the tests.
tsc
mocha tests/_suite.js
Both tests should pass. If you want to run the tests with more verbose output (what you'd see in the build console), set the environment variable: TASK_TEST_TRACE=1.
$env:TASK_TEST_TRACE=1
3. Create the extension manifest file
The extension manifest contains all of the information about your extension. It includes links to your files, including your task folders and images folders. Ensure you created an images folder with extension-icon.png. The following example is an extension manifest that contains the build or release task.
Copy the following .json code and save it as your vss-extension.json file in your home directory.
Don't create this file in the buildandreleasetask folder.
Change the publisher to your publisher name. For more information, see Create a publisher.
Contributions
Property
Description
id
Identifier of the contribution. Must be unique within the extension. Doesn't need to match the name of the build or release task. Typically the build or release task name is in the ID of the contribution.
type
Type of the contribution. Should be ms.vss-distributed-task.task.
targets
Contributions "targeted" by this contribution. Should be ms.vss-distributed-task.tasks.
properties.name
Name of the task. This name must match the folder name of the corresponding self-contained build or release pipeline task.
Files
Property
Description
path
Path of the file or folder relative to the home directory.
Note
For more information about the extension manifest file, such as its properties and what they do, see the extension manifest reference.
4. Package your extension
Package all of your files together to get your extension into the Visual Studio Marketplace. All extensions are packaged as VSIX 2.0-compatible .vsix files. Microsoft provides a cross-platform command-line interface (CLI) to package your extension.
Once you have the tfx-cli, go to your extension's home directory, and run the following command:
An extension or integration's version must be incremented on every update.
When you're updating an existing extension, either update the version in the manifest or pass the --rev-version command line switch. This increments the patch version number of your extension and saves the new version to your manifest.
You must rev both the task version and extension version for an update to occur. tfx extension create --manifest-globs vss-extension.json --rev-version only updates the extension version and not the task version. For more information, see Build Task in GitHub.
Once your packaged extension is in a .vsix file, you're ready to publish your extension to the Marketplace.
All extensions, including extensions from Microsoft, are identified as being provided by a publisher.
If you aren't already a member of an existing publisher, you create one.
If you aren't already a member of an existing publisher, you're prompted to create a publisher. If you're not prompted to create a publisher, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select Publish extensions under Related Sites.
Specify an identifier for your publisher, for example: mycompany-myteam.
This identifier is used as the value for the publisher attribute in your extensions' manifest file.
Specify a display name for your publisher, for example: My Team.
Your publisher is defined. In a future release, you can grant permissions to view and manage your publisher's extensions.
It's easier and more secure to publish extensions under a common publisher,
without the need to share a set of credentials across users.
Upload your extension
Find the Upload new extension button, go to your packaged .vsix file, and select Upload.
You can also upload your extension via the command line interface (CLI) by using the tfx extension publish command instead of tfx extension create to package and publish your extension in one step. You can optionally use --share-with to share your extension with one or more accounts after it gets published.
Select the "Marketplace (publish)" scope. This scope limits the token to only being able to publish extensions to the Marketplace.
Share your extension
Now that you uploaded your extension, it's in the Marketplace, but no one can see it.
Share it with your organization so that you can install and test it.
Right-select your extension and select Share, and enter your organization information. You can share it with other accounts that you want to have access to your extension, too.
Important
Publishers must be verified to share extensions publicly. For more information, see Package/Publish/Install.
Now that your extension is shared in the Marketplace, anyone who wants to use it must install it.
6. Create a build and release pipeline to publish the extension to Marketplace
To maintain the custom task on the Marketplace, create a build and release pipeline on Azure DevOps.
Create a pipeline library variable group to hold the variables used by the pipeline. For more information, see Add and use variable groups. You can make variable groups from the Azure DevOps Library tab or through the CLI. Use the variables within this group in your pipeline. Also, declare the following variables in the variable group:
publisherId: ID of your marketplace publisher
extensionId: ID of your extension, as declared in the vss-extension.json file
extensionName: Name of your extension, as declared in the vss-extension.json file
artifactName: Name of the artifact being created for the VSIX file
Service connection
Create a new Marketplace service connection and grant access permissions for all pipelines.
