From dotnet-skills
Configuring .NET build/test in Azure DevOps. DotNetCoreCLI task, Artifacts, test results.
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.NET build and test pipeline patterns for Azure DevOps: DotNetCoreCLI@2 task for build, test, and pack operations, NuGet restore with Azure Artifacts feeds using NuGetAuthenticate@1, test result publishing with PublishTestResults@2 for TRX and JUnit formats, code coverage with PublishCodeCoverageResults@2 for Cobertura and JaCoCo formats, and multi-TFM matrix strategy across net8.0 and net9.0.
Version assumptions: DotNetCoreCLI@2 task (current). UseDotNet@2 for SDK installation. NuGetAuthenticate@1 for Azure Artifacts. PublishTestResults@2 and PublishCodeCoverageResults@2 for reporting.
Scope boundary: This skill owns .NET build and test pipeline configuration for Azure DevOps. Starter CI templates (basic build/test/pack) are owned by [skill:dotnet-add-ci]. Composable pipeline patterns (templates, multi-stage, triggers) are in [skill:dotnet-ado-patterns]. Testing strategy guidance (what to test, test architecture, quality gates) is owned by [skill:dotnet-testing-strategy]. Benchmark CI workflows are owned by [skill:dotnet-ci-benchmarking].
Out of scope: Starter CI templates -- see [skill:dotnet-add-ci]. Test architecture and strategy -- see [skill:dotnet-testing-strategy]. Benchmark regression detection in CI -- see [skill:dotnet-ci-benchmarking]. Publishing and deployment -- see [skill:dotnet-ado-publish] and [skill:dotnet-ado-unique]. GitHub Actions build/test workflows -- see [skill:dotnet-gha-build-test].
Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-add-ci] for starter build/test templates, [skill:dotnet-testing-strategy] for test architecture guidance, [skill:dotnet-ci-benchmarking] for benchmark CI integration.
DotNetCoreCLI@2 Tasksteps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
displayName: 'Install .NET SDK'
inputs:
packageType: 'sdk'
version: '8.0.x'
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Restore'
inputs:
command: 'restore'
projects: 'MyApp.sln'
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Build'
inputs:
command: 'build'
projects: 'MyApp.sln'
arguments: '-c Release --no-restore'
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Run tests'
inputs:
command: 'test'
projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
arguments: >-
-c Release
--logger "trx;LogFileName=test-results.trx"
--results-directory $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/test-results
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Pack NuGet packages'
inputs:
command: 'pack'
packagesToPack: 'src/**/*.csproj'
configuration: 'Release'
outputDir: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/nupkgs'
nobuild: true
For commands not directly supported by the task (e.g., dotnet tool install):
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Install dotnet tools'
inputs:
command: 'custom'
custom: 'tool'
arguments: 'restore'
Install multiple SDK versions for multi-TFM builds:
- task: UseDotNet@2
displayName: 'Install .NET 8'
inputs:
packageType: 'sdk'
version: '8.0.x'
- task: UseDotNet@2
displayName: 'Install .NET 9'
inputs:
packageType: 'sdk'
version: '9.0.x'
Each UseDotNet@2 invocation adds the SDK version to PATH. The last installed version becomes the default, but all versions are available via --framework targeting.
NuGetAuthenticate@1 for Feed Authenticationsteps:
- task: NuGetAuthenticate@1
displayName: 'Authenticate NuGet feeds'
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Restore'
inputs:
command: 'restore'
projects: 'MyApp.sln'
feedsToUse: 'config'
nugetConfigPath: 'nuget.config'
The NuGetAuthenticate@1 task configures credentials for all Azure Artifacts feeds referenced in nuget.config. No explicit PAT or API key is needed -- the task uses the pipeline's identity.
