wshaddix/dotnet-skills/dotnet-ado-patterns

Name: dotnet-ado-patterns
Author: wshaddix

Claude Code and agent skill by wshaddix/dotnet-skills

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Designing composable Azure DevOps YAML pipelines. Templates, variable groups, multi-stage, triggers.

Install

npx vskill@latest install wshaddix/dotnet-skills/dotnet-ado-patterns

SKILL.md

dotnet-ado-patterns

Composable Azure DevOps YAML pipeline patterns for .NET projects: template references with extends, stages, jobs, and steps keywords for hierarchical pipeline composition, variable groups and variable templates for centralized configuration, pipeline decorators for organization-wide policy injection, conditional insertion with ${{ if }} and ${{ each }} expressions, multi-stage pipelines (build, test, deploy), and pipeline triggers for CI, PR, and scheduled runs.

Version assumptions: Azure Pipelines YAML schema. DotNetCoreCLI@2 task for .NET 8/9/10 builds. Template expressions syntax v2.

Scope boundary: This skill owns composable pipeline design patterns for Azure DevOps YAML. Starter CI templates (basic build/test/pack) are owned by [skill:dotnet-add-ci] -- this skill extends those templates with advanced composition. CLI-specific release pipelines (build-package-release for CLI binaries) are owned by [skill:dotnet-cli-release-pipeline] -- this skill covers general pipeline patterns that CLI pipelines consume. ADO-unique features (environments with approvals, service connections, classic releases) are in [skill:dotnet-ado-unique].

Out of scope: Starter CI templates -- see [skill:dotnet-add-ci]. CLI release pipelines (tag-triggered build-package-release for CLI tools) -- see [skill:dotnet-cli-release-pipeline]. ADO-unique features (environments, service connections, classic releases) -- see [skill:dotnet-ado-unique]. Build/test specifics -- see [skill:dotnet-ado-build-test]. Publishing pipelines -- see [skill:dotnet-ado-publish]. GitHub Actions workflow patterns -- see [skill:dotnet-gha-patterns].

Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-add-ci] for starter templates that these patterns extend, [skill:dotnet-cli-release-pipeline] for CLI-specific release automation.

Template References

Stage Templates

Stage templates define reusable pipeline stages that callers insert into their multi-stage pipeline:

yaml

# templates/stages/build-test.yml
parameters:
  - name: dotnetVersion
    type: string
    default: '8.0.x'
  - name: buildConfiguration
    type: string
    default: 'Release'
  - name: projects
    type: string
    default: '**/*.sln'
 
stages:
  - stage: Build
    displayName: 'Build and Test'
    jobs:
      - job: BuildJob
        pool:
          vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
        steps:
          - task: UseDotNet@2
            displayName: 'Install .NET SDK'
            inputs:
              packageType: 'sdk'
              version: ${{ parameters.dotnetVersion }}
 
          - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
            displayName: 'Restore'
            inputs:
              command: 'restore'
              projects: ${{ parameters.projects }}
 
          - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
            displayName: 'Build'
            inputs:
              command: 'build'
              projects: ${{ parameters.projects }}
              arguments: '-c ${{ parameters.buildConfiguration }} --no-restore'

Calling a Stage Template

yaml

# azure-pipelines.yml
trigger:
  branches:
    include:
      - main
 
stages:
  - template: templates/stages/build-test.yml
    parameters:
      dotnetVersion: '9.0.x'
      buildConfiguration: 'Release'
      projects: 'MyApp.sln'
 
  - template: templates/stages/deploy.yml
    parameters:
      environment: 'staging'

Job Templates

Job templates encapsulate a complete job with its pool and steps:

yaml

# templates/jobs/dotnet-build.yml
parameters:
  - name: dotnetVersion
    type: string
    default: '8.0.x'
  - name: projects
    type: string
 
jobs:
  - job: Build
    pool:
      vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
    steps:
      - task: UseDotNet@2
        inputs:
          packageType: 'sdk'
          version: ${{ parameters.dotnetVersion }}
 
      - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
        displayName: 'Build'
        inputs:
          command: 'build'
          projects: ${{ parameters.projects }}
          arguments: '-c Release'

