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Use TFSConfig to manage Azure DevOps on-premises

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Azure DevOps Server 2022 | Azure DevOps Server 2020 | Azure DevOps Server 2019 | TFS 2018

You can use the TFSConfig command-line tool to perform a variety of administrative actions for your Azure DevOps on-premises deployment.

TFSConfig can be run from any machine on which Azure DevOps Server has been installed.

Command-line tool location

Azure DevOps command line tools are installed in the /Tools directory of an Azure DevOps application-tier server.

  • Azure DevOps Server 2020: %programfiles%\Azure DevOps Server 2020\Tools
  • Azure DevOps Server 2019: %programfiles%\Azure DevOps Server 2019\Tools
  • TFS 2018: %programfiles%\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2018\Tools
  • TFS 2017: %programfiles%\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 15.0\Tools
  • TFS 2015: %programfiles%\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 14.0\Tools
  • TFS 2013: %programfiles%\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 12.0\Tools
  • TFS 2012: %programfiles%\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 11.0\Tools
  • TFS 2010: %programfiles%\Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2010\Tools

Prerequisites

For many commands to operate correctly, TFSConfig will need to be able to connect to the various servers and services which are part of your TFS deployment, and the user running TFSConfig will need to have administrative permissions for these same servers and services. Requirements for specific commands will be called out below.

Many TFSConfig command must be run from an elevated Command Prompt, even if the running user has administrative credentials. To open an elevated Command Prompt, click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator. For more information, see: User Account Control.

You can also perform administrative actions interactively using the administration console for Azure DevOps Server. See Administrative task quick reference.

List commands and get help

To display a full list of TFSConfig commands, use the help command:

TFSConfig help

To get help for an individual command, use the help command and specify the name of the command with which you want help. For example, to get help for the accounts command:

TFSConfig help accounts

Accounts

Use the Accounts command to manage these TFS service accounts.

  • the TFS service account
  • the data sources account for SQL Server Reporting Services
  • the Azure DevOps Proxy Server service account

You can also use this command to change the ownership of the Azure DevOps Server databases.

TFSConfig Accounts /change|add|set|delete|updatepassword|resetowner
[/AccountType:{AdminConsole|ApplicationTier|Proxy|ReportingDataSource}]
[/Account:AccountName] [/Password:Password]
[/SQLInstance:ServerName] [/DatabaseName:DatabaseName] [/Continue] [/usesqlalwayson]

Option

Description

/change

Changes the account that is used as the service account.

This option adds the account that you specify to all the necessary groups, grants it the Prerequisites if possible, and sets the service to use the account.

If you do not use the /AccountType option with this option, the service account for the application tier will be changed.

/add

Adds an account to the groups that are required for using the account as a service account.

This option adds the account that you specify to the necessary groups and grants it the permissions that are required to act as the service account (if possible).

However, this option will not change the account that is used as the service account.

This option is usually used in network load balancing (NLB) scenarios.

You can use this option with /continue if some services or databases might not be available in your environment.

/set

Sets an account as the service account. This option does not add the account to any groups.

Therefore, you must use this option only with accounts that have already been added to the required groups and have the necessary permissions.

This option is usually used in NLB scenarios.

/delete

Removes an account from the account type that you specify.

This option removes the account that you specify from the necessary groups and removes the permissions that are required to act as the service account (if possible).

However, this option will not change the account that is used as the service account.

Make sure that you do not use this option for an account that the servers in your deployment currently use as a service account.

/ResetOwner

Changes the ownership of the databases that Azure DevOps Server uses to the account that you are using to run this command.

This option iterates though all the databases and sets the dbo login to the account that you are using to run this command.

You might need to use this option when you move or restore a deployment.

/UpdatePassword

Changes the password of an account that is used as a service account.

This option updates the password for the account that you specify for all services in Azure DevOps Server that use that account.

/AccountType: { AdminConsole | ApplicationTier | ReportingDataSource | Proxy }

  • AdminConsole: the group of users who have the minimum permissions that are required to open and use the administration console for Azure DevOps (AdminConsole)
  • ApplicationTier: the service account that is used for Azure DevOps Server (TFSService)
  • ReportingDataSource: the data sources account for Reporting Services (TFSReports)
  • Proxy: the service account for Azure DevOps Server Proxy (TFSProxy)

The default value is ApplicationTier.

/Account: AccountName

Specifies the name of the account that you want to add, change, or delete from a referenced account type, such as /AccountType:ApplicationTier.

Specify Account in one of the following forms: Domain\AccountName or Computer\AccountName.

If you want to use a system account, such as Network Service or Local System, use the Computer\AccountName format.

For more information about how to specify a system account, see the usage examples later in this topic.

/Password: Password

Specifies the password of the service account.

Note: This parameter is optional if you are using a system account or an account that does not have a password, such as Network Service.

/SQLInstance: ServerName

Used only with /ResetOwner.

Specifies the name of the server that is running SQL Server and the name of the instance if you want to use an instance other than the default instance.

You must specify the name and instance in the following format:

ServerName\InstanceName.

/DatabaseName: DatabaseName

Used only with /ResetOwner.

Specifies the name of the database whose ownership you want to change.

By using this command, you reset the ownership of the database that you specify to the account under which you are running the command.

/continue

Updates any groups that are not available when you run the command. This option is usually used in NLB scenarios.

