Create publish zip or nuget for ASP.NET MVC project under azure CICD build pipeline

Question

I am new to Azure build pipeline and some extent I have managed to create a build and publish artifact.

Issue: when build is ready and I am copying artifact and it goes to some weird path which I can see after downloading it.

Like ==> My.Web\Content\D_C\a\1\s\My.Web\obj\Release\Package\PackageTmp

I just need zip that contain publish version that can be directly copy to IIS.

trigger:
- '*'

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

variables:
  solution: '**/*.sln'
  buildPlatform: 'Any CPU'
  buildConfiguration: 'Release'

steps:
- task: NuGetToolInstaller@1

- task: NuGetCommand@2
  inputs:
    restoreSolution: '$(solution)'

- task: VSBuild@1
  inputs:
    solution: '$(solution)'
    msbuildArgs: '/t:build /p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:OutputPath="$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)"'
    platform: '$(buildPlatform)'
    configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)'

- task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
  inputs:
    targetPath: '$(build.artifactStagingDirectory)\_PublishedWebsites\My.Web_Package\My.Web.zip'
    publishLocation: 'pipeline'
    artifact: 'drop'
    name: 'WebArtifact-$(Build.BuildNumber)'

Let me know what wrong I am doing, Also under my solution there are multiple project library but I need single publish version for ASP.NET MVC 5 web project application which is in my solution .

Please guild if there is better way to write this pipeline.

Also let me know if we can add build number / version number for the same.

Really appreciate your any suggestion and input.

Answer 1

The Artifact will be Published in the Default

The VS Build task will build your app similar to the Visual Studio that uses MSBuild to build your task.

Visual Studio:-

Ms Build is used to build the app:-

I built the app and published it into a local folder and this is how the build folder looks like:-

Azure Build Pipeline:-

The same thing happens in your Azure DevOps pipeline, The Build is done with Ms Build when you use Vs Build and the published artifact is stored in - $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) > According to this MS Document: Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory is the predefined variables of Azure DevOps Agent that you are using to run the pipeline. As you are using windows-latest as an agent, the Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory routes to c:\agent_work\1\a. Thus it is getting stored to the default location above.

I have used below YAML pipeline to build the Asp.Net MVC 5 project and publish it as zip with published artifact name set to the build-number.

Reference for VsBuild here.

trigger:
- master

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

variables:
  solution: '**/*.sln'
  buildPlatform: 'Any CPU'
  buildConfiguration: 'Release'

steps:
- task: NuGetToolInstaller@1

- task: NuGetCommand@2
  inputs:
    restoreSolution: '$(solution)'

- task: VSBuild@1
  inputs:
    solution: '$(solution)'
    msbuildArgs: '/p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:WebPublishMethod=Package /p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true /p:DesktopBuildPackageLocation="$(build.artifactStagingDirectory)\WebApp.zip" /p:DeployIisAppPath="Default Web Site"'
    platform: '$(buildPlatform)'
    configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)'

- task: VSTest@2
  inputs:
    platform: '$(buildPlatform)'
    configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)'

- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
  inputs:
    PathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)\WebApp.zip'
    ArtifactName: 'WebArtifact-$(Build.BuildNumber)'
    publishLocation: 'Container'

Output:-

But, Instead of using VSbuild task, And as you need to manage multiple packages and libraries, I recommend using .NET Core CLI task to build your application and then publish it into IIS like below:-

trigger:
  branches:
    include:
      - main

jobs:
- job: Build
  displayName: 'Build and Publish'
  pool:
    vmImage: 'windows-latest'
  steps:
  - task: UseDotNet@2
    displayName: 'Install .NET Core SDK'
    inputs:
      version: '7.x'

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

  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
    displayName: 'Build Project'
    inputs:
      command: 'build'
      projects: '**/*.csproj'
      arguments: '--configuration Release'

  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
    displayName: 'Publish Project'
    inputs:
      command: 'publish'
      projects: '**/*.csproj'
      publishWebProjects: true
      arguments: '--configuration Release --output $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
      zipAfterPublish: true

  - task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
    displayName: 'Publish Artifact'
    inputs:
      targetPath: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
      artifactName: 'WebArtifact-$(Build.BuildNumber)'
      publishLocation: 'pipeline'

There is zipAfterPublish: true parameter which will zip the build artifact after its built is complete.

Output:-