Validating Azure Pipeline Changes

When modifying Azure DevOps pipeline files (YAML files in build/azure-pipelines/), you can validate changes locally using the Azure CLI before committing. This avoids the slow feedback loop of pushing changes, waiting for CI, and checking results.

Prerequisites

1. Check if Azure CLI is installed:

   az --version
   

   If not installed, install it:

   # macOS
   brew install azure-cli
   
   # Windows (PowerShell as Administrator)
   winget install Microsoft.AzureCLI
   
   # Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
   curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash
   

2. Check if the DevOps extension is installed:

   az extension show --name azure-devops
   

   If not installed, add it:

   az extension add --name azure-devops
   

3. Authenticate:

   az login
   az devops configure --defaults organization=https://dev.azure.com/monacotools project=Monaco
   

VS Code Main Build

The main VS Code build pipeline:

• Organization: monacotools
• Project: Monaco
• Definition ID: 111
• URL: https://dev.azure.com/monacotools/Monaco/_build?definitionId=111

VS Code Insider Scheduled Builds

Two Insider builds run automatically on a scheduled basis:

• Morning build: ~7:00 AM CET
• Evening build: ~7:00 PM CET

These scheduled builds use the same pipeline definition (111) but run on the main branch to produce Insider releases.

Queueing a Build

Use the queue command to queue a validation build:

# Queue a build on the current branch
node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue

# Queue with a specific source branch
node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue --branch my-feature-branch

# Queue with custom parameters
node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue --parameter "VSCODE_BUILD_WEB=false" --parameter "VSCODE_PUBLISH=false"

# Parameter value with spaces
node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue --parameter "VSCODE_BUILD_TYPE=Product Build"

Important: Before queueing a new build, cancel any previous builds on the same branch that you no longer need. This frees up build agents and reduces resource waste:

# Find the build ID from status, then cancel it
node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status
node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts cancel --build-id <id>
node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue

Script Options

Product Build Queue Parameters (build/azure-pipelines/product-build.yml)

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