Azure DevOps Templates for Efficient Development

Azure DevOps templates are a game-changer for efficient development. They allow you to create repeatable, consistent, and high-quality development processes.

By using Azure DevOps templates, you can save time and effort by automating tasks and streamlining your workflow. This is especially useful for large-scale projects with multiple teams and stakeholders.

These templates can be customized to fit your specific needs, making them a flexible solution for development teams. They can be used to create templates for Azure Pipelines, Azure Boards, and Azure Repos.

With Azure DevOps templates, you can ensure consistency across your projects and teams, reducing errors and improving overall quality.

Azure DevOps Templates are a collection of templates you can use in Azure DevOps and GitHub. These templates can help streamline your workflow and ensure consistency across your projects.

You can extend from a template with resources in your Azure pipeline. This feature allows you to build upon existing templates and add your own custom resources.

For the most secure pipelines, start by using extends templates. These templates define the outer structure of the pipeline and prevent malicious code from infiltrating the pipeline.

A template file is named template.yml, which is a good practice to follow.

Template customization is a powerful feature in Azure DevOps templates. You can extend from a template and use an include template with variables to create a pipeline with stages for development, testing, and production.

To customize a process template, you can use one of the tools supported by Azure DevOps, such as any text editor or XML editor to modify XML files, or the Process Editor Tool.

Customizing a process template involves customizing one or more files associated with a functional area. This can include teams, groups, permissions, area and iteration paths, work item tracking, and test management.

The ProcessTemplate.xml plug-in file defines which plug-ins to include in the template. This file contains all the task groups that you want to run to create a project. Each task group references a subordinate XML plug-in file where the specific tasks for that plug-in are defined.

Here are some examples of functional areas you can customize:

You can also customize a process template to enforce specific YAML security features, such as preventing inline script execution. For example, you can prevent the step types bash, powershell, pwsh, and script from running.

By using iteration and rewriting user steps, you can create a template that enforces specific YAML security features and prevents unauthorized tasks from running.

Template management in Azure DevOps is a powerful feature that allows you to reuse and customize templates across your projects.

You can extend a template and use an include template with variables to create a reusable pipeline configuration. This is achieved by defining a template for variables and another for stages or jobs, which can then be imported and customized in your pipeline.

To manage work item templates, you can access them from the Project settings, under Boards and Team configuration. From there, you can select the work item type you're interested in and view or add templates for that type.

Here are some key actions you can perform on work item templates:

By using templates effectively, you can streamline your workflow and reduce repetition in your projects.

Repository synchronization pipelines play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of your template repository.

To set up a pipeline, you need to create a pipeline from the definition located in ./ci/pipeline.yaml, which will sync with Github.

You can find this pipeline by going to Azure DevOps > Project > Repos > Set up build.

To run the pipeline, choose the assisting Azure Pipelines YAML file and press Continue. Then, press Run to execute the pipeline.

Here's a step-by-step guide to running the pipeline:

This pipeline will sync with Github, ensuring that your repository stays up-to-date.

Managing templates is a crucial part of project management, and it's great to have a system in place to make it easy.

You can access your team's templates by opening Project settings and expanding Boards, then choose Team configuration. If you need to switch teams, use the team selector.

To view or add templates for a specific work item type, select Templates and choose the type you're interested in. For example, if you want to view templates for capturing user stories, select User Story.

To manage templates for a work item type, follow these steps:

You can perform various actions on the templates, such as adding, editing, copying, deleting, renaming, and getting the link.

To add tags to a template, you can simply list them out with a comma separating each one.

You can add multiple tags to a template at once, making it easy to apply them to work items.

If you don't specify tags to remove, all existing tags on a work item will remain defined.

This means you can use a template to add new tags to a work item without losing any existing ones.

Job, stage, and step templates with parameters can be incredibly powerful in pipeline management. You can define parameters in these templates, which can then be referenced and customized when they're used in a pipeline.

Templates like npm-with-params.yml can define parameters like name and vmImage, which can be used to dynamically create jobs with specific names and VM images.

