---
name: dotnet-ado-patterns-daa0a1ac58c0
description: Composes Azure DevOps YAML pipelines. Templates, variable groups, multi-stage, triggers.
license: MIT
targets: ['*']
tags: ['cicd', 'dotnet', 'skill']
version: '0.0.1'
author: 'dotnet-agent-harness'
claudecode:
  allowed-tools: ['Read', 'Grep', 'Glob', 'Bash', 'Write', 'Edit']
codexcli:
  short-description: '.NET skill guidance for cicd tasks'
opencode:
  allowed-tools: ['Read', 'Grep', 'Glob', 'Bash', 'Write', 'Edit']
---

# 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

- Template references with extends, stages, jobs, and steps keywords
- 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)
- Pipeline triggers for CI, PR, and scheduled runs

## 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.

---

For detailed YAML examples (stage/job/step templates, extends, variable groups, conditional insertion, multi-stage
pipelines, triggers), see `examples.md` in this skill directory.

## Agent Gotchas

1. **Template parameter types are enforced at compile time** -- passing a string where `type: boolean` is expected
   causes a validation error before the pipeline runs; always match types exactly.
2. **`extends` templates cannot be overridden** -- callers cannot inject steps before or after the mandatory stages;
   this is by design for policy enforcement.
3. **Variable group secrets are not available in template expressions** -- `${{ variables.mySecret }}` resolves at
   compile time when secrets are not yet available; use `$(mySecret)` runtime syntax instead.
4. **`${{ each }}` iterates at compile time** -- the loop generates YAML before the pipeline runs; runtime variables
   cannot be used as the iteration source.
5. **CI and PR triggers are mutually exclusive with `trigger: none` and `pr: none`** -- omitting both `trigger` and `pr`
   sections enables default CI triggering on all branches; explicitly set `trigger: none` to disable.
6. **Path filters in triggers use repository root-relative paths** -- do not prefix paths with `/` or `./`; use `src/**`
   not `./src/**`.
7. **Scheduled triggers always run on the default branch first** -- the `branches.include` filter applies after the
   schedule fires; the schedule itself is only evaluated from the default branch YAML.
8. **Pipeline resource triggers require the source pipeline name, not the YAML file path** -- use the pipeline name as
   shown in ADO, not the `azure-pipelines.yml` file path.


---
Source attribution: dotnet-agent-harness
Original project: https://github.com/diegosouzapw/awesome-omni-skill/blob/a6b3c3005cedf056a48b084671c6282426d6e9fc/skills/devops/dotnet-ado-patterns/SKILL.md
License: MIT
License information: https://opensource.org/license/mit
Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Mega AI Hub.

## Upstream license notice

MIT License

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.



# Mega AI Hub resource metadata

Creator / publisher: dotnet-agent-harness
Original project: https://github.com/diegosouzapw/awesome-omni-skill/blob/a6b3c3005cedf056a48b084671c6282426d6e9fc/skills/devops/dotnet-ado-patterns/SKILL.md
Attribution basis: Source repository record

Fields of work: Development & Engineering, Product Management
Roles: DevOps / SRE, Backend Developer, Product Manager
Specialties: DevOps, Backend
Tools: Azure, GitHub
Country applicability: Country not specified
Classification basis: Source category, role and specialization labels
Instruction SHA-256: 3d7526e8f0cf989c4fde3c8287debed6e62ceac322690ad8a8ddba27f2d27081