/usesqlalwayson

Used only with /ResetOwner in conjunction with /SQLInstance and /DatabaseName.

Specifies that the databases are part of an Always On Availability Group in SQL Server.

If configured, this option sets MultiSubnetFailover in the connection string.

For more information, see [Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)](/sql/database-engine/availability-groups/windows/overview-of-always-on-availability-groups-sql-server.

Prerequisites

To use the Accounts command, you must be a member of

  • the Team Foundation Administrators security group
  • the sysadmin role for all SQL Server instances that your Azure DevOps Server instance uses.

If you use the /proxy option, you must be an administrator on the proxy server.

For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server>.

Remarks

Use the Accounts command to automate changes to the service accounts, databases, and service account groups of Azure DevOps Server. You can configure accounts that you have already created, but you can't create accounts.

Before you change the domain or workgroup of an account, the account must have the Account is sensitive and cannot be delegated permission on the application-tier server. For more information, see this page on the Microsoft Web site: Enabling Delegated Authentication.

The Accounts command supports on-premises Azure DevOps Server deployments. To change the account owner of a Azure DevOps Services account, see Change account ownership.

Examples

Change the service account of data sources for Reporting Services to a new account in the Contoso domain, Contoso\NewAccount, and the password, to Password.

TFSConfig Accounts /change /AccountType:ReportingDataSource /Account:Contoso\NewAccount /Password:Password

Add the Network Service system account to the service account groups for Azure DevOps Server. (System accounts don't have passwords.)

TFSConfig Accounts /add /AccountType:ApplicationTier /Account:"NT Authority\Network Service"

Change the ownership of the "TFS_Warehouse" database on the "ContosoMain" SQL Server in the "TeamDatabases" named instance to the user account under which you are running the command.

Note

You can't specify what account to set as the owner of the databases when you use this command. The owner will be set to the account under which you are running the command.

TFSConfig Accounts /ResetOwner /SQLInstance:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases /DatabaseName:TFS_Warehouse

AddProjectReports

Note

The addProjectReports command is available with TFS 2017.1 and later versions.

You use the AddProjectReports command to add or overwrite reports for an existing project.

TfsConfig addProjectReports
/collection:teamProjectCollectionUrl
/teamProject:projectName
/template:templateName
[/force]

Option

Description

/collection

Required. URL of Project Collection.

/teamProject

Required. Specifies the name of the project.

/template

Required. Specifies the name of the process template. Available options are Agile, CMMI and Scrum

/force

Optional. Specifies that reports should be overwritten if they already exist.

Prerequisites

To use the AddProjectReports command, you must have permissions to run TFSConfig and to upload reports to the Reporting Service.

Remarks

You use the AddProjectReports command when your project does not have reports or you want to update the reports defined for a process.

You may need to use this command when:

  • the project was created in the web portal and not from Visual Studio
  • the project was created from Visual Studio, however reporting was not configured in Azure DevOps Server.

If you would like to overwrite reports in your project with default reports because you upgraded Azure DevOps Server and old reports in your project are no longer compatible, use the /force option. If you have customized reports, please make a backup before doing this.

To learn more about adding reports to an on-premises Azure DevOps Server, see Add reports to a project.

Example

The following example shows how to add Agile reports to MyProject project in http://myTfsServer:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection project collection.

TFSConfig addprojectreports /collection:http://myTfsServer:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection /teamproject:MyProject /template:Agile

Authentication

The Authentication command changes the network authentication protocol that the TFS application tier or proxy website uses.

TFSConfig Authentication [/provider:NTLM|Negotiate] [/viewAll] [/siteType:ApplicationTier|Proxy]

Option

Description

/viewAll

Displays the current authentication settings for Azure DevOps Server.

/provider: { NTLM | Negotiate }

Specifies the authentication provider you want to configure for the website.

  • NTLM: Use the NTML authentication protocol
  • Negotiate: Use the Negotiate (Kerberos) authentication protocol

/siteType

Specifies the website (application tier or proxy) whose network authentication protocol you want to change. The application tier is the default.

Prerequisites

To use the Authentication command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group and a local administrator on the application-tier server or proxy server, depending on the value of the siteType option.

Remarks

The Authentication command is used by an administrator who wants to change the network authentication protocol for one or more websites on which Azure DevOps Server relies. The administrator runs this command from the application tier to update those websites that require a change in their network authentication protocol. The command changes the NTAuthenticationProviders property in the IIS metabase.

Before you use the Authentication command to change the authentication protocol, you can run the command with the /viewAll option to see what the existing settings are.

Example

The following example displays the current value that is assigned for the network authentication protocol.

TFSConfig Authentication /viewAll

Certificates

Use the Certificates command to change how certificates are configured for client authentication in a deployment of Azure DevOps Server that utilizes HTTPS, secure sockets layer (SSL), and certificates.

TFSConfig Certificates [/machine] [/disable] [/autoSelect] [/noprompt] [/thumbprints:thumbprint1[,thumbprint2,...]]

Option

Description

/machine

Specifies that the certificate list will be from the local machine context instead of the current user context.

/disable

Specifies that the client authentication certificate setting will be disabled.

/autoSelect

Specifies that a certificate will be automatically selected from the certificate list. The Manage Client Certificates window will not open.

/noprompt

Specifies that the Manage Client Certificates window will not open when the Certificates command is run.

