Azure DevOps

This section provides a step-by-step guide to setting up a CI/CD pipeline in Azure DevOps using a provided sample.

Before setting up the pipeline in Azure DevOps, make sure that the following steps from the Configuring a CI/CD pipeline article are complete:

• Pick a Cloud project.

• Activate CI/CD Flow.

Next, you will need to define your pipeline in YAML and use it to interact with the Umbraco Cloud API.

Are you using version 1 endpoints? Follow the guide for Azure DevOps v1 instead.

Before you start

The Umbraco CI/CD Team has created a sample pipeline for Azure DevOps.

The Scripts are provided as is. This means the scripts will do the bare minimum for a pipeline that utilizes the CI/CD flow.

Adapt and integrate the script into your pipelines to enable deployments to your Umbraco Cloud projects.

The sample includes YAML files and custom PowerShell and Bash scripts to interact with the Umbraco Cloud API.

You can get the samples for both Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions from the GitHub repository.

Samples that target the endpoints described here are located in the V2 folder.

Since following this guide involves using your custom pipeline, any issues that arise will need to be resolved by you.

Import Cloud project repository to Azure DevOps

Follow these steps to import your repository to Azure DevOps:

1. Go to your repositories in Azure DevOps and click on "Create a repository".

2. Create a new empty repository, but don't add a README and a .gitignore file.

3. Note down the clone URL.

4. Go to the Umbraco Cloud Portal and clone down your Cloud project.

5. Open a Shell window on your machine.

6. Use the following command to remove the Git Remote called origin, that currently points to Umbraco Cloud:

git remote remove origin

1. Rename master branch to main.

git branch -m  main
git symbolic-ref HEAD refs/heads/main

1. Add a new remote called origin pointing to the Azure DevOps clone URL.

git remote add origin https://{your-organization}@dev.azure.com/{your-organization}/{azure-project-scope}/_git/{your-repository}

1. Push the changes.

git push -u origin --all

In the next part, you will be setting up the actual pipeline.

Set up the Azure DevOps pipeline files

While working with the project on your local machine, follow these steps to prepare the pipeline. Use the samples from the repository.

Download the provided sample scripts as a ZIP from the GitHub repository.

1. Click on "Code" and choose "Download ZIP".

2. Unzip it and use the appropriate files from the V2 folder for the next steps.

The next steps are outlined based on the scripting language you prefer using.

Powershell

For a pipeline that uses PowerShell scripts, you will need the following files:

Root (/)	powershell/	powershell/azuredevops/
cloud.zipignore	Get-LatestDeployment.ps1	azure-release-pipeline.yml
	Get-ChangesById.ps1	cloud-sync.yml
	Apply-Patch.ps1	cloud-artifact.yml
	Add-DeploymentArtifact.ps1	cloud-deployment.yml
	Start-Deployment.ps1
	Test-DeploymentStatus.ps1

Prepare the pipeline

1. Copy the cloud.zipignore file to the root of your repository.

2. Make a copy of the .gitignore from your repository and call the copy cloud.gitignore.

   • Both files should be in the root of your repository.

3. Add the line **/git-patch.diff to the bottom of the .gitignorefile.

4. Create a folder in the root, and call it devops.

5. Copy the 4 YAML files from the powershell/azuredevops folder into the devops folder.

6. Create an additional folder within devops, and call it powershell.

7. Copy the PowerShell scripts from the powershell folder to the powershell folder.

8. Commit all changes and push to Azure DevOps.

Bash

To learn more about the components used in the pipeline, read the High-level overview of the pipeline components section further down this article.

Configure Azure DevOps

The pipeline needs to know which Umbraco Cloud project to deploy to. To define this, you need the Project ID and the API Key. The Obtaining the Project ID and API Key section describes how to get these values.

You will also need the alias for your target environment. The Getting environment aliases to target section describes how to view the list of environments you can target.

