Agent skill · software engineering · microsoft
azure-pipelines
Use when validating Azure DevOps pipeline changes for the VS Code build. Covers queueing builds, checking build status, viewing logs, and iterating on pipeline YAML changes without waiting for full CI runs.
Why this skill is useful
Adds specific commands and parameters for validating Azure DevOps pipeline changes that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
Requires azure-cli installed locally. About 6k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 188,455 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Validating Azure Pipeline Changes When modifying Azure DevOps pipeline files (YAML files in build/azure-pipelines/), you can validate changes locally using the Azure CLI before committing. This avoids the slow feedback loop of pushing changes, waiting for CI, and checking results. Prerequisites 1. Check if Azure CLI is installed: If not installed, install it: 2. Check if the DevOps extension is installed: If not installed, add it: 3. Authenticate: VS Code Main Build The main VS Code build pipeline: Organization: monacotools Project: Monaco Definition ID: 111 URL: https://dev.azure.com/monacotools/Monaco/build?definitionId=111 VS Code Insider Scheduled Builds Two Insider builds run automatically on a scheduled basis: Morning build: ~7:00 AM CET Evening build: ~7:00 PM CET These scheduled builds use the same pipeline definition (111) but run on the main branch to produce Insider releases. --- Queueing a Build Use the queue command to queue a validation build: Important: Before queueing a new build, cancel any previous builds on the same branch that you no longer need. This frees up build agents and reduces resource waste: Script Options Option Description -------- ------------- --branch <name> Source branch to build (default: current git branch) --definition <id> Pipeline definition ID (default: 111) --parameter <entry> Pipeline parameter in KEY=value format (repeatable); use this when the value contains spaces --parameters <list> Space-separated parameters in KEY=value KEY2=value2 format; values must not contain spaces --dry-run Print the command without executing Product Build Queue Parameters (build/azure-pipelines/product-build.yml) Name Type Default Allowed Values Description ------ ------ --------- ---------------- ------------- VSCODEQUALITY string insider exploration, insider, stable Build quality channel VSCODEBUILDTYPE string Product Build Product, CI Build mode for Product vs CI NPMREGISTRY string https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/monacotools/Monaco/packaging/vsco …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills microsoft/azure-pipelines