Is there, in TFS2017, a feature similar to Github release?

Question

Using Github, it is possible to create releases. When doing so, a zip file of the repo is available for for download (like here for example) (I am not the developer, this was the first repository available in the "explore" list).

Is there a similar feature in TFS2017 ?

It seems that the Build and release management provides this, but I have no right on this yet and do not want to go into "asking the right process" of the company- as this would take forever.

Answer 1

No, Azure DevOps/TFS don't have an equivalent feature of a "Release" in GitHub.

But a "release" in GitHub is a wrapper around a tag, it adds some additional metadata to the tag such as release notes and artifacts. You can still download a snapshot of a Git Repo after creating a tag in Azure DevOps/TFS:

Then Download as Zip:

To create a tag use the git command line in a local clone of the repo:

git tag release-v1.2.3.4
git push --tags

Afterwards that tag should be visible in the branch/tags selector in Azure DevOps/TFS (you may have to refresh the page).

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So what are these releases? You may ask...

Well, a Release is an automated process that takes the artifacts from a build pipeline and executes a given set of steps to deploy these artifacts to an environment.

The release depends on the artifacts generated by a build. In a build you can use the "Upload build artifact" task to create your own zip file of things you want to release. That zip file will be available from the build details in Azure DevOps/TFS.

Answer 2

A GitHub "release" is just a git Tag and they create a special web page that makes special links to the build artifacts, that is all. In Azure DevOps make sure you are using the Git repository, then when you are ready to make a release just TAG the master/main branch with a semantic version (v1.2.3) and have your build pipeline start a build and create build artifacts that create zipped up files and a release.

Hint: Use GitVersion plugin to make your CI/CD life better. Use the variable GitVersion.FullSemVer to get the semantic version. There are other variables starting with GitVersion that are very helpful.

Another hint: In your build Trigger use refs/tags/v* so that a build will trigger when you create a git tag starting with the letter "v".