Step Templates

Step templates define reusable step sequences inserted into an existing job:

yaml

# templates/steps/dotnet-setup.yml
parameters:
  - name: dotnetVersion
    type: string
    default: '8.0.x'
  - name: nugetFeed
    type: string
    default: ''
 
steps:
  - task: UseDotNet@2
    displayName: 'Install .NET SDK ${{ parameters.dotnetVersion }}'
    inputs:
      packageType: 'sdk'
      version: ${{ parameters.dotnetVersion }}
 
  - ${{ if ne(parameters.nugetFeed, '') }}:
    - task: NuGetAuthenticate@1
      displayName: 'Authenticate NuGet feed'
 
  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
    displayName: 'Restore packages'
    inputs:
      command: 'restore'
      projects: '**/*.sln'
      ${{ if ne(parameters.nugetFeed, '') }}:
        feedsToUse: 'select'
        vstsFeed: ${{ parameters.nugetFeed }}

Using Step Templates in a Pipeline

yaml

jobs:
  - job: Build
    pool:
      vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
    steps:
      - checkout: self
 
      - template: templates/steps/dotnet-setup.yml
        parameters:
          dotnetVersion: '9.0.x'
          nugetFeed: 'MyOrg/MyFeed'
 
      - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
        displayName: 'Build'
        inputs:
          command: 'build'
          arguments: '-c Release --no-restore'

Extends Templates (Enforced Pipeline Structure)

The extends keyword enforces a required pipeline structure defined by an organization template. Callers cannot bypass the structure:

yaml

# templates/pipeline-policy.yml
parameters:
  - name: stages
    type: stageList
    default: []
 
stages:
  - stage: SecurityScan
    displayName: 'Security Scan (Required)'
    jobs:
      - job: Scan
        pool:
          vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
        steps:
          - script: echo "Running mandatory security scan"
 
  - ${{ each stage in parameters.stages }}:
    - ${{ stage }}
 
  - stage: Compliance
    displayName: 'Compliance Check (Required)'
    dependsOn:
      - ${{ each stage in parameters.stages }}:
        - ${{ stage.stage }}
    jobs:
      - job: Check
        pool:
          vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
        steps:
          - script: echo "Running compliance checks"

yaml

# azure-pipelines.yml (caller)
extends:
  template: templates/pipeline-policy.yml
  parameters:
    stages:
      - stage: Build
        jobs:
          - job: BuildApp
            pool:
              vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
            steps:
              - script: dotnet build -c Release

The extends template wraps caller-defined stages with mandatory security and compliance stages that cannot be removed.

Variable Groups and Variable Templates

Variable Groups

Variable groups centralize configuration shared across multiple pipelines. Link them from Azure Pipelines Library:

yaml

variables:
  - group: 'dotnet-build-settings'
  - group: 'nuget-feed-credentials'
  - name: buildConfiguration
    value: 'Release'

Variable Templates

Variable templates define reusable variable sets in YAML files:

yaml

# templates/variables/dotnet-defaults.yml
variables:
  dotnetVersion: '8.0.x'
  buildConfiguration: 'Release'
  testResultsDirectory: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/test-results'
  coverageDirectory: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/coverage'

yaml

# azure-pipelines.yml
variables:
  - template: templates/variables/dotnet-defaults.yml
  - name: projectPath
    value: 'MyApp.sln'

Variable Group with Key Vault Integration

Link variable groups to Azure Key Vault for secret management. Secrets are fetched at pipeline runtime:

yaml

# Reference in pipeline
variables:
  - group: 'kv-production-secrets'  # linked to Azure Key Vault
  - name: nonSecretVar
    value: 'some-value'
 
steps:
  - script: |
      echo "Using secret from Key Vault"
      # $(sql-connection-string) resolves at runtime from Key Vault
    env:
      CONNECTION_STRING: $(sql-connection-string)

Key Vault-linked variable groups require a service connection with Key Vault access. Secret names in Key Vault map to variable names (hyphens become valid variable characters).

Pipeline Decorators

Pipeline decorators inject steps into every pipeline in an organization or project, enforcing policies without modifying individual pipeline files. Decorators are an ADO-exclusive feature with no GitHub Actions equivalent -- see [skill:dotnet-ado-unique] for implementation details including extension manifests, deployment guidance, and use case examples.