/thumbprints: thumbprint

Specifies that the certificate that matches the specified thumbprint will be used. You can specify more than one certificate by separating individual thumbprints with a comma.

Prerequisites

To use the Certificates command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group and the local Administrators group on the computer from which you run the command. For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

By default, the Certificates command will automatically select a client certificate from the certificate list for the current user. However, you can use the options for the command to specify a specific certificate or certificates from the current user context or from the local machine context.

Before you use the Certificates command, you must first configure the servers in your deployment of Azure DevOps Server to utilize certificates. For more information, see Setting up HTTPS with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for Azure DevOps Server.

You use the Certificates command to configure the client certificates that are used by a deployment of Azure DevOps Server that has been configured to use HTTPS/SSL and certificates. If you use the Certificates command with no options, a client certificate will be automatically selected from the current user context from which you run the command.

Examples

The following example shows how to specify the local machine certificate that has the thumbprint "aa bb cc dd ee" with no prompting.

TFSConfig Certificates /machine /thumbprint:aa bb cc dd ee /noprompt

The following example shows how to specify using automatic selection of a client certificate from the current user store.

TFSConfig Certificates /autoselect

ChangeServerID

The ChangeServerID command changes the GUIDs that are associated with the databases for TFS. GUIDs must be unique within a deployment of TFS. If more than one database has the same GUID, your deployment can become unstable or unusable. You can change the GUID for the configuration database, the GUIDs for all project collection databases in the deployment, or both. Although you would not typically use this command in daily operations, you might use this command in the following circumstances:

  • You restored your deployment to new hardware, the old deployment is still operational, and you want to utilize both deployments. This scenario is sometimes referred to as cloning the server.

  • You want to test a software update or a hardware configuration on a duplicate deployment so that you do not risk disrupting your production environment.

  • You want to fully test the restoration of databases to new hardware in a test lab or separate environment, to ensure that your deployment can be restored.

  • You must reset the GUID for a collection database after moving it to another deployment for which that GUID is already reserved.

    Note

    The ChangeServerID command is not reversible. After a GUID has been changed, you cannot undo that change except by restoring a previous version of that database.

    TFSConfig ChangeServerID /SQLInstance:ServerName /DatabaseName:ConfigurationDatabaseName [/ProjectCollectionsOnly] [/ConfigDBOnly] [/usesqlalwayson]

Option

Description

/SQLInstance: ServerName

Required. Specifies the name of the server that is running SQL Server and the name of the instance if you want to use an instance other than the default instance. If you specify an instance, you must use the format: ServerName\InstanceName

/DatabaseName: DatabaseName

Required. Specifies the name of the configuration database for Azure DevOps Server. By default, the name of this database is TFS_ConfigurationDB.

/ProjectCollectionsOnly

Specifies that only the GUIDs for collections will be changed.

/ConfigDBOnly

Specifies that only the GUID for the configuration database will be changed.

/usesqlalwayson

Specifies that the databases are part of an Always On Availability Group in SQL Server. If configured, this option sets MultiSubnetFailover in the connection string.

For more information, see Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server).

Prerequisites

To use the ChangeServerID command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group and a member of the sysadmin security role for all SQL Server instances that Azure DevOps Server uses. For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps.

Remarks

You use the ChangeServerID command to create a discrete duplicate of a deployment of Azure DevOps Server for testing or cloning purposes. After you use the ChangeServerID command, you must direct clients to create a connection to the changed server before it can be used.

Example

The following example shows how to change the GUIDs of all databases in the Contoso1 deployment of Azure DevOps Server, where the configuration database is hosted on the server that is named "ContosoMain" on the named instance "TeamDatabases" in SQL Server.

TFSConfig ChangeServerID /SQLInstance:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases /DatabaseName:TFS_ConfigurationDB

CodeIndex

Command availability: TFS 2015 and TFS 2013

Use the CodeIndex command to manage code indexing on Azure DevOps Server. For example, you might want to reset the index to fix CodeLens information, or turn off indexing to investigate server performance issues.

TFSConfig CodeIndex /indexingStatus | /setIndexing:[ on | off | keepupOnly ] |
        /ignoreList:[ add | remove | removeAll | view ] ServerPath |
        /listLargeFiles [/fileCount:FileCount] [/minSize:MinSize] |
        /reindexAll | /destroyCodeIndex [/noPrompt] |
        /temporaryDataSizeLimit:[ view | <SizeInGBs> | disable ] |
        /indexHistoryPeriod:[ view | all | <NumberOfMonths> ] [/collectionName:CollectionName | /collectionId:CollectionId]

Option

Description

/indexingStatus

Show the status and configuration of the code indexing service.

/setIndexing:[ on | off | keepupOnly ]

  • on: Start indexing all changesets.
  • off: Stop indexing all changesets.
  • keepupOnly: Stop indexing previously created changesets and start indexing new changesets only.

/ignoreList:[ add | remove | removeAll | view ] ServerPath

Specifies a list of code files and their paths that you don't want indexed.

  • add: Add the file that you don't want indexed to the ignored file list.
  • remove: Remove the file that you want indexed from the ignored file list.
  • removeAll: Clear the ignored file list and start indexing all files.
  • view: See all the files that aren't being indexed.
  • ServerPath: Specifies the path to a code file.