The pipeline referencing the template can specify different parameter values for each reference, allowing for flexibility and customization. For example, the pipeline might reference the template three times with different parameter values for the operating system and VM image names.

Here are some examples of how parameters can be used in job, stage, and step templates:

Note that scalar parameters without a specified type are treated as strings, and non-empty strings are cast to true in a Boolean context. This means that you can use parameters like this: eq(true, parameters['myparam']) to check if a parameter is true.

Templates can also include steps that can be automatically inserted into a pipeline. For example, a template might include a step for credential scanning or static code checks. These steps can be placed before or after user steps in every job, providing an extra layer of automation and security.

Template reuse is a powerful feature in Azure DevOps, allowing you to define variables in one YAML file and include them in another template. This can be useful for storing all of your variables in one file.

You can use parameters instead of variables when you want to restrict the type. For example, in the azure-pipeline.yml file, you can define a parameter with a specific type, such as a string or a boolean.

Variables can also be reused by extending from a template and using an include template with variables. This is a common scenario where you have a pipeline with stages for development, testing, and production, and you want to use both a template for variables and an extends template for stages or jobs.

You can apply a template within a work item to update its fields with the defined template fields. This is useful for consistency across similar work items.

To do this, open a new or existing work item and choose the actions icon to open the menu. Select Templates and then pick the name of a predefined template. Only templates defined for teams you belong to will appear.

Refreshing your browser can help you discover the latest templates added. If you don't see any templates, it might be because there aren't any for that work item type.

Applying a template within a work item is a straightforward process. Save the work item for the changes to be applied, and the fields changed will be noted in the History field.

You can also apply a template to several work items at once, which can save time and effort. To do this, select the work items you want to update from the backlog or a query results list, and then open the actions menu for one of them. Choose the template to apply, and field changes will be automatically applied and saved.

Here's a step-by-step guide to applying a template to multiple work items:

1. Open or run a query that lists one or more work items whose fields you want to capture.

2. Right-click the work items—which must be of the same type—and choose Apply Template from the context menu.

3. Select the template to use and select OK.

4. Save the work item.

Step reuse is a powerful feature that allows you to insert a template to reuse one or more steps across several jobs. This is particularly useful when you have a set of common steps that need to be executed in multiple jobs.

You can insert a template to reuse one or more steps across several jobs. This is achieved by referencing the template in your pipeline and specifying values for the template parameters. This way, you can avoid duplicating code and reduce the complexity of your pipeline.

Templates can be reused with steps, and in fact, step templates can define parameters that can be used to customize the behavior of the step. For example, a template can define a parameter named runExtendedTests with a default value of false.

A step template can be reused across multiple jobs by referencing the template in your pipeline and specifying values for the template parameters. This is a great way to reuse common steps and reduce code duplication.

Here are some examples of how to use step templates with parameters:

By reusing step templates, you can simplify your pipeline and make it easier to maintain. It's a great way to avoid duplicating code and reduce the complexity of your pipeline.

Reusing variables is a great way to store all of your variables in one file.

You can define variables in one YAML and include them in another template, making it easier to maintain your code.

This approach is useful for storing all your variables in one place, and it's a good idea to keep them organized.

Variables defined in an included template can only be used to define variables, not for complex logic or steps.

Use parameters instead of variables when you want to restrict the type of input.

Passing parameters to variables with templates is a powerful feature that allows you to customize your variables on the fly.

Template security is crucial to prevent unauthorized changes to your Azure DevOps templates.

YAML pipeline security features include built-in protections that can be enforced through extends template.

Implementing restrictions such as the ones mentioned can enhance pipeline security and protect your templates from unwanted modifications.

Azure Pipelines imposes certain limits to prevent runaway growth in pipeline size and complexity. These limits help keep your pipelines manageable and efficient.

One of the key limits is the number of separate YAML files that can be included in a pipeline. This is capped at 100 files, whether they're included directly or indirectly. This helps prevent pipelines from becoming too bloated and hard to maintain.

Another limit is the number of levels of template nesting, which is set at 20 levels. This means that you can't nest templates too deeply, which can make it harder to understand and troubleshoot your pipelines.