trigger:
- main
pool:
vmImage: "ubuntu-latest"
variables:
- group: variable-group # Rename to whatever you named your variable group in the prerequisite stage of step 6
stages:
- stage: Run_and_publish_unit_tests
jobs:
- job:
steps:
- task: TfxInstaller@4
inputs:
version: "v0.x"
- task: Npm@1
inputs:
command: 'install'
workingDir: '/TaskDirectory' # Update to the name of the directory of your task
- task: Bash@3
displayName: Compile Javascript
inputs:
targetType: "inline"
script: |
cd TaskDirectory # Update to the name of the directory of your task
tsc
- task: Npm@1
inputs:
command: 'custom'
workingDir: '/TestsDirectory' # Update to the name of the directory of your task's tests
customCommand: 'testScript' # See the definition in the explanation section below - it may be called test
- task: PublishTestResults@2
inputs:
testResultsFormat: 'JUnit'
testResultsFiles: '**/ResultsFile.xml'
- stage: Package_extension_and_publish_build_artifacts
jobs:
- job:
steps:
- task: TfxInstaller@4
inputs:
version: "0.x"
- task: Npm@1
inputs:
command: 'install'
workingDir: '/TaskDirectory' # Update to the name of the directory of your task
- task: Bash@3
displayName: Compile Javascript
inputs:
targetType: "inline"
script: |
cd TaskDirectory # Update to the name of the directory of your task
tsc
- task: QueryAzureDevOpsExtensionVersion@4
name: QueryVersion
inputs:
connectTo: 'VsTeam'
connectedServiceName: 'ServiceConnection' # Change to whatever you named the service connection
publisherId: '$(PublisherID)'
extensionId: '$(ExtensionID)'
versionAction: 'Patch'
- task: PackageAzureDevOpsExtension@4
inputs:
rootFolder: '$(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)'
publisherId: '$(PublisherID)'
extensionId: '$(ExtensionID)'
extensionName: '$(ExtensionName)'
extensionVersion: '$(QueryVersion.Extension.Version)'
updateTasksVersion: true
updateTasksVersionType: 'patch'
extensionVisibility: 'private' # Change to public if you're publishing to the marketplace
extensionPricing: 'free'
- task: CopyFiles@2
displayName: "Copy Files to: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)"
inputs:
Contents: "**/*.vsix"
TargetFolder: "$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)"
- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
inputs:
PathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
ArtifactName: '$(ArtifactName)'
publishLocation: 'Container'
- stage: Download_build_artifacts_and_publish_the_extension
jobs:
- job:
steps:
- task: TfxInstaller@4
inputs:
version: "v0.x"
- task: DownloadBuildArtifacts@0
inputs:
buildType: "current"
downloadType: "single"
artifactName: "$(ArtifactName)"
downloadPath: "$(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)"
- task: PublishAzureDevOpsExtension@4
inputs:
connectTo: 'VsTeam'
connectedServiceName: 'ServiceConnection' # Change to whatever you named the service connection
fileType: 'vsix'
vsixFile: '$(PublisherID).$(ExtensionName)/$(PublisherID)..vsix'
publisherId: '$(PublisherID)'
extensionId: '$(ExtensionID)'
extensionName: '$(ExtensionName)'
updateTasksVersion: false
extensionVisibility: 'private' # Change to public if you're publishing to the marketplace
extensionPricing: 'free'
Add "Use Node CLI for Azure DevOps (tfx-cli)" to install the tfx-cli onto your build agent.
Add the "npm" task with the "install" command and target the folder with the package.json file.
Add the "Bash" task to compile the TypeScript into JavaScript.
Add the "npm" task with the "custom" command, target the folder that contains the unit tests, and input testScript as the command. Use the following inputs:
Command: custom
Working folder that contains package.json: /TestsDirectory
Command and arguments: testScript
Add the "Publish Test Results" task. If you're using the Mocha XUnit reporter, ensure that the result format is "JUnit" and not "XUnit." Set the search folder to the root directory. Use the following inputs:
Test result format: JUnit
Test results files: **/ResultsFile.xml
Search folder: $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)
After the test results get published, the output under the tests tab should look like the following example.
Stage 2: Package the extension and publish build artifacts
Add "Use Node CLI for Azure DevOps (tfx-cli)" to install the tfx-cli onto your build agent.
Add the "npm" task with the "install" command and target the folder with the package.json file.
Add the "Bash" task to compile the TypeScript into JavaScript.
