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Version: Early Access

VSTS/TFS Plugin

This topic describes the VSTS/TFS Plugin in Digital.ai Release, which integrates with Visual Studio Team Services and Team Foundation Server.

Requirements​

  • Digital.ai Release 6.1.0 or later
  • If you are using Digital.ai Release version 8.5.0 or later, you must use the Release VSTS/TFS plugin version 8.5.0.
  • Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) or Team Foundation Server 2015

Supported VSTS/TFS operations​

Work item operations:

  • Create new work item
  • Retrieve work item
  • Update work item
  • Update work items by Query
  • Query work items

Build operations:

  • Tag a build
  • Queue new build

Triggers:

  • Git commit trigger
  • TFVC change-set trigger

Supported authentication types​

VSTS/TFS versionsAuthentication
TFS 2015Basic and NTLM authentication types
TFS 2017Basic, NTLM, and PAT authentication types
VSTSPAT authentication type
Azure Devops ServicesPAT authentication type

For more information, see Authenticate access with personal access tokens for VSTS and TFS.

Set up a VSTS/TFS server​

To set up a connection to a VSTS service or your TFS collection:

  1. In Digital.ai Release, go to Connections under the Configuration group of the navigation pane, and under the TFS Server, click Add server.
  2. Specify a name for this connection.
  3. The collection URL field must be set to the full URL pointing to your TFS collection (for example: http://my.tfs.address:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection). Make sure that the collection name is included. For VSTS, insert the URL of your account (for example: https://myaccount.visualstudio.com).
  4. Select the Azure Devops Services checkbox if cloud offering is used.
  5. Select the authentication type. For:
    • Basic: Complete the username and password fields.
    • NTLM: You must also specify your domain name in the Domain field.
    • PAT: Skip the username field and, in the password field, set your personal access token.
  6. If your Digital.ai Release server is using a proxy, specify the necessary values.

Using the work item management tasks​

The work item management tasks allow you to perform several operations with work items on VSTS/TFS such as creating new work items, updating existing work items, and retrieving or querying work items.

Create a work item task​

This task creates any type of VSTS/TFS work item. The following input properties are available:

  • Server: The VSTS/TFS instance to be used
  • Team Project Name: The name of the project where the work item will be created
  • Work Item Type: The type of work item (Examples: Bug, Product Backlog Item)
  • Work Item title: The title of the work item
  • Tags: Work item tags
  • Fields: Additional fields that should be modified. Each work item in VSTS/TFS is based on multiple fields. Custom fields can be added by a custom work item process template (Standard field examples: "System.AreaPath", "Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority"). Each of the available fields can be modified by specifying the field name as a key and the desired value as a value in the fields map. For more information, see Work item field index.

Output properties:

  • Work Item ID: The ID of the new work item

Add work item

Retrieve a work item task​

This task retrieves any specified work item and returns all of its fields. To manipulate the output property, use the Script Task or the Release Variable Manipulation Community Plugin.

The following properties are available:

  • Server: The VSTS/TFS instance to be used
  • Work Item ID: The ID of the work item that you want to retrieve

Output properties:

  • Fields: All of the retrieved fields of the work item

Retrieve work item

Query work items​

This task allows you to retrieve multiple work items IDs by specifying a WIQL query. for more information about the WIQL, see Syntax for the Work Item Query Language (WIQL).

To customize the output properties, use the Script Task or the Release Variable Manipulation Community Plugin.

The following input properties are available:

  • Server: The VSTS/TFS instance to be used
  • Query: Specify a query written in WIQL language

Output properties:

  • Retrieved IDs: List of work item IDs that are retrieved by the query

Query work item

Build operations tasks​

Queue new build task​

The Queue new build task allows you to queue a build on your VSTS/TFS server.

These input properties are available:

  • Server: The VSTS/TFS instance to be used
  • Team Project Name: The name of the project where the build definition is set
  • Build definition name: The name of the build definition from which you want to trigger a build

Output properties:

  • Build ID: Unique identifier of the build run
  • Build Number: The assigned value from the build engine based on the build number format option in your build definition
  • Build Result: Build run result

Queue new build

note

If the queued build fails, the task will also fail.

Tag a build task​

The tag a build task allows you do add one or more tags on your build.

The following input properties are available:

  • Server: The VSTS/TFS instance to be used
  • Team Project Name: The name of the project where the build definition is set
  • Build ID: The ID of the build where to apply the tag(s)
  • Tags: A list of strings that are added to the build as tags

Add tag build

Using Triggers​

The git commit trigger​

If you want your release to be created and started by a commit in a VSTS/TFS Git repository, you can setup this trigger.

The following input properties are available:

  • Server: The VSTS/TFS instance to be used
  • Project: The name of the project where the Git repository is created
  • Repository: The name of the Git repository
  • Branch: The branch that should be monitored for the changes

Git commit trigger

The TFVC changeset trigger​

If you want your release to be created and started by a new changeset in a TFVC repository, you must setup this trigger.

The following input properties are available:

  • Server: The VSTS/TFS instance to be used
  • Project: The name of the project where the associated TFVC repository should be monitored

TFVC trigger

Approve deployment in release​

This task allows you to approve deployment in Digital.ai Release.

Create new release​

This task starts a new release.

Get Work Items by Managed Query​

This task retrieves the work items by managed query.

Start deployment in release​

This task starts the deployment in Digital.ai Release.

Update Work Item​

This task updates the work item.

Update Work Items By Managed Query​

This task updates the work item by Managed query.

Update Work Items By Query​

This task updates the work item using Work Item Query Language (WIQL).

Wait For Work Item State​

This task waits until the work item changes to the required state.

Wait for deployment in release​

This task waits for the deployment in Digital.ai Release.