Lastly, there's a memory limit of 10 megabytes while parsing the YAML. In practice, this translates to between 600 KB to 2 MB of on-disk YAML, depending on the specific features used. This helps prevent pipelines from consuming too much memory and slowing down your workflow.

Here's a summary of the imposed limits:

Yaml Pipeline Security is a crucial aspect of template security. The YAML pipeline syntax includes several built-in protections.

One of the key features is the use of extends template, which can enforce the use of these protections. This ensures that pipelines are secured by default.

For enhanced pipeline security, you can implement any of the following restrictions.

You can extend a pipeline from a template and use an include template with variables to create reusable configurations. This is a common scenario in Azure DevOps, where you can define a set of virtual machine variables in a template and then use them in your pipeline.

To create a reusable stage configuration, you can define a template with parameters like name, vmImage, and steps. For example, the stage-template.yml file defines a reusable stage configuration with these parameters.

You can also configure a required template check for a resource to enforce the use of a specific template. This check applies only when the pipeline extends from a template, and it will fail if the pipeline doesn't reference the required template.

You can extend a template and use an include template with variables to create a reusable configuration. This approach is useful for pipelines with multiple stages that require consistent but customizable settings.

Variables can be defined in one YAML file and included in another template, making it easy to store and reuse variables across multiple pipelines. This is especially useful when you want to define all your variables in one place.

You can use parameters instead of variables when you want to restrict the type, such as when passing a DIRECTORY parameter to a RELEASE_COMMAND variable.

Variable templates can be used to pass parameters to variables, allowing for more flexibility in your pipeline configurations. This can be particularly useful for defining complex variable values that depend on other parameters.

By using variable templates with parameters, you can create a more modular and maintainable pipeline configuration that's easier to understand and modify.

Conditional Execution is a powerful feature that allows you to restrict stages and jobs to run only under specific conditions. This can be especially useful for ensuring that certain builds or deployments only happen for the main branch.

You can use conditions to control the execution of stages and jobs. In fact, the example shows that a condition can be used to restrict code builds to only run for the main branch. This is a great way to prevent unnecessary builds or deployments from happening.

Conditions can be set up to check for specific branch names, tags, or other criteria. This allows you to tailor the execution of your stages and jobs to your specific needs. For instance, you might want to run a specific stage only when a certain tag is pushed to your repository.

To enforce the use of a specific template, you can configure the required template check for a resource. This check applies only when the pipeline extends from a template.

You can monitor the check's status by viewing the pipeline job. If the pipeline doesn't extend from the required template, the check fails and the run stops, notifying you of the failed check.

The required template check passes when you use the required template.

You must reference the following params.yml template in any pipeline that extends it.

To demonstrate a pipeline failure, comment out the reference to params.yml.

Configuring Build Service permissions is a crucial step in template configuration. To do this, navigate to Azure DevOps > Project > Project settings > Repositories > azure-devops-templates > Permissions.

You'll need to give the Build Service permission to push changes to the template repository. This can be done by granting the necessary permissions to the Project Name Build Service ([org name]).

To grant permissions, follow these steps:

By following these steps, you'll be able to configure the Build Service permissions and ensure that your template repository is properly set up.

Naming restrictions are in place to avoid XML validation errors when adding objects to a process template. These restrictions apply to various Team Foundation objects.

For example, most process template components only affect the project they're created in, but exceptions include global lists, link types, and work item fields, which are defined for a project collection.

To ensure consistency, work item field names, link type names, and global lists are scoped to a project collection, meaning changes to these objects will be reflected in all projects defined in the collection.

If you're using SQL Server Reporting Services, be aware that work item field names must match across all work item types defined for the project collection.

Here's a summary of the naming restrictions in a table:

This means that work item field names, link type names, and global lists are shared across all projects in a collection, so be mindful of these shared resources when customizing your process template.

Adding a team dashboard link is a great way to streamline your workflow. You can add links to a Markdown widget that appear on your team dashboard in the web portal.

These links open a work item with the template defined fields predefined. This helps your team members quickly access the necessary information to complete tasks.

For example, you can add links to three templates, making it easy for your team to navigate and find the right template.