For simple setups without a nuget.config, select feeds directly in the restore task:
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Restore with Azure Artifacts'
inputs:
command: 'restore'
projects: 'MyApp.sln'
feedsToUse: 'select'
vstsFeed: 'MyProject/MyFeed'
includeNuGetOrg: true
Azure Artifacts feeds can proxy nuget.org as an upstream source. When configured, a single feed reference provides access to both private packages and public NuGet packages:
<!-- nuget.config with Azure Artifacts upstream -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<packageSources>
<clear />
<add key="MyFeed" value="https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/myorg/_packaging/myfeed/nuget/v3/index.json" />
</packageSources>
</configuration>
With upstream sources enabled on the feed, nuget.org packages are cached in the Azure Artifacts feed, providing a single authenticated source for all packages.
For feeds in different Azure DevOps organizations, use a service connection:
- task: NuGetAuthenticate@1
displayName: 'Authenticate external feed'
inputs:
nuGetServiceConnections: 'ExternalOrgFeedConnection'
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Restore'
inputs:
command: 'restore'
projects: 'MyApp.sln'
feedsToUse: 'config'
nugetConfigPath: 'nuget.config'
PublishTestResults@2 with TRX Format- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Run tests'
inputs:
command: 'test'
projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
arguments: >-
-c Release
--logger "trx;LogFileName=results.trx"
--results-directory $(Common.TestResultsDirectory)
continueOnError: true
- task: PublishTestResults@2
displayName: 'Publish test results'
condition: always()
inputs:
testResultsFormat: 'VSTest'
testResultsFiles: '$(Common.TestResultsDirectory)/**/*.trx'
mergeTestResults: true
testRunTitle: '.NET Unit Tests'
Key decisions:
continueOnError: true on the test task ensures the publish step always runs, even on test failurescondition: always() on the publish task runs regardless of previous step outcomemergeTestResults: true combines results from multiple test projects into a single test runtestRunTitle provides a descriptive name in the Azure DevOps Test tabSome third-party test frameworks output JUnit XML. Use the JUnit format:
- task: PublishTestResults@2
displayName: 'Publish JUnit results'
condition: always()
inputs:
testResultsFormat: 'JUnit'
testResultsFiles: '**/junit-results.xml'
mergeTestResults: true
Attach screenshots or logs to test results for debugging failed tests:
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Run tests with attachments'
inputs:
command: 'test'
projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
arguments: >-
-c Release
--logger "trx;LogFileName=results.trx"
--results-directory $(Common.TestResultsDirectory)
--collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"
continueOnError: true
- task: PublishTestResults@2
displayName: 'Publish test results'
condition: always()
inputs:
testResultsFormat: 'VSTest'
testResultsFiles: '$(Common.TestResultsDirectory)/**/*.trx'
mergeTestResults: true
testRunTitle: '.NET Tests'
publishRunAttachments: true
PublishCodeCoverageResults@2 with Cobertura- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Test with coverage'
inputs:
command: 'test'
projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
arguments: >-
-c Release
--collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"
--results-directory $(Agent.TempDirectory)/coverage
- task: PublishCodeCoverageResults@2
displayName: 'Publish code coverage'
inputs:
summaryFileLocation: '$(Agent.TempDirectory)/coverage/**/coverage.cobertura.xml'
The PublishCodeCoverageResults@2 task (v2) auto-generates HTML coverage reports in the Azure DevOps Build Summary tab without requiring reportgenerator.