1. Note down the Project ID, API Key and the environment alias.

2. Go to the repository in Azure and click on "Set up build".

Azure DevOps Repository

1. Select "Existing Azure Pipelines YAML file" on the next screen.

Configure pipeline with existing YAML file

1. Select main in Branch.

2. Select /devops/azure-release-pipeline.yaml in Path and continue.

Select Branch and Path

Now you are on the "Review your pipeline YAML" screen

1. Replace the ##Your project Id here## with the Project Id you got from the Umbraco Cloud Portal.

2. Replace the ##Your target environment alias here## with the alias of the environment you want to target.

3. Click on "Variables".

Pipeline variables in Azure DevOps

1. Add the variable umbracoCloudApiKey with the value of the API Key you got from Umbraco Cloud Portal.

2. Toggle the "Keep this value secret" checkbox to ensure the API Key is handled as a secret.

You can customize the variable names as you like. However, this requires renaming the affected variables in azure-release-pipeline.yaml.

Check that the references to the variables in the YAML files match the variable syntaxes in the created variable. Example: umbracoCloudApiKey = UMBRACOCLOUDAPIKEY.

When you click on "Save and Run", your first deployment will be triggered. This means Azure DevOps is set up with all the required information to deploy your Cloud project back to Umbraco Cloud.

Optional: Test the pipeline

With everything set up, it is recommended to run a test deployment to confirm that the pipeline works.

While working on your project locally:

1. Add a new Document Type.

2. Commit the change to the main branch and push it to your repository.

3. Wait for the pipeline to complete.

4. Log in to Backoffice on your left-most environment in Umbraco Cloud.

5. Go to the Settings section and see that your new Document Type has been deployed.

High-level overview of the pipeline components

The mentioned scripts are provided as a starting point.

It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the scripts and documentation related to using Azure DevOps.

The scripts demonstrate the following:

• How to sync your Azure DevOps repository with an environment in Umbraco Cloud via the environment alias.

• How to prepare and upload an artifact that can be used for a deployment.

• How to deploy changes to an environment in Umbraco Cloud, targeted via the environment alias.

Main

The azure-release-pipeline.yaml defines the main pipeline, and is the one that will be triggered on a push to the main branch in your repository. You can configure a different trigger behavior in this file.

You can add your Build and Test stage between the cloudSyncStage and cloudPrepareArtifact stages. Keep in mind that you do not need to retain the dotnet build artifact for upload later. The cloudPrepareArtifact job will handle packaging all your source code and uploading it to Umbraco Cloud.

Make sure that you check out the potentially updated code if you add Build and Test steps.

Cloud-sync

The cloud-sync.yml shows how to sync your Azure DevOps repository with your Cloud environment. In this sample, it accepts any change from the API, applies it, and commits it back to the branch that triggered the pipeline. The commit does not trigger the pipeline again.

If you don't want the pipeline to commit back to the triggering branch, this is where you need to change the pipeline.

Cloud-artifact

The cloud-artifact.yml shows how to prepare and package an artifact and finally upload it to Umbraco Cloud.

There are a couple of things here to be aware of:

• The sample is overwriting the .gitignore file with cloud.gitignore. This is a way to accommodate your gitignore needs when working locally. For instance, you might want to ignore frontend builds, but want them built and published to the Cloud.

• The sample contains a special cloud.zipignore file. This is a convenient way to tell the pipeline which files not to include when creating the zip package to send to the Cloud.

If you want to customize the artifact, take a look at the Artifact Best Practice article.

Cloud-deployment

The cloud-deployment.yml shows how to deploy to a named environment of your Cloud project. The sample shows how to request the deployment and wait for the Cloud to finish the operation.

If you have frontend assets that need to be built (using tools like npm/yarn or others), you should add the required steps before cloudPrepareArtifact. This ensures that the fresh frontend assets are included in the package sent to Umbraco Cloud.

Next steps

After following the guide in this article, you can advance your knowledge further by diving into the following articles:

• Deployment options

• Deploy to multiple targets

Further information

• Azure Pipelines Documentation