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

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

Check if the DevOps extension is installed:

az extension show --name azure-devops

If not installed, add it:

az extension add --name azure-devops

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

Option Description

--branch <name>

Source branch to build (default: current git branch)

--definition <id>

Pipeline definition ID (default: 111)

--parameter <entry>

Pipeline parameter in KEY=value format (repeatable)

--parameters <list>

Space-separated parameters in KEY=value KEY2=value2 format

--dry-run

Print the command without executing

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

Name Type Default Allowed Values Description

VSCODE_QUALITY

string insider

exploration , insider , stable

Build quality channel

VSCODE_BUILD_TYPE

string Product Build

Product , CI

Build mode for Product vs CI

NPM_REGISTRY

string https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/monacotools/Monaco/_packaging/vscode/npm/registry/

any URL Custom npm registry

CARGO_REGISTRY

string sparse+https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/monacotools/Monaco/_packaging/vscode/Cargo/index/

any URL Custom Cargo registry

VSCODE_BUILD_WIN32

boolean true

true , false

Build Windows x64

VSCODE_BUILD_WIN32_ARM64

boolean true

true , false

Build Windows arm64

VSCODE_BUILD_LINUX

boolean true

true , false

Build Linux x64

VSCODE_BUILD_LINUX_SNAP

boolean true

true , false

Build Linux x64 Snap

VSCODE_BUILD_LINUX_ARM64

boolean true

true , false

Build Linux arm64

VSCODE_BUILD_LINUX_ARMHF

boolean true

true , false

Build Linux armhf

VSCODE_BUILD_ALPINE

boolean true

true , false

Build Alpine x64

VSCODE_BUILD_ALPINE_ARM64

boolean true

true , false

Build Alpine arm64

VSCODE_BUILD_MACOS

boolean true

true , false

Build macOS x64

VSCODE_BUILD_MACOS_ARM64

boolean true

true , false

Build macOS arm64

VSCODE_BUILD_MACOS_UNIVERSAL

boolean true

true , false

Build macOS universal (requires both macOS arches)

VSCODE_BUILD_WEB

boolean true

true , false

Build Web artifacts

VSCODE_PUBLISH

boolean true

true , false

Publish to builds.code.visualstudio.com

VSCODE_RELEASE

boolean false

true , false

Trigger release flow if successful

VSCODE_STEP_ON_IT

boolean false

true , false

Skip tests

Example: run a quick CI-oriented validation with minimal publish/release side effects:

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue
--parameter "VSCODE_BUILD_TYPE=CI Build"
--parameter "VSCODE_PUBLISH=false"
--parameter "VSCODE_RELEASE=false"

Checking Build Status

Use the status command to monitor a running build:

Get status of the most recent builds

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status

Get overview of a specific build by ID

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --build-id 123456

Watch build status (refreshes every 30 seconds)

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --watch

Watch with custom interval (60 seconds)

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --watch 60

Script Options

Option Description

--build-id <id>

Specific build ID (default: most recent on current branch)

--branch <name>

Filter builds by branch name (shows last 20 builds for branch)

--reason <reason>

Filter builds by reason: manual , individualCI , batchedCI , schedule , pullRequest

--definition <id>

Pipeline definition ID (default: 111)

--watch [seconds]

Continuously poll status until build completes (default: 30s)

--download-log <id>

Download a specific log to /tmp

--download-artifact <name>

Download artifact to /tmp

--json

Output raw JSON for programmatic consumption

Cancelling a Build

Use the cancel command to stop a running build:

Cancel a build by ID (use status command to find IDs)

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts cancel --build-id 123456

Dry run (show what would be cancelled)

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts cancel --build-id 123456 --dry-run

Script Options

Option Description

--build-id <id>

Build ID to cancel (required)

--definition <id>

Pipeline definition ID (default: 111)

--dry-run

Print what would be cancelled without executing

Testing Pipeline Changes

When the user asks to test changes in an Azure Pipelines build, follow this workflow:

• Queue a new build on the current branch

• Poll for completion by periodically checking the build status until it finishes

Polling for Build Completion

Use a shell loop with sleep to poll the build status. The sleep command works on all major operating systems:

Queue the build and note the build ID from output (e.g., 123456)

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue

Poll every 60 seconds until complete (works on macOS, Linux, and Windows with Git Bash/WSL)

Replace <BUILD_ID> with the actual build ID from the queue command

while true; do node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --build-id <BUILD_ID> --json 2>/dev/null | grep -q '"status": "completed"' && break sleep 60 done

Check final result

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --build-id <BUILD_ID>

Alternatively, use the built-in --watch flag which handles polling automatically:

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue

Use the build ID returned by the queue command

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --build-id <BUILD_ID> --watch

Note: The --watch flag polls every 30 seconds by default. Use --watch 60 for a 60-second interval to reduce API calls.

Common Workflows

1. Quick Pipeline Validation

Make your YAML changes, then:

git add -A && git commit -m "test: pipeline changes" git push origin HEAD

Check for any previous builds on this branch and cancel if needed

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts cancel --build-id <id> # if there's an active build

Queue and watch the new build

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --watch

2. Investigate a Build

Get overview of a build (shows stages, artifacts, and log IDs)

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --build-id 123456

Download a specific log for deeper inspection

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --build-id 123456 --download-log 5

Download an artifact

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --build-id 123456 --download-artifact unsigned_vscode_cli_win32_x64_cli

3. Test with Modified Parameters

Customize build matrix for quicker validation

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue
--parameter "VSCODE_BUILD_TYPE=CI Build"
--parameter "VSCODE_BUILD_WEB=false"
--parameter "VSCODE_BUILD_ALPINE=false"
--parameter "VSCODE_BUILD_ALPINE_ARM64=false"
--parameter "VSCODE_PUBLISH=false"

4. Cancel a Running Build

First, find the build ID

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status

Cancel a specific build by ID

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts cancel --build-id 123456

Dry run to see what would be cancelled

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts cancel --build-id 123456 --dry-run

5. Iterate on Pipeline Changes

When iterating on pipeline YAML changes, always cancel obsolete builds before queueing new ones:

Push new changes

git add -A && git commit --amend --no-edit git push --force-with-lease origin HEAD

Find the outdated build ID and cancel it

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts cancel --build-id <id>

Queue a fresh build and monitor

node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts queue node .github/skills/azure-pipelines/azure-pipeline.ts status --watch

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

Re-authenticate

az logout az login

Check current account

az account show

Extension Not Found

az extension add --name azure-devops --upgrade

Rate Limiting

If you hit rate limits, add delays between API calls or use --watch with a longer interval.