I have a build pipeline in Azure DevOps for my github repo - where are the binaries?

Question

Here is the (unedited from template) YAML definition of the pipeline:

# .NET Desktop
# Build and run tests for .NET Desktop or Windows classic desktop solutions.
# Add steps that publish symbols, save build artifacts, and more:
# https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/devops/pipelines/apps/windows/dot-net

trigger:
- master

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

variables:
  solution: '**/*.sln'
  buildPlatform: 'Any CPU'
  buildConfiguration: 'Release'

steps:
- task: NuGetToolInstaller@1

- task: NuGetCommand@2
  inputs:
    restoreSolution: '$(solution)'

- task: VSBuild@1
  inputs:
    solution: '$(solution)'
    platform: '$(buildPlatform)'
    configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)'

- task: VSTest@2
  inputs:
    platform: '$(buildPlatform)'
    configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)'

This pipeline triggers when code is pushed to the master branch of my repo as intended - however I can't find the binaries that it built! How do I access them so I can share them with folks? Are the binaries unavailable because some of my unit tests failed, causing the build to fail, or something?

Answer 1

You need to publish those somewhere. It's up to you to choose what to keep at what stage of the pipeline. You can copy files into a directory, or just grab the whole $(Build.SourcesDirectory). You can also instruct the VsBuild task to redirect output to a specific directory by passing in the /p:OutputPath=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) commandline argument.

You then have a few options:

• GitHub Release task - Creates a release in GitHub and associates the files you want to it.

  # GitHub Release
  # Create, edit, or delete a GitHub release
  - task: GitHubRelease@0
    inputs:
      gitHubConnection: 
      #repositoryName: '$(Build.Repository.Name)' 
      #action: 'create' # Options: create, edit, delete
      #target: '$(Build.SourceVersion)' # Required when action == Create || Action == Edit
      #tagSource: 'auto' # Required when action == Create# Options: auto, manual
      #tagPattern: # Optional
      #tag: # Required when action == Edit || Action == Delete || TagSource == Manual
      #title: # Optional
      #releaseNotesSource: 'file' # Optional. Options: file, input
      #releaseNotesFile: # Optional
      #releaseNotes: # Optional
      #assets: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/*' # Optional
      #assetUploadMode: 'delete' # Optional. Options: delete, replace
      #isDraft: false # Optional
      #isPreRelease: false # Optional
      #addChangeLog: true # Optional
      #compareWith: 'lastFullRelease' # Required when addChangeLog == True. Options: lastFullRelease, lastRelease, lastReleaseByTag
      #releaseTag: # Required when compareWith == LastReleaseByTag
  

• Publish Pipeline Artifact (Azure DevOps) - Links the selected files to the build as an artifact. You can download them from the pipeline's summary page in Azure DevOps. Works well in both Build and Release pipelines.

  # Publish pipeline artifact
  # Publish (upload) a file or directory as a named artifact for the current run
  - task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
    inputs:
      targetPath: '$(Pipeline.Workspace)' 
      artifact: 'Output'
  

• Publish Build Artifact (Azure DevOps and TFS) - Similar to Publish Pipeline Artifact, but less efficient in its transfers and specific to build pipelines. Can also publish to a file share instead of an attachment to the pipeline summary.

  # Publish build artifacts
  # Publish build artifacts to Azure Pipelines or a Windows file share
  - task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1        
    inputs:
      #pathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'         
      #artifactName: 'drop' 
      #publishLocation: 'Container' # Options: container, filePath
      #targetPath: # Required when publishLocation == FilePath
      #parallel: false # Optional
      #parallelCount: # Optional