Azure Pipelines Trigger Configuration and Troubleshooting

Configuring Azure Pipelines triggers can be a bit tricky, but understanding the basics can make all the difference. Azure Pipelines triggers can be set up to run on a schedule, on push events to specific branches, or when a file is updated.

To set up a schedule trigger, you need to specify the cron expression that defines when the pipeline should run. For example, you can set up a pipeline to run every day at 2am using the cron expression `0 2 * * *`.

Azure Pipelines also supports triggers on push events to specific branches. This is useful for automating builds and deployments when code is pushed to a specific branch. For instance, you can set up a pipeline to run on push events to the `main` branch.

Triggering on file updates can also be useful for automating builds and deployments when specific files are updated.

Pipeline configuration is crucial for Azure Pipelines trigger, as it determines how the pipeline responds to events and changes in your code.

You can configure pipeline triggers to run automatically when a code change is pushed to your repository, or when a specific branch is updated.

Pipeline variables can also be used to customize the pipeline's behavior, such as specifying the build configuration or the target environment.

UI settings can override YAML trigger settings, so check the pipeline settings UI if your triggers aren't firing.

The Override the YAML trigger from here setting in the pipeline settings UI can be enabled or disabled for Continuous integration or Pull request validation triggers.

You can access the pipeline settings UI by editing your pipeline and choosing ... and then Triggers.

If your YAML pipeline has both YAML scheduled triggers and UI defined scheduled triggers, only the UI defined scheduled triggers are run.

To run the YAML defined scheduled triggers, remove all scheduled triggers defined in the pipeline settings UI.

A push must be made after removing UI scheduled triggers for the YAML scheduled triggers to start running.

The Disable implied YAML CI trigger setting is enabled by default, which means CI triggers for YAML pipelines are not enabled if the YAML pipeline doesn't have a trigger section.

You can disable triggers completely by adding a `trigger: none` row in the YAML file.

Batch runs can be enabled by adding `batch: true`, which means multiple pushes can result in a single build for the combined changes.

You can define three kinds of Triggers at the Pipeline-level: CI Triggers, PR Triggers, and Scheduled Triggers.

CI Triggers are the most basic and often used trigger, and their purpose is to trigger when new code is pushed to the repo and get your code all built and packaged ready for release.

If you don't specify a trigger in your pipeline, it will run on each push on all branches. You can also disable triggers completely by adding a `trigger: none` row in the file.

You can batch runs with `batch: true`, which means if you have a pipeline run ongoing, and two more pushes are done to the repository, those will result in just a single build for the changes combined.

You can opt to skip CI triggers for your push if you include "[skip ci]" text in your commit message or description.

Pipeline Triggers are a crucial aspect of Azure Pipelines, allowing you to automate the build and deployment process. You can use various types of triggers, including Continuous Integration (CI) Triggers, Pull Request Validation (PR) Triggers, and Build Completion Triggers.

CI Triggers start a pipeline every time you push an update to specified branches or tags. By default, builds are configured with a CI Trigger on all branches. You can specify which branches and file paths should get triggered using the include and exclude syntax.

You can also use Branch Filters to trigger the build only when specified criteria are matched. Branch Filters allow you to define which branches to include or exclude. You can use wildcard characters like "features/modules/*" while configuring a branch specification.

Here are some common trigger options:

You can also use Webhook Triggers to subscribe to external events and enable Azure Pipelines YAML Triggers. Webhook Triggers differ from Resource Triggers in that there is no traceability, but you can utilize Webhook Event which provides a JSON payload for basic event analysis.

Pipeline Triggers are a crucial part of Azure Pipelines, allowing you to automate the build process based on various events.

There are three types of Triggers: CI Triggers, PR Triggers, and Scheduled Triggers. CI Triggers start a pipeline every time you push an update to the specified branches or tags.

You can configure CI Triggers to include or exclude specific branches and file paths. For example, you can specify "include: master" to only trigger the pipeline on the master branch.

PR Triggers start a pipeline when you open a pull request or make modifications to it. You can configure branch policies to allow PR validation.

Build Completion Triggers start a pipeline upon the successful completion of another build. This is useful when you have multiple products or components that rely on each other.

CI Triggers are optional, and if you omit the trigger parameter, the pipeline will trigger on any update to any branch. However, you can specify the trigger parameter to control which branches and file paths trigger the pipeline.

You can use the following syntax to specify your requirements:

Alternatively, you can disable CI Triggers by specifying "trigger: none".

Here are the possible options for defining CI Triggers:

You can also use the following commands to trigger a pipeline:

Branch filters are a crucial aspect of pipeline triggers, and understanding how they work can save you a lot of headaches.