To query the existing version, add the "Query Extension Version" task using the following inputs:
Connect to: Visual Studio Marketplace
Visual Studio Marketplace (Service connection): Service Connection
Publisher ID: ID of your Visual Studio Marketplace publisher
Extension ID: ID of your extension in the vss-extension.json file
Increase version: Patch
Output Variable: Task.Extension.Version
To package the extensions based on manifest Json, add the "Package Extension" task using the following inputs:
Root manifests folder: Points to root directory that contains manifest file. For example, $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory) is the root directory
Manifest file: vss-extension.json
Publisher ID: ID of your Visual Studio Marketplace publisher
Extension ID: ID of your extension in the vss-extension.json file
Extension Name: Name of your extension in the vss-extension.json file
Extension Version: $(Task.Extension.Version)
Override tasks version: checked (true)
Override Type: Replace Only Patch (1.0.r)
Extension Visibility: If the extension is still in development, set the value to private. To release the extension to the public, set the value to public
To copy to published files, add the "Copy files" task using the following inputs:
Contents: All of the files to be copied for publishing them as an artifact
Target folder: The folder that the files get copied to
For example: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
Add "Publish build artifacts" to publish the artifacts for use in other jobs or pipelines. Use the following inputs:
Path to publish: The path to the folder that contains the files that are being published
For example: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
Artifact name: The name given to the artifact
Artifacts publish location: Choose "Azure Pipelines" to use the artifact in future jobs
Stage 3: Download build artifacts and publish the extension
Add "Use Node CLI for Azure DevOps (tfx-cli)" to install the tfx-cli onto your build agent.
To download the artifacts onto a new job, add the "Download build artifacts" task using the following inputs:
Download artifacts produced by: If you're downloading the artifact on a new job from the same pipeline, select "Current build." If you're downloading on a new pipeline, select "Specific build."
Download type: Choose "Specific artifact" to download all files that were published.
Artifact name: The published artifact's name.
Destination directory: The folder where the files should be downloaded.
The last task that you need is the "Publish Extension" task. Use the following inputs:
Connect to: Visual Studio Marketplace
Visual Studio Marketplace connection: ServiceConnection
Input file type: VSIX file
VSIX file: /Publisher.*.vsix
Publisher ID: ID of your Visual Studio Marketplace publisher
Extension ID: ID of your extension in the vss-extension.json file
Extension Name: Name of your extension in the vss-extension.json file
Extension visibility: Either private or public
Optional: Install and test your extension
Install an extension that is shared with you in just a few steps:
From your organization control panel (https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/_admin), go to the project collection administration page.
In the Extensions tab, find your extension in the "Extensions Shared With Me" group and select the extension link.
Install the extension.
If you can't see the Extensions tab, make sure you're in the control panel (the administration page at the project collection level, https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/_admin) and not the administration page for a project.
If you don't see the Extensions tab, then extensions aren't enabled for your organization. You can get early access to the extensions feature by joining the Visual Studio Partner Program.
To package and publish Azure DevOps Extensions to the Visual Studio Marketplace, you can download Azure DevOps Extension Tasks.
FAQs
See the following frequently asked questions (FAQs) about adding custom build or release tasks in extensions for Azure DevOps.
Q: How can I restrict Azure Pipelines commands usage for task?
You can restrict Azure Pipelines commands usage and variables, which get set by task.
This action could be useful to prevent unrestricted access to variables/vso commands for custom scripts which task executes. We recommend that you set it up for new tasks.
To apply, you might need to add the following statement to your task.json file:
If restricted value is specified for mode - you can only execute the following commands by the task:
logdetail
logissue
complete
setprogress
setsecret
setvariable
debug
settaskvariable
prependpath
publish
The settableVariables restrictions allow you to pass in an allowlist of variables, which get set by setvariable or prependpath commands. It also allows basic regular expressions. For example, if your allowlist was: ['abc', 'test*'], setting abc, test, or test1 as variables with any value or prepending them to the path would succeed, but if you try to set a variable proxy it would warn. Empty list means that no variables get changed by task.
If either the settableVariables or commands key is omitted, relevant restriction isn't applied.
The restriction feature is available from 2.182.1 agent version.
Q: How is the cancellation signal handled by a task?
A: The pipeline agent sends SIGINT and SIGTERM signals to the relevant child process. There are no explicit means in the task library to process. For more information, see Agent jobs cancellation.
Q: How can I remove the task from project collection?
A: We don't support the automatic deletion of tasks. Automatic deletion isn't safe and breaks existing pipelines that already use such tasks. But, you can mark tasks as deprecated. To do so, bump the task version and mark the task as deprecated.
Q: How can I upgrade my custom task to the latest Node?
Microsoft Hosted agents and various Azure DevOps Server versions have different life cycles, leading to different Node runner versions being installed depending on where a task is running. To ensure compatibility across agents with different Node runner versions, the task.json file can include multiple execution sections. In the following example, Azure Pipeline agents with the Node 20 runner use it by default, while agent without it fall back to the Node 10 implementation.
To ensure your code behaves as expected, test your tasks on the various Node runner versions.
In your task's execution section, update from Node or Node10 to Node16 or Node20.
To support older server versions, you should leave the Node/Node10 target. Older Azure DevOps Server versions might not have the latest Node runner version included.
You can choose to share the entry point defined in the target or have targets optimized to the Node version used.
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