Azure DevOps agent running an application with a dialog box

Question

I am trying to run National Instruments TestStand Sequence Analyzer as part of a build in Azure DevOps using a Python script. Agent is running as a service.

import subprocess
command = '"%teststand%\Bin\AnalyzerApp.exe" MyAnalyzerProject.tsaproj /analyze /report /save /quit'
exit_code = subprocess.call(command, shell=True)
print(exit_code) # returns the exit status

It works when I run it manually, but fails when agent tries to run it:

Unhandled Exception: System.InvalidOperationException: Showing a modal dialog box or form when the application is not running in UserInteractive mode is not a valid operation. Specify the ServiceNotification or DefaultDesktopOnly style to display a notification from a service application.
   at System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.ShowCore(IWin32Window owner, String text, String caption, MessageBoxButtons buttons, MessageBoxIcon icon, MessageBoxDefaultButton defaultButton, MessageBoxOptions options, Boolean showHelp)
   at AnalyzerApp.e.a(String A_0, String A_1)
   at NationalInstruments.TestStand.Utility.LaunchTestStandApplicationInNewDomain.HandleLaunchProtectedException(Exception e, String applicationName, DisplayErrorMessageDelegate displayErrorMessage)
   at NationalInstruments.TestStand.Utility.LaunchTestStandApplicationInNewDomain.LaunchProtectedReturnCode(MainEntryPointDelegateWithArgsReturnCode entryPoint, String[] args, String applicationName, DisplayErrorMessageDelegate displayErrorMessage, Boolean parseArgs)
   at AnalyzerApp.e.b(String[] A_0)

I tried running it using cmd first, but depending on Agent service user it either gets stuck or throws an error -532462766 (0xE0434352) and writes a similar entry to event log.

There is no need for user interaction: normally dialog opens and closes when analysis is done. I am after the exit code and report file that it creates. Is there a way to get this to work?

Answer 1

This can be accomplished by running the agent interactively instead of as a service. It seems that the only dis-benefit of running interactively is a need for auto logon and associated security risk. More about service vs interactive can be found here.