Command Line task
TFS 2017 | TFS 2015
Use this task to run a program from the command prompt.
Note
In Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2018 and previous versions, build and release pipelines are called definitions, runs are called builds, service connections are called service endpoints, stages are called environments, and jobs are called phases.
Demands
None
Running batch and .CMD files
Azure Pipelines puts your inline script contents into a temporary batch file (.cmd) in order to run it.
When you want to run a batch file from another batch file in Windows CMD, you must use the call
command, otherwise the first batch file is terminated.
This will result in Azure Pipelines running your intended script up until the first batch file, then running the batch file, then ending the step.
Additional lines in the first script wouldn't be run.
You should always prepend call
before executing a batch file in an Azure Pipelines script step.
Important
You may not realize you're running a batch file.
For example, npm
on Windows, along with any tools that you install using npm install -g
, are actually batch files.
Always use call npm <command>
to run NPM commands in a Command Line task on Windows.
Arguments
Argument | Description |
---|---|
script Script |
(Required) Contents of the script you want to run Default value: echo Write your commands here\n\necho Hello world\n" |
workingDirectory Working directory |
(Optional) Specify the working directory in which you want to run the command. If you leave it empty, the working directory is $(Build.SourcesDirectory). |
failOnStderr Fail on Standard Error |
If this is true, this task will fail if any errors are written to stderr |
env Environment variables |
(Optional) A list of additional items to map into the process's environment. For example, secret variables are not automatically mapped. If you have a secret variable called Foo , you can map it in as shown in the following example. |
- script: echo %MYSECRET%
env:
MySecret: $(Foo)
Example
steps:
- script: date /t
displayName: Get the date
- script: dir
workingDirectory: $(Agent.BuildDirectory)
displayName: List contents of a folder
- script: |
set MYVAR=foo
set
displayName: Set a variable and then display all
env:
aVarFromYaml: someValue
Open source
This task is open source on GitHub. Feedback and contributions are welcome.
FAQ
Where can I learn Windows commands?
An A-Z Index of the Windows CMD command line
Do I need an agent?
You need at least one agent to run your build or release.
I'm having problems. How can I troubleshoot them?
See Troubleshoot Build and Release.
I can't select a default agent pool and I can't queue my build or release. How do I fix this?
See Agent pools.
My NuGet push task is failing with the following error: "Error: unable to get local issuer certificate". How can I fix this?
This can be fixed by adding a trusted root certificate. You can either add the NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS=file
environment variable to your build agent, or you can add the NODE.EXTRA.CA.CERTS=file
task variable in your pipeline. See Node.js documentation for more details about this variable. See Set variables in a pipeline for instructions on setting a variable in your pipeline.
I use TFS on-premises and I don't see some of these features. Why not?
Some of these features are available only on Azure Pipelines and not yet available on-premises. Some features are available on-premises if you have upgraded to the latest version of TFS.