Azure DevOps conditional build/release phases

AzureDevOpsConditionalPhase.md

Azure DevOps conditional build/release phases

A Variable can be used to enable/disable elements of build/release pipelines in Azure DevOps. This GIST shows how this can be implemented within a pipeline.

Creating the Variable

Within the Variables tab create a new variable for this toggle, and set this to a suitable default.

The following example creates a variable Deploy.Arm that defaults to false that can be overridden at the creation of the queue. There are some simple differences between Build and release Pipelines, so examples of both are shown here.

Build Pipeline Scope

The configuration for a Build pipeline would be:

Field	Value
Name	Deploy.Arm
Value	False
Secret	False
Settable at queue time	true

Release Pipeline Scope

The configuration for a Release pipeline would be:

Field	Value
Name	Deploy.Arm
Value	False
Secret	False
Scope	Depends on usage
Settable at release time	true

Using the Variable to toggle an Agent Phase

To allow the Deploy.Arm variable to toggle an agent phase then apply the following changes to the top level of the Agent Job.

Expand the Additional Options section, and update the following fields:

Field	Value
Run this job	Custom condition using variable expressions
Variable expression	eq(variables['Deploy.Arm'],'true')

Using the Variable to toggle a Azure DevOps Task

To allow the Deploy.Arm variable to toggle a task then apply the following changes to the task.

Expand the Control Options section, and update the following fields:

Field	Value
Run this task	Custom conditions
Custom condition	eq(variables['Deploy.Arm'],'true')