General Build Pipeline (CI) in Azure DevOps

Let’s walk through a general-purpose Azure DevOps build pipeline template that can be applied to most common application types (web apps, APIs, microservices, etc.) using CI/CD best practices, excluding Azure Data Factory (ADF).

💡 Goal: General Build Pipeline (CI) in Azure DevOps

This applies to:

• .NET, Java, Node.js, Python apps
• Microservices with Docker
• Infrastructure as Code (ARM, Bicep, Terraform)
• Any codebase where you want to build, test, and publish artifacts

✅ Key Steps in a General Azure DevOps Build Pipeline

🧾 Sample Build YAML Templates by Type

🔹 1. .NET Core Web API/Service

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

variables:
  buildConfiguration: 'Release'

steps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
  inputs:
    packageType: 'sdk'
    version: '6.x.x'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
  inputs:
    command: 'restore'
    projects: '**/*.csproj'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
  inputs:
    command: 'build'
    arguments: '--configuration $(buildConfiguration)'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
  inputs:
    command: 'test'
    projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
    arguments: '--configuration $(buildConfiguration) --collect:"Code coverage"'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
  inputs:
    command: 'publish'
    publishWebProjects: true
    arguments: '--configuration $(buildConfiguration) --output $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'

- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
  inputs:
    PathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
    ArtifactName: 'drop'

🔹 2. Node.js Application

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
- task: NodeTool@0
  inputs:
    versionSpec: '18.x'
  displayName: 'Install Node.js'

- script: |
    npm install
    npm run build
  displayName: 'Install dependencies and build'

- script: |
    npm test
  displayName: 'Run unit tests'

- task: CopyFiles@2
  inputs:
    SourceFolder: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)'
    Contents: '**'
    TargetFolder: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'

- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
  inputs:
    PathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
    ArtifactName: 'drop'

🔹 3. Dockerized App (Any Language)

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

variables:
  imageName: 'myapp'

steps:
- task: Docker@2
  inputs:
    containerRegistry: '<yourDockerRegistryServiceConnection>'
    repository: '$(imageName)'
    command: 'buildAndPush'
    Dockerfile: '**/Dockerfile'
    tags: |
      $(Build.BuildId)

🔹 Use this if you plan to deploy via Kubernetes, Azure Container Apps, or App Services with containers.

🔹 4. Terraform Infrastructure Pipeline

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
- task: TerraformInstaller@1
  inputs:
    terraformVersion: '1.5.x'

- task: TerraformTaskV1@0
  inputs:
    provider: 'azurerm'
    command: 'init'
    backendServiceArm: '<serviceConnection>'
    backendAzureRmResourceGroupName: '<rg>'
    backendAzureRmStorageAccountName: '<storage>'
    backendAzureRmContainerName: 'tfstate'
    backendAzureRmKey: 'terraform.tfstate'

- task: TerraformTaskV1@0
  inputs:
    provider: 'azurerm'
    command: 'validate'

- task: TerraformTaskV1@0
  inputs:
    provider: 'azurerm'
    command: 'plan'

- task: TerraformTaskV1@0
  inputs:
    provider: 'azurerm'
    command: 'apply'
    environmentServiceNameAzureRM: '<serviceConnection>'
    vars: '-var="env=dev"'

🧠 Tips for General Build Pipelines

📁 Typical Build Output (Artifacts)

• Web app: DLLs, config files, web.config
• Node app: JS files, dist/ folder
• Docker: Tagged images in registry
• Infra: Terraform plan, .tfstate backup