Conditional Insertion

`${{ if }}` Expressions

yaml

parameters:
  - name: runIntegrationTests
    type: boolean
    default: false
  - name: targetEnvironment
    type: string
    default: 'development'
    values:
      - development
      - staging
      - production
 
stages:
  - stage: Build
    jobs:
      - job: BuildJob
        steps:
          - script: dotnet build -c Release
 
  - ${{ if eq(parameters.runIntegrationTests, true) }}:
    - stage: IntegrationTests
      dependsOn: Build
      jobs:
        - job: IntegrationTestJob
          steps:
            - script: dotnet test --filter Category=Integration
 
  - ${{ if eq(parameters.targetEnvironment, 'production') }}:
    - stage: ApprovalGate
      dependsOn: Build
      jobs:
        - job: WaitForApproval
          pool: server
          steps:
            - task: ManualValidation@0
              inputs:
                notifyUsers: 'release-managers@example.com'
                instructions: 'Approve production deployment'

`${{ each }}` Iteration

yaml

parameters:
  - name: environments
    type: object
    default:
      - name: development
        pool: 'ubuntu-latest'
        approvals: false
      - name: staging
        pool: 'ubuntu-latest'
        approvals: true
      - name: production
        pool: 'ubuntu-latest'
        approvals: true
 
stages:
  - stage: Build
    jobs:
      - job: BuildJob
        steps:
          - script: dotnet build -c Release
 
  - ${{ each env in parameters.environments }}:
    - stage: Deploy_${{ env.name }}
      displayName: 'Deploy to ${{ env.name }}'
      dependsOn: Build
      jobs:
        - ${{ if eq(env.approvals, true) }}:
          - job: Approve
            pool: server
            steps:
              - task: ManualValidation@0
                inputs:
                  instructions: 'Approve deployment to ${{ env.name }}'
 
        - deployment: DeployApp
          pool:
            vmImage: ${{ env.pool }}
          environment: ${{ env.name }}
          strategy:
            runOnce:
              deploy:
                steps:
                  - script: echo "Deploying to ${{ env.name }}"

Conditional Step Insertion Within Templates

yaml

# templates/steps/dotnet-test.yml
parameters:
  - name: collectCoverage
    type: boolean
    default: false
 
steps:
  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
    displayName: 'Run tests'
    inputs:
      command: 'test'
      projects: '**/*Tests.csproj'
      ${{ if eq(parameters.collectCoverage, true) }}:
        arguments: '-c Release --collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"'
      ${{ else }}:
        arguments: '-c Release'
 
  - ${{ if eq(parameters.collectCoverage, true) }}:
    - task: PublishCodeCoverageResults@2
      displayName: 'Publish coverage'
      inputs:
        summaryFileLocation: '$(Agent.TempDirectory)/**/coverage.cobertura.xml'

Multi-Stage Pipelines

Build, Test, Deploy Pattern

yaml

trigger:
  branches:
    include:
      - main
      - release/*
 
stages:
  - stage: Build
    displayName: 'Build'
    jobs:
      - job: BuildJob
        pool:
          vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
        steps:
          - task: UseDotNet@2
            inputs:
              packageType: 'sdk'
              version: '8.0.x'
 
          - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
            displayName: 'Build'
            inputs:
              command: 'build'
              projects: 'MyApp.sln'
              arguments: '-c Release'

This is the start of the file. Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub.

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Source

SKILL.md in the repositoryCheckingskills/dotnet-ado-patterns/SKILL.md

Popularity

Repository stars: 1
7-day trend score: 3

Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Refreshed 18 Mar 2026, 7 months ago.

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Install

SKILL.md

dotnet-ado-patterns

Template References

Stage Templates

Calling a Stage Template

Job Templates

Step Templates

Using Step Templates in a Pipeline

Extends Templates (Enforced Pipeline Structure)

Variable Groups and Variable Templates

Variable Groups

Variable Templates

Variable Group with Key Vault Integration

Pipeline Decorators

Conditional Insertion

${{ if }} Expressions

${{ each }} Iteration

Conditional Step Insertion Within Templates

Multi-Stage Pipelines

Build, Test, Deploy Pattern

Security

Quality evaluation

Source

Popularity

Works with

`${{ if }}` Expressions

`${{ each }}` Iteration