Azure-devops-docs: Is there a better explanation for PublishBuildArtifacts?

[atrauzzi]

I'm looking for expanded descriptions on the various options that PublishBuildArtifacts can take and what their significance are.

In particular, I wouldn't mind knowing what the two options for publishLocation imply, and which parameter I should be using to specify the path to my artifact.

Also, am I required to provide anything for pathToPublish, or is the default safe enough to use?

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Document Details

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• ID: 0b3f565b-88e4-88d6-a534-48ec21e6e3d8
• Version Independent ID: 9fca89ae-4a6e-a43a-2834-1a91ad44c256
• Content: Publish Build Artifacts - Azure Pipelines & TFS
• Content Source: docs/pipelines/tasks/utility/publish-build-artifacts.md
• Product: devops
• GitHub Login: @andyjlewis
• Microsoft Alias: alewis

[infin8x]

@andyjlewis I think @DavidStaheli or another of the Pipelines PMs can better help with this issue.

[jwisener]

??

[andyjlewis]

pathToPublish: required in YAML, but if you're using the designer, $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) is pre-filled for you, and that's the most common value and what you'd want to use in most cases.

publishLocation: if you leave it empty or specify container in YAML then it has the same effect as if you chose "Visual Studio Team Services/TFS" in the designer. This is the most common choice and what you'd want to use in most cases.

BTW, this thread and topic is helping to serve as a poster child for some small and big improvements I want to make to the task reference. So thank you for the feedback, questions, and your patience. @vtbassmatt and @DavidStaheli to check me and for awareness of this thread for future doc improvements we're talking about.

[andyjlewis]

Spoke too quickly. Looking at it this morning with @vtbassmatt, it looks like pathToPublish is not required in YAML and does default to $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory). Again, thanks for calling out these questions. We'll continue to look for ways to make the task reference better.

[maverick14]

Hi, I'm having one issue here . I can build and publish the code using CI, but the publish version is not the version , it is simply copying from Source Folder to my diestional folder in VM, can anybody help me to get the new publish copy.. ?

[vtbassmatt]

@maverick14 not sure I understand the problem you're facing. Typically what you do is use a CopyFiles task to move the right set of files to the $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory), then use the Publish Build Artifacts task to upload them as build artifacts.

[phil-lgr]

Guys we need dead-simple-obvious-baby-step examples in this section, I'm new to Azure and I am almost ready to give up on the whole thing just because I've been unable to find how to put my artifact back in the right place.

[phil-lgr]

In most cases, Azure Pipelines/TFS (Server on TFS 2018 RTM and older) is the best and simplest option.

What? What does that mean? Can you add example of what to write?

[phil-lgr]

What is a "file share" ?

[vtbassmatt]

Yeah, this doc needs a lot of work. For now, I'm planning to add something like the below. Would this have helped you, @phil-lgr ?

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Usage

A typical pattern for using this task is:

• Build something
• Copy build outputs to a staging directory
• Publish staged artifacts

For example:

steps:
- powershell: .\build.ps1
- task: CopyFiles@2
  inputs:
    contents: _buildOutput\**
    targetFolder: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
  inputs:
    pathtoPublish: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
    artifactName: MyBuildOutputs

[phil-lgr]

Yes!

On Thu, Nov 15, 2018 at 7:46 AM Matt Cooper <[email protected][e-mail]> wrote:

Yeah, this doc needs a lot of work. For now, I'm planning to add something like the below. Would this have helped you, @phil-lgrhttps://github.com/phil-lgr ?

---

Usage

A typical pattern for using this task is:

• Build something
• Copy build outputs to a staging directory
• Publish staged artifacts

For example:

steps:

• powershell: .build.ps1
• task: CopyFiles@2
  inputs:
  contents: _buildOutput**
  targetFolder: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
• task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
  inputs:
  pathtoPublish: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
  artifactName: MyBuildOutputs

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[vtbassmatt]

Fix is published.

[ClaudeVernier]

Hello, thank you for this. Unfortunately, this is still obscure to me.
I am using this step in a pipeline:

task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
inputs:
PathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
ArtifactName: 'myProject'
publishLocation: 'Container'
I don't understand from this above where my files will be at the end !

Maybe I'm not at the right place or using this correctly, I created a self-hosted Windows agent.
My pipelines tells my agent to get the code from GitHub, restore nugets, build the dotnetcore project and output to b folder, then it zips the file to a folder.
I wanted to the zip file to be "published" to my one of my feeds in Azure Artifacts but as I don't specify the feed anywhere, I don't understand where it will try to put the files !!!

Of course, it fails: Fail to upload 'E:Agent_work5a6502.zip' due to 'Moved Temporarily'.

If you could point me in the right direction, it would be awesome, thanks a lot !

Claude VERNIER

[howardjones]

This definitely still needs some work... I've got a task that "successfully" uploads my artifacts, but I have no idea where I can actually find them. The Artifacts section in ADO doesn't show them, and the search doesn't find them.