For custom coverage reports beyond the built-in rendering:
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Test with coverage'
inputs:
command: 'test'
projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
arguments: >-
-c Release
--collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"
--results-directory $(Agent.TempDirectory)/coverage
- script: |
set -euo pipefail
dotnet tool install -g dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool
reportgenerator \
-reports:$(Agent.TempDirectory)/coverage/**/coverage.cobertura.xml \
-targetdir:$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/coverage-report \
-reporttypes:HtmlInline_AzurePipelines\;Cobertura
displayName: 'Generate coverage report'
- task: PublishCodeCoverageResults@2
displayName: 'Publish coverage'
inputs:
summaryFileLocation: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/coverage-report/Cobertura.xml'
- task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
displayName: 'Upload coverage report'
inputs:
targetPath: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/coverage-report'
artifactName: 'coverage-report'
Enforce minimum coverage by parsing the Cobertura XML in a script step:
- script: |
set -euo pipefail
COVERAGE_FILE=$(find $(Agent.TempDirectory)/coverage -name 'coverage.cobertura.xml' | head -1)
COVERAGE=$(python3 -c "
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
tree = ET.parse('$COVERAGE_FILE')
print(float(tree.getroot().attrib['line-rate']) * 100)
")
echo "Line coverage: ${COVERAGE}%"
if (( $(echo "$COVERAGE < 80" | bc -l) )); then
echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Coverage ${COVERAGE}% is below 80% threshold"
exit 1
fi
displayName: 'Enforce coverage threshold'
jobs:
- job: Test
strategy:
matrix:
Linux_net80:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
tfm: 'net8.0'
dotnetVersion: '8.0.x'
Linux_net90:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
tfm: 'net9.0'
dotnetVersion: '9.0.x'
Windows_net80:
vmImage: 'windows-latest'
tfm: 'net8.0'
dotnetVersion: '8.0.x'
Windows_net90:
vmImage: 'windows-latest'
tfm: 'net9.0'
dotnetVersion: '9.0.x'
pool:
vmImage: $(vmImage)
steps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
displayName: 'Install .NET $(dotnetVersion)'
inputs:
packageType: 'sdk'
version: $(dotnetVersion)
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Test $(tfm) on $(vmImage)'
inputs:
command: 'test'
projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
arguments: >-
-c Release
--framework $(tfm)
--logger "trx;LogFileName=$(tfm)-results.trx"
--results-directory $(Common.TestResultsDirectory)
continueOnError: true
- task: PublishTestResults@2
displayName: 'Publish $(tfm) results'
condition: always()
inputs:
testResultsFormat: 'VSTest'
testResultsFiles: '$(Common.TestResultsDirectory)/**/*.trx'
testRunTitle: '$(tfm) on $(vmImage)'
When running all TFMs in one job (instead of matrix), install all required SDKs:
steps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
displayName: 'Install .NET 8'
inputs:
packageType: 'sdk'
version: '8.0.x'
- task: UseDotNet@2
displayName: 'Install .NET 9'
inputs:
packageType: 'sdk'
version: '9.0.x'
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Test all TFMs'
inputs:
command: 'test'
projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
arguments: '-c Release'
Without the matching SDK installed, dotnet test cannot build for that TFM and fails with NETSDK1045.
# templates/jobs/matrix-test.yml
parameters:
- name: configurations
type: object
default:
- tfm: 'net8.0'
dotnetVersion: '8.0.x'
- tfm: 'net9.0'
dotnetVersion: '9.0.x'
jobs:
- ${{ each config in parameters.configurations }}:
- job: Test_${{ replace(config.tfm, '.', '_') }}
displayName: 'Test ${{ config.tfm }}'
pool:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
steps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
inputs:
packageType: 'sdk'
version: ${{ config.dotnetVersion }}
- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
displayName: 'Test ${{ config.tfm }}'
inputs:
command: 'test'
projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
arguments: '-c Release --framework ${{ config.tfm }}'
set -euo pipefail in multi-line script: steps -- ADO script: tasks on Linux default to set -e but do not set pipefail or nounset; without pipefail, a failure in a piped command is silently swallowed.continueOnError: true on the test task, not on the result publisher -- the test task must not fail the pipeline before results are published, but the publisher should reflect the actual test outcome.dotnet test without the matching SDK produces NETSDK1045; add a UseDotNet@2 step for each required version.NuGetAuthenticate@1 must precede the restore step -- authentication tokens are injected into the agent's NuGet config at task execution time; restoring before authentication fails with 401.feedsToUse: 'config' with nuget.config for complex feed setups -- feedsToUse: 'select' supports only one Azure Artifacts feed; multi-feed scenarios require a nuget.config file.--collect:"XPlat Code Coverage" -- the default dotnet test does not produce coverage files; the XPlat Code Coverage collector is built into the .NET SDK.PublishCodeCoverageResults@2 expects Cobertura XML -- passing TRX or other formats to the coverage publisher produces no output; ensure the collector outputs Cobertura format.