You can use the wildcard character (*) at the start, end, or both ends of the server path.

/listLargeFiles /fileCount:FileCount /minSize:MinSize

Shows the specified number of files that exceeds the specified size in KB. You can then use the /ignoreList option to exclude these files from indexing.
For this option, you'll need Team Foundation Server 2013 with Update 3 or later version.

/reindexAll

Clear previously indexed data and restart indexing.

/destroyCodeIndex [/noPrompt]

Delete the code index and remove all indexed data. Does not require confirmation if you use the /noPrompt option.

/temporaryDataSizeLimit:[view | SizeInGBs | disable]

Control how much temporary data that CodeLens creates when processing changesets. The default limit is 6 GB (2 GB in Update 5).

  • view: Show the current size limit.
  • SizeInGBs: Change the size limit.
  • disable: Remove the size limit.

This limit is checked before CodeLens processes a new changeset. If temporary data exceeds this limit, CodeLens will pause processing past changesets, not new ones. CodeLens will restart processing after the data is cleaned up and falls below this limit. Cleanup runs automatically once a day. This means temporary data might exceed this limit until cleanup starts running.

For this option, you'll need Team Foundation Server 2013 with Update 4 or later version.

/indexHistoryPeriod:[view | all | NumberOfMonths]

Control how long to index your change history. This affects how much history CodeLens shows you. The default limit is 12 months. This means CodeLens shows your change history from the last 12 months only.

  • view: Show the current number of months.
  • all: Index all change history.
  • NumberOfMonths: Change the number of months used to index change history.

For this option, you'll need Team Foundation Server 2013 with Update 4 or later version.

/collectionName:CollectionName

Specifies the name of the project collection on which to run the CodeIndex command. Required if you don't use /CollectionId.

/collectionId:CollectionId

Specifies the identification number of the project collection on which to run the CodeIndex command. Required if you don't use /CollectionName.

Prerequisites

To use the CodeIndex command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group. See Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server.

Examples

To see the code indexing status and configuration:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /indexingStatus /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

To start indexing all changesets:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /setIndexing:on /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

To stop indexing previously created changesets and start indexing new changesets only:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /setIndexing:keepupOnly /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

To find up to 50 files that are larger than 10 KB:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /listLargeFiles /fileCount:50 /minSize:10 /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

To exclude a specific file from indexing and add it to the ignored file list:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /ignoreList:add "$/Fabrikam Web Site/Catalog.cs" /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

To see all the files that aren't indexed:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /ignoreList:view

To clear previously indexed data and restart indexing:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /reindexAll /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

To save all changeset history:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /indexHistoryPeriod:all /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

To remove the size limit on CodeLens temporary data and continue indexing regardless of temporary data size:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /temporaryDataSizeLimit:disable /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

To delete the code index with confirmation:

TFSConfig CodeIndex /destroyCodeIndex /collectionName:"Fabrikam Web Site"

Collection

You can use the Collection command to attach, detach, or delete a project collection from a deployment of TFS. You can also use the Collection command to duplicate the database of an existing collection, rename it, and attach it to the deployment. This process is sometimes referred to as cloning a collection. However, you cannot use the Collection command to create a project collection.

TFSConfig Collection {/attach | /detach | /delete} [/collectionName:CollectionName]
        [/collectionDB:ServerName;DatabaseName] [/clone]

Parameters

Option

Description

/attach

Required if neither /detach nor /delete is used.

If you specify this option, you must also use the /collectionDB option.

As an option, you can also use /collectionName and /clone with this option.

If you use the /attach option, the specified collection database will be added to your deployment of Azure DevOps Server.

/detach

Required if neither /attach nor /delete is used.

If you specify this option, you must also use the /collectionName option.

If you use the /detach option, the database for the specified collection will be stopped, and the collection will be detached from your deployment of Azure DevOps Server.

/delete

Required if neither /detach nor /attach is used.

If you specify this option, you must also use the /collectionName option.

If you use the /delete option, the database for the specified collection will be stopped, and the collection will be permanently detached from Azure DevOps Server.

You will not be able to re-attach the collection database to this or any other deployment.

Tip: The /delete option will not delete the collection database from SQL Server.

After deleting the collection database from Azure DevOps Server, you can delete the database manually from SQL Server.

/CollectionName: CollectionName

Specifies the name of the project collection. If the name of the collection contains spaces, you must enclose the name in quotation marks (for example, "My Collection").

Required if either /detach or /delete is used.

If you use this option with /detach or /delete, it specifies the collection that will be detached or deleted.

If you use this option with /attach, it specifies a new name for the collection.

If you use this option with both /attach and /clone, it specifies the name for the duplicated collection.

/CollectionDB: ServerName;DatabaseName

Required if /attach is used.

This option specifies the name of the server that is running SQL Server and the name of the collection database that is hosted on that server.

  • ServerName: Specifies the name of the server that hosts the configuration database for Azure DevOps Server, and the name of the instance if you want to use an instance other than the default instance.

If you specify an instance, you must use the format: ServerName\InstanceName.

  • DatabaseName: Specifies the name of the configuration database. By default, the name of this database is TFS_ConfigurationDB.

/clone

If you specify this option, the original collection database will be attached as a clone in SQL Server, and this database will be attached to Azure DevOps Server. This option is primarily used as part of splitting a project collection.

