TFS artifacts for Release Management

Overview

This extension lets an Azure Pipelines release (or build) pull build outputs or source code from a different Azure DevOps organization, TFS collection, or on-prem TFS server than the one running the release.

It solves the "the artifact I want to deploy lives somewhere else" problem.

The extension contributes two things:

1. A service connection input that points to an existing Azure Repos/Team Foundation Server service connection configured in Azure DevOps and used to authenticate against the remote TFS / Azure DevOps account.
2. Three artifact source types. An artifact source is the external origin you link to a classic release definition - a Build or Git repo on the remote account. Linking one tells Release Management what to deploy: the selected version is downloaded automatically at the start of every deployment, and publishing a new external version can trigger a new release. Without this extension a release can only consume artifacts from the same account. The extension is what makes those external sources selectable. The same download capability is also packaged as two download tasks you can add directly to any build or release pipeline (including YAML).

Mental model: how a release uses it

[ Project Settings ]
        │
        └── Create service connection ─► Azure Repos/Team Foundation Server service connection
                                      ─► or Azure DevOps service connection (task-only)

[ Release Definition ]
        │
        └── Select the previously created service connection
            + artifact type
            + project / build / repo / version
                │
                └── At release start, the matching download task
                    runs on the agent and drops files into
                    $(System.ArtifactsDirectory)

Two steps to get going:

1. In Project Settings, create a service connection to the remote TFS / Azure DevOps account.
2. In the release definition, select that existing service connection and then link one of the External TFS artifact types. If you are using YAML or want an explicit download step, add one of the Download Artifacts - ... tasks instead.

What you get

Artifact source types (visible in "Link an artifact source")

Pipeline tasks (also usable on their own in any build / release)

Download Artifacts - External Build	Download Artifacts - External TFS Git

Service connections

Azure Repos/Team Foundation Server service connection

Created from Project Settings → Service connections → Azure Repos/Team Foundation Server.

• Authentication: Basic (username + password) or Token / PAT.
• When using Basic auth against on-prem TFS, Basic Auth must be enabled on the server.
• URL must include the collection name, e.g. https://fabfiber.visualstudio.com/DefaultCollection.
• In task inputs and artifact bindings, this is the connection used by fields labeled Azure Repos/Team Foundation Server service connection.

Choose the connection type	Add the connection

Azure DevOps service connection (preview)

Created from Project Settings → Service connections → Azure DevOps (Preview).

A workload-identity based service connection. Supported only by the External Build and External TFS Git tasks.

Known issues

1. External TFS Git code artifacts do not work with PAT-based on-prem Azure Repos/Team Foundation Server service connections.

External TFS Git fails at the download step with:

Authentication failed for http://.:********@{ExternalTfsServerName}:{port}/tfs/DefaultCollection/_git/{GitProjectName}/

Works fine with PAT-based Azure DevOps Services connections.

FAQ

Do I need to provide both an Azure Repos/Team Foundation Server service connection and an Azure DevOps service connection on a task? No. Provide one. If both are provided, the Azure DevOps service connection is used.

I don't see the Azure DevOps service connection type when creating a new connection. It is still in private preview and not rolled out publicly.

Can I use an External TFS build artifact that my Azure DevOps org cannot reach? Yes. The Azure DevOps service does not need access; the agent running the release does.

Can I use a build from another collection of my current TFS? Yes. Add a service connection that points to the other collection, then link the artifact from it.

What does the manifest name externaltfs mean? Is that a separate customer-visible connection type? No. externaltfs is the extension's internal endpoint type identifier used in the manifest and task definitions. The customer-visible service connection you create and select is the Azure Repos/Team Foundation Server service connection.

Is XAML build supported? Yes — via the External TFS XAML Build artifact type.

Is TFS 2012 supported? No. TFS 2013 and later only.

I get "Missing contribution (ms.vss-releaseartifact.artifact-types)" on TFS 2015 U2 / U3 on-prem. Those versions are not supported. The extension requires TFS "15" RC or later.

Where can I learn more about artifacts in Release Management? See the Release Management artifacts documentation. Report issues at azure-pipelines-extensions on GitHub.