How to Take Setup.exe Build (DotNet Project) in Azure CI/CD Pipeline?

Are you tired of manually creating setup.exe files for your .NET projects? Do you want to automate the process and make it a part of your Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline? Look no further! In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps to take setup.exe build (dotnet project) in Azure CI/CD pipeline.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the process, make sure you have the following:

• A .NET project (e.g., a console app, web app, or desktop app)
• Azure DevOps account
• Azure Pipelines (free or paid plan)
• A basic understanding of Azure Pipelines and YAML files

Step 1: Prepare Your .NET Project

First, ensure your .NET project is set up correctly:

1. Create a new .NET project in Visual Studio or use an existing one.
2. Make sure the project builds successfully and has the necessary dependencies.
3. In the project properties, go to the “Package” tab and ensure the “Create windows installer file (.exe)” option is selected.
4. Save the changes and build the project again to generate the setup.exe file.

Now, let’s move on to Azure Pipelines.

Step 2: Create a New Azure Pipeline

Create a new Azure pipeline:

1. Log in to your Azure DevOps account and navigate to the Pipelines section.
2. Choose the “Empty job” option.
3. Name your pipeline (e.g., “SetupExeBuild”) and provide a description.
4. Click “Save and run” to create the pipeline.

Step 3: Configure the YAML File

In the pipeline, click the “Edit” button to open the YAML file:

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

variables:
  buildConfiguration: 'Release'

steps:
  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
    displayName: 'Restore NuGet Packages'
    inputs:
      command: 'restore'
      projects: '**/MyProject.csproj'

  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
    displayName: 'Build Project'
    inputs:
      command: 'build'
      projects: '**/MyProject.csproj'
      configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)'

Let’s breakdown the YAML file:

• The trigger section specifies that the pipeline should run on the “main” branch.
• The pool section specifies that the pipeline should run on a Windows-based environment.
• The variables section defines a variable for the build configuration (in this case, “Release”).
• The steps section defines two tasks: restoring NuGet packages and building the project.

Step 4: Add the Setup.exe Generation Task

Now, let’s add a new task to generate the setup.exe file:

  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
    displayName: 'Generate Setup.exe'
    inputs:
      command: 'custom'
      customCommand: 'publish'
      projects: '**/MyProject.csproj'
      publishWebProjects: '**/MyProject.csproj'
      TargetProfile: 'win-x86'
      DeployAsIISApp: false
      SelfContained: true
      Runtime: 'win-x86'

This task uses the DotNetCoreCLI@2 task to publish the project with the correct settings for generating the setup.exe file:

• command: 'custom' specifies that we want to run a custom command.
• customCommand: 'publish' runs the publish command.
• projects: '**/MyProject.csproj' specifies the project to publish.
• publishWebProjects: '**/MyProject.csproj' publishes the project as a web application.
• TargetProfile: 'win-x86' specifies the target profile for the setup.exe file.
• DeployAsIISApp: false sets the deployment option to false.
• SelfContained: true creates a self-contained deployment package.
• Runtime: 'win-x86' specifies the runtime for the deployment package.

Step 5: Publish the Setup.exe File as an Artifact

Finally, let’s publish the setup.exe file as an artifact:

  - task: PublishBuildArtifact@2
    displayName: 'Publish Setup.exe'
    inputs:
      artifactName: 'Setup.exe'
      path: '$(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/**/*.exe'

This task publishes the setup.exe file as an artifact named “Setup.exe” using the PublishBuildArtifact@2 task:

• artifactName: 'Setup.exe' specifies the name of the artifact.
• path: '$(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/**/*.exe' specifies the path to the setup.exe file.

Step 6: Save and Run the Pipeline

Save the YAML file and click the “Run” button to execute the pipeline:

Once the pipeline completes, you should see the setup.exe file as an artifact in the pipeline run summary:

Pipeline Run Summary
Restore NuGet Packages: Success Build Project: Success Generate Setup.exe: Success Publish Setup.exe: Success
Artifacts
Setup.exe

Congratulations! You have successfully taken setup.exe build (dotnet project) in Azure CI/CD pipeline.

Additional Tips and Variations

Here are some additional tips and variations to consider:

• Use environment variables to dynamically set the build configuration and target profile.
• Add more tasks to the pipeline to perform additional actions, such as unit testing or deployment.
• Use Azure Artifacts to store and manage your setup.exe files.
• Integrate your pipeline with Azure DevOps release management to automate the deployment process.

By following these steps, you can automate the process of generating setup.exe files for your .NET projects in Azure CI/CD pipeline. Happy automating!

Conclusion

In this article, we demonstrated how to take setup.exe build (dotnet project) in Azure CI/CD pipeline. By following these steps, you can automate the process of generating setup.exe files for your .NET projects and make it a part of your Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment pipeline.

Remember to adapt the YAML file to your specific project needs and explore additional features and variations to optimize your pipeline.

Happy coding, and don’t forget to automate!

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