Prerequisites

To use the Collections command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group as well as the local Administrators group on the machine running TFSConfig. You must also be a member of the sysadmin security role for all instances of SQL Server used by Azure DevOps Server databases. If your deployment is integrated with SharePoint and you are using the /delete option, you must also be a member of the Farm Administrators group for the SharePoint farm from which you are deleting the site collection.

For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

To manage collections interactively or to create a collection, you can use the Project Collections node in the administration console for Azure DevOps. See Manage project collections.

Examples

The following example shows how to permanently remove the "Contoso Summer Intern Projects" project collection from a deployment of Azure DevOps Server.

TFSConfig Collection /delete /CollectionName:"Contoso Summer Intern Projects"

TFSConfig - Team Foundation Server Configuration Tool
Copyright � Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Deleting a project collection is an irreversible operation. A deleted collection cannot be reattached to the same or another Team Foundation Server. Are you sure you want to delete 'Contoso Summer Intern Projects'? (Yes/No)
Yes
Found Collection 'Contoso Summer Intern Projects' Deleting...
The delete of collection 'Contoso Summer Intern Projects' succeeded.

The following example shows how to duplicate the "Contoso Summer Interns Projects" project collection, name it "Contoso Winter Interns Projects," and attach the duplicate collection to the deployment of Azure DevOps Server.

TFSConfig Collection /attach /collectiondb:"ContosoMain;TFS_Contoso Summer Interns Projects"
            /CollectionName:"Contoso Winter Intern Projects" /clone

ColumnStoreIndex

Note

Command availability: Requires TFS 2015.2 and later versions.

You use the ColumnStoreIndex command to enable or disable column store indexes for the databases used by your TFS deployment.

TfsConfig columnStoreIndex /enabled:{true|false}
        /sqlInstance:ServerName
        /databaseName:DatabaseName

Option

Description

/enabled

Specifies whether you are enabling or disabling column store index for the given SQL instance and database.

/sqlInstance

Specifies the name of the server that hosts the database for which column store index is being enabled or disabled, and the name of the instance if an instance other than the default is used.

If you specify an instance, you must use the format: ServerName\InstanceName

/databaseName

Specifies the name of the database for which column store index is being enabled or disabled.

Prerequisites

To use the ColumnStoreIndex command, you must be a member of the sysadmin role for the specified SQL Server instance.

Remarks

You would typically use the ColumnStoreIndex command if you were moving a database from a SQL instance which supported column store index to one which did not. In this case, you would need to disable all column store indexes before you could successfully move the databases. Similarly, if you were moving a database back to a SQL instance which supported column store index you might wish to re-enable column store index in order to save space and gain performance.

Example

The following example shows how to enable column store index, for a database named TFS_DefaultCollection on a SQL instance running on a server named "ContosoMain" on the named instance "TeamDatabases".

TFSConfig columnStoreIndex /enabled:true /sqlInstance:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases /databaseName:TFS_DefaultCollection

ConfigureMail

Configure the server that runs Azure DevOps Server to use an existing SMTP server for email alerts.

TfsConfig configureMail /Enabled:<true|false> /FromEmailAddress:<emailAddress> /SmtpHost:<SMTPHostName>
Option Description
FromEmailAddress Specifies the address from which to send email notifications from Azure DevOps Server for a check in, work item assigned to you, or other notifications. This address is also checked for validity and, depending on your server configuration, might have to represent a valid email account on the mail server. If the address does not exist or is not valid, the default email address is used.
SmtpHost Specifies the name of the server that hosts the mail server.

Prerequisites

To use the configureMail command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group on the Azure DevOps application-tier server. For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server

Remarks

You can also use the administration console to configure Azure DevOps Server to use an SMTP server.

Example

The following example shows the syntax used to configure the from email address to TFS@contoso.com and the SMTP mail server as ContosoMailServer:

TfsConfig configureMail /FromEmailAddress:TFS@contoso.com /SmtpHost:ContosoMailServer

DBCompression

For TFS 2012 and earlier versions, see https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2712111.

You use the DBCompression command to enable or disable database page compression for the databases used by your Azure DevOps Server deployment.

TFSConfig dbCompression /pageCompression:{enable|disable}
        /sqlInstance:ServerName
        /databaseName:DatabaseName
        [/rebuildNow [/offline]]

Option

Description

/pageCompression

Specifies whether you are enabling or disabling page compression for the given SQL instance and database.

/sqlInstance

Specifies the name of the server that hosts the database for which page compression is being enabled or disabled, and the name of the instance if an instance other than the default is used.

If you specify an instance, you must use the format: ServerName\InstanceName

/databaseName

Specifies the name of the database for which page compression is being enabled or disabled.

/rebuildNow

Optional. Specifies whether database indexes should be rebuilt (and compressed or decompressed as necessary) immediately. If not used, indexes will be rebuilt by a background job which runs weekly.

/offline

Optional. Used only in combination with /rebuildNow. If /offline is not specified, indexes will be rebuilt online. If /offline is specified, indexes will be rebuilt offline. This will block other operations, but may be faster than an online index rebuild.

Prerequisites

To use the DBCompression command, you must be a member of the sysadmin role for the specified SQL Server instance.

Remarks

You would typically use the DBCompression command if you were moving a database from a SQL instance which supported compression to one which did not. In this case, you would need to disable compression and decompress all indexes before you could successfully move the databases. Similarly, if you were moving a database back to a SQL instance which supported compression you might wish to re-enable compression in order to save space.