Branch filters allow you to trigger a pipeline only when specific criteria are matched, such as branches or tags. You can specify both include and exclude clauses for branches, tags, and paths when defining a YAML PR or CI trigger.

If you specify an exclude clause without an include clause, it's equivalent to specifying * in the include clause, meaning nothing will trigger.

To use wildcard characters like “features/modules/*” in branch filters, simply type the branch specification and press Enter.

When configuring branch filters, make sure the include clause matches the details of your commit and that the exclude clause doesn't exclude them.

Releases are different from Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines, and you shouldn't use CI triggers for your release process.

The reason is that it's not essential whether the contents of your repository have changed, but rather that you have a new version of your binaries built by a process.

In Azure Pipelines, you can use Pipelines as Resources to enable a more suitable release process.

When editing your pipeline, choose the three dots and then Triggers to check if your trigger or pr triggers are firing.

If your triggers don't seem to be working, check the Override the YAML trigger from here setting for the types of trigger available for your repo.

This setting can be found by selecting Continuous integration or Pull request validation.

Make sure to check the Override the YAML trigger from here setting to ensure your triggers are firing correctly.

If you're unsure, try checking the setting while editing your pipeline to see if it resolves the issue.

UI Settings Override can be a bit tricky, but it's essential to understand how it works to avoid pipeline issues. UI settings can override YAML trigger settings, so make sure to check that setting if your triggers don't seem to be firing.

To do this, edit your pipeline and choose the ... menu, then Triggers. Look for the Override the YAML trigger from here setting, and ensure it's not enabled for the trigger types available for your repo.

If you have both YAML scheduled triggers and UI defined scheduled triggers, only the UI defined scheduled triggers will run. This means you need to remove the scheduled triggers defined in the pipeline settings UI to run the YAML defined scheduled triggers.

To access the pipeline settings UI from a YAML pipeline, edit your pipeline, choose the ... menu, then Triggers. Remove all scheduled triggers, and once you've done that, a push must be made for the YAML scheduled triggers to start running.

Time zone conversions can be tricky, especially when working with scheduled triggers. YAML scheduled triggers are set using UTC time zone.

If your scheduled triggers don't seem to be firing at the right time, confirm the conversions between UTC and your local time zone. This is crucial to get right, or your triggers might not fire as expected.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) can also impact scheduled trigger times. However, there's no specific information provided in the article sections about how to handle DST conversions.

To avoid confusion, make sure to take into account the day setting when converting between UTC and your local time zone. This is a key detail to remember when working with scheduled triggers.

Pipeline Resources are triggered by resources defined in your pipeline, such as pipelines, builds, repositories, containers, packages, or webhooks sources.

Resource Triggers can track services utilized in your pipeline, including version, artifacts, associated changes, and work items. They can be consumed anywhere in your Azure Pipeline.

You can use pipelines as resources, which will trigger whenever a build completes on a specific pipeline, like "yaml-build-all". This is useful for automating your CD logic.

However, using deployment jobs in your pipelines can lead to issues, as the resources field cannot use variables or if conditions. This means you might end up with the most recent packages regardless of the branch that built them.

To select a specific build to release, you can use the resources-view during runtime and see the pipeline runs to select from.

Pipeline Scheduling is a powerful feature in Azure Pipelines that allows you to automate runs of your pipeline based on predefined schedules. You can define schedules in two different places: in your YAML pipeline or in the Azure DevOps UI.

There are three types of triggers that can be defined at the pipeline level: CI Triggers, PR Triggers, and Scheduled Triggers. Scheduled Triggers are optional and can be defined using the `schedules:` parameter.

Scheduled Triggers can be defined to run on updates to the pipeline's repo, pull requests to the pipeline's repo, or on a schedule. You can also use CRON syntax to define scheduled triggers in your YAML pipeline.

To define and run Schedule Triggers, you can either use the Pipeline Settings UI or configure it to run on a scheduled basis using a CRON syntax. The Pipeline Settings UI is a simpler option, where you just need to enter your schedule frequency along with Branch Filters.

Here are the different types of schedules you can define:

You can view your upcoming scheduled runs for a specific pipeline by visiting the Kebab Menu and clicking the option "Scheduled runs". You can also check your completed scheduled triggers from the option Trigger Runs > Schedule.

There are three different kinds of triggers that can be defined at the pipeline level: CI Triggers, PR Triggers, and Scheduled Triggers.

CI Triggers are used for continuous integration.

PR Triggers are used to trigger a build pipeline for pull requests.

Scheduled Triggers are used to automate the pipeline at a specific time or frequency.

You can select the appropriate triggers based on your pipeline type and requirements.

You can use Azure DevOps Build Pipeline Trigger to trigger a build pipeline for continuous integration and pull requests.