This command only changes whether Azure DevOps Server prefers to use database page compression or not - your databases must still be hosted in a SQL instance whose edition supports compression. See Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server for more information.

Example

The following example shows how to enable page compression immediately, with indexes rebuilt online, for a database named TFS_DefaultCollection on a SQL instance running on a server named "ContosoMain" on the named instance "TeamDatabases".

TFSConfig dbCompression /pageCompression:enable /sqlInstance:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases /databaseName:TFS_DefaultCollection /rebuildNow

DeleteTestResults

Command availability: TFS 2017 and later

You use the DeleteTestResults command to delete old stored test results from your collection store. This is typically done to reduce the store size or to reduce the time taken when migrating test results to a new schema.

TFSConfig DeleteTestResults /ageInDays:{number} 
    /sqlInstance:ServerName
    /databaseName:DatabaseName
    [/type:{automated|manual|all}]
    [/preview]

Option

Description

/ageInDays

Test results older than the specified number of days will be deleted or previewed.

/sqlInstance

The name of the server that hosts the database for which test results are being deleted or previewed, and the name of the instance if an instance other than the default is used.

If you specify an instance, you must use the format: ServerName\InstanceName

/databaseName

The name of the database for which test results are being deleted or previewed.

/type

Optional. The type of test results to delete. Valid values are automated, manual, and all.

/preview

Optional. Display the number of test results that would be deleted based on the age in days, but do not delete these results.

Prerequisites

To use the DeleteTestResults command, you must be a member of the sysadmin role for the specified SQL Server instance.

Remarks

Use the /preview parameter to see the test results sorted by project name and year without deleting these results.

Example

The following example shows how to delete manual test results older than 60 days for a database named TFS_DefaultCollection on a SQL instance running on a server named "ContosoMain" on the named instance "TeamDatabases".

TFSConfig deleteTestResults /ageInDays:60 /sqlInstance:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases /databaseName:TFS_DefaultCollection /type:manual

DeploymentPool

Identities

The Identities command lists or changes the security identifier (SID) of users and groups in your deployment of TFS. You might need to change or update the SID for users and groups in one of the following scenarios:

  • changing the domain of your deployment

  • changing from a workgroup to a domain or from a domain to a workgroup

  • migrating accounts across domains in Active Directory

    Note

    You do not need to run this command if you are changing domains within the same Active Directory forest. Azure DevOps Server will automatically handle SID changes for moves within the same forest.

    TFSConfig Identities [/change /fromdomain:DomainName1 /todomain:DomainName2 [/account:AccountName] [/toaccount:AccountName]] [/sqlInstance:ServerName /databaseName:DatabaseName] [/account:AccountName] [/usesqlalwayson]

Option

Description

/change

Specifies that you want to change identities instead of listing them.

/fromdomain: DomainName

Required when using /change. Specifies the original domain of the identities that you want to change. If you are changing from a workgroup environment, specifies the name of the computer.

/todomain: DomainName

Required when using /change. Specifies the domain to which you want to change identities. If you are changing to a workgroup environment, specifies the name of the computer.

/account: AccountName

Specifies the name of an account for which you want to list or change identities.

/toaccount: AccountName

Specifies the name of an account to which you want to change identities.

/SQLInstance: ServerName

Specifies the name of the server that is running SQL Server and the name of the instance if you want to use an instance other than the default instance. If you specify an instance, you must use the following format:

ServerName\InstanceName

/DatabaseName: DatabaseName

Specifies the name of the configuration database for Azure DevOps Server.

/usesqlalwayson

Specifies that the databases are part of an Always On Availability Group in SQL Server. If configured, this option sets MultiSubnetFailover in the connection string.

For more information, see [Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)](/sql/database-engine/availability-groups/windows/overview-of-always-on-availability-groups-sql-server.

Prerequisites

To use the Identities command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group and a member of the sysadmin role for all SQL Server instances that Azure DevOps Server uses. For more information, see Set administrator permissions for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

You can optionally specify the database to change identities before you configure an application-tier server for the deployment. For example, you might specify the database to change the service account when you clone a deployment of Azure DevOps Server.

When you change identities, the target account or accounts must already exist in Windows.

You must wait for the next identity synchronization with Windows before the properties of accounts that you change with this command will be updated. This requirement includes changes from group to user, user to group, and domain account to local account.

Examples

The following example shows how to list the names of all Windows users and groups that are stored in Azure DevOps Server and to display whether the SID for each user or group matches the SID in Windows. The Contoso1 domain administrators created domain groups such as "Contoso1\Developers" and "Contoso1\Testers" to help ease the management of permissions across Azure DevOps Server, SQL Server Reporting Services, and SharePoint Products.

TFSConfig Identities

Sample output:

TFSConfig - Team Foundation Server Configuration Tool
Copyright � Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Account Name Exists (see note 1) Matches (see note 2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CREATOR OWNER True True
Contoso1\hholt True True
BUILTIN\Administrators True True
Contoso1\Developers True True
Contoso1\Testers True True
Contoso1\PMs True True
Contoso1\jpeoples True True
Contoso1\Domain Admins True True
Contoso1\SVCACCT1 True True

9 security identifiers (SIDs) were found stored in Team Foundation Server. Of these, 9 were found in Windows. 0 had differing SIDs.

The following example shows how to change the SIDs for all accounts in Azure DevOps Server from the Contoso1 domain to the SIDs for accounts that have matching names in the ContosoPrime domain. Only account names that match will have their SIDs updated. For example, if the "hholt" account exists as Contoso1\hholt and ContosoPrime\hholt, the account SID will be changed to the SID for ContosoPrime\hholt. If the "ContosoPrime\hholt" account does not exist, the SID will not be updated for Contoso1\hholt.

TFSConfig Identities /change /fromdomain:Contoso1 /todomain:ContosoPrime

The following example shows how to change the account for a single user account, Contoso1\hholt, to the account for another user account, ContosoPrime\jpeoples.

TFSConfig Identities /change /fromdomain:Contoso1 /todomain:ContosoPrime /account:hholt /toaccount:jpeoples

The following example shows how to change the SID of the "NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE" service account that is used in the deployment of Azure DevOps Server when changing the domain of the deployment from Contoso1 to ContosoPrime. To change a system account such as Network Service, you must follow a two-stage process. You first change the service account from NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE to a domain account in the new domain (TempSVC), and then you change the account back to NETWORK SERVICE on the server in the new domain. The configuration database is hosted on the server that is named "ContosoMain" on the named instance "TeamDatabases" in SQL Server.

TFSConfig Identities /change /fromdomain:"NT AUTHORITY" /todomain:ContosoPrime /account:"NETWORK SERVICE"
    /toaccount:TempSVC /SQLInstance:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases /DatabaseName:TFS_ConfigurationDB

TFSConfig Identities /change /fromdomain:ContosoPrime /todomain:"NT AUTHORITY" /account:TempSVC
    /toaccount:"NETWORK SERVICE"

Jobs

You can use the Jobs command to create a log file that provides the details of the most recent job activity for a specific project collection, or to retry a job for one or all project collections.

TFSConfig Jobs /retry|dumplog [/CollectionName:CollectionName] [/CollectionID:ID]

Option

Description

/retry

Required if /dumplog is not used. Specifies that the most recent job will be reattempted for the specified project collection. If you use this option, you must also use either the /CollectionName or the /CollectionID option.

/dumplog

Required if /retry is not used. Specifies that the most recent job activity for the collection will be sent to a log file. If you use this option, you must also use either the /CollectionName or /CollectionID option.

/CollectionName: CollectionName

Required if /CollectionID is not used. Specifies the name of the collection for which the most recent job will be either retried (/retry) or logged (/dumplog). If you want to specify all collections, you can use an asterisk (*).

/CollectionID: ID

Required if /CollectionName is not used. Specifies the identification number of the collection for which the most recent job will be either retried (/retry) or logged (/dumplog).

Prerequisites

To use the Jobs command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group. For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

To retry a job interactively, you can open the administration console for Azure DevOps, click the Status tab for the collection, and then click Retry Job. For more information, see Open the Azure DevOps Administration Console.

Example

The following example shows how to create a log file that lists the most recent job activity for the "Contoso Summer Intern Projects" project collection in Azure DevOps Server.

TFSConfig Jobs /dumplog /CollectionName:"Contoso Summer Intern Projects"

OfflineDetach

Command availability: TFS 2015 Update 3 and newer

You use the OfflineDetach command to make an offline collection database into a detached offline collection database.

TFSConfig offlineDetach /configurationDB:DatabaseName
        /collectionDB:DatabaseName

Option

Description

/configurationDB

Specifies the name of the configuration database to be used.

/collectionDB

Specifies the name of the collection database to be detached.

Prerequisites

To use the OfflineDetach command, you must be a member of the sysadmin role for the specified SQL Server instance.

Remarks

This command modifies the schema of the specified collection database and should never be run against databases which are in use by a Azure DevOps Server deployment. If your databases are in use by a Azure DevOps Server deployment, use TfsConfig collection /detach instead.

This command is useful when you need to restore an individual collection database from backup without restoring other collection databases that are part of the same Azure DevOps Server deployment. Previously this required restoring a complete and consistent set of databases (configuration and all collections) to a staging environment, configuring a Azure DevOps Server deployment using those databases, and detaching the one collection of interest.

Instead, you can now restore consistent copies of the configuration database and the collection database of interest and run the OfflineDetach command. The detached collection database can then be attached to any Azure DevOps Server deployment at an appropriate version.

Example

The following example illustrates detaching a collection database named TFS_PrimaryCollection, using a configuration database named TFS_Configuration, with both on a SQL instance running on a server named "ContosoTemp" on the named instance "Backups".

TFSConfig offlineDetach /configurationDB:ContosoTemp\Backups;TFS_Configuration /collectionDB:ContosoTemp\Backups;TFS_PrimaryCollection

Proxy

You can use the TFSConfig Proxy command to update or change the settings used by Team Foundation Server Proxy. Team Foundation Server Proxy provides support for distributed teams to use version control by managing a cache of downloaded version control files in the location of the distributed team. By configuring Team Foundation Server Proxy, you can significantly reduce the bandwidth needed across wide area connections. In addition, you do not have to manage downloading and caching of version files; management of the files is transparent to the developer who is using the files. Meanwhile, any metadata exchanges and file uploads continue to appear in Azure DevOps Server. If you use the Azure DevOps Services to host your development project in the cloud, you can use the Proxy command to not only manage the cache for projects in the hosted collection, but also to manage some of the settings used by that service.

For more information about installing Azure DevOps Proxy Server and initial configuration of the proxy,

see How to: Install Azure DevOps Proxy Server and set up a remote site. For more information about configuring proxy on client computers, see Team Foundation Version Control Command Reference.

TFSConfig Proxy /add|delete|change [/Collection:TeamProjectCollectionURL /account:AccountName]
            /Server:TeamFoundationServerURL [/inputs:Key1=Value1; Key2=Value2;...] [/Continue]

Option

Description

/add

Adds the specified server or collection to the proxy list in the Proxy.config file.

You can run /add multiple times to include more collections or servers.

When using /add with a collection hosted on Azure DevOps Services, you will be prompted for your credentials on Azure DevOps Services.

/change

Changes the credentials stored as the service account for Azure DevOps Services.

The /change option is only used for Azure DevOps Services; it should not be used for local deployments of Azure DevOps Server.

/delete

Removes the specified server or collection from the proxy list in the Proxy.config file.

/account

Specifies the account used as the service account for the proxy in Azure DevOps Services.

This option is only used for Azure DevOps Services in conjunction with the /change option.

The default service account used for Azure DevOps Services is "Account Service."

/continue

Continues the execution of the command even if the verification process produces warnings.

/Collection:TeamProjectCollectionURL

Specifies the URL of the project collection that is hosted on Azure DevOps Services, in AccountName.DomainName/CollectionName format.

/account:AccountName

Specifies the name of the account that is used as the service account for Azure DevOps Services.

If the account name has spaces, the name must be enclosed within quotation marks ("").

All special characters in account names must be specified in accordance with command-line syntax.

/account:ServerURL

Specifies the URL of a Azure DevOps Server deployment, in ServerURL:Port/tfs format.

/PersonalAccessTokenFile:PathToFileWithPAT

Optionally specifies the path to a file that contains a personal access token. This token will be used authenticate to the collection or account while registering a proxy. (Added in TFS 2018 Update 1)

/inputs:Key1=Value1;Key2=Value2;...

Optional. Specifies additional settings and values to use while configuring the proxy.

For example, values for "GvfsProjectName" and "GvfsRepositoryName" can be used to configure a Git repository for use with Git Virtual File System (GVFS) (Added in TFS 2018 Update 1)

Prerequisites

To use the Proxy command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group and an administrator on the proxy server. For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

You use the Proxy command to update the existing configuration of Azure DevOps Proxy Server. You cannot use the Proxy command for initial installation and configuration of the proxy.

Examples

The following example shows how to add a Azure DevOps Server deployment named FABRIKAM to the proxy list.

TFSConfig Proxy /add /Server:http://www.fabrikam.com:8080/tfs

The following example shows how to add a project collection hosted on Azure DevOps Services to the proxy list using a Personal Access Token to authenticate. This token will be used only to register the proxy with the Azure DevOps Services account - the default service account will still be used to run the proxy. This parameter was added in TFS 2018 Update 1 to support registering a Proxy with Azure DevOps Services without requiring a login prompt.

TFSConfig Proxy /add /Collection:https://HelenaPetersen.tfs.visualstudio.com/PhoneSaver

The following example shows how to add a project collection to the proxy list. This example uses a personal access token to authenticate against the collection specified with the "/Collection" parameter. The personal access token to be used is saved to a file at "c:\PersonalAccessToken.txt"

TFSConfig Proxy /add /Collection:https://HelenaPetersen.tfs.visualstudio.com/PhoneSaver
            /PersonalAccessTokenFile:c:\PersonalAccessToken.txt

The following example shows how to change the service account used by the proxy for the project collection hosted on Azure DevOps Services. The collection is named PhoneSaver, the account name used for Azure DevOps Services is HelenaPetersen.fabrikam.com, and the service account used by the proxy is being changed to "My Proxy Service Account". Because the account name contains spaces, quotation marks are used to enclose the name.

```console
TFSConfig Proxy /change /Collection:https://HelenaPetersen.tfs.visualstudio.com/PhoneSaver
            /account:"My Proxy Service Account"

The following example shows how to add a Git repository for use with GVFS.

TFSConfig Proxy /add /Collection:https://HelenaPetersen.tfs.visualstudio.com/PhoneSaver /inputs:GvfsProjectName=PhoneSaver;GvfsRepositoryName=AnotherRepository

RebuildWarehouse

You can use the RebuildWarehouse command to rebuild the SQL Server Reporting Services and SQL Server Analysis Services databases that Visual Studio Team Foundation Server (TFS) uses.

TFSConfig RebuildWarehouse /analysisServices | /all [/ReportingDataSourcePassword:Password]

Option

Description

/analysisServices

Required if /all is not used.

Specifies that only the database for Analysis Services will be rebuilt.

If no database exists for Analysis Services, you must also use the /reportingDataSourcePassword option.

/all

Required if /analysisServices is not used.

Specifies that all reporting and analysis databases that Azure DevOps Server uses will be rebuilt.

/reportingDataSourcePassword: Password

Required if the TFS_Analysis database does not exist.

Specifies the password of the account that is used as the data sources account for SQL Server Reporting Services (TFSReports).

For more information, see Service accounts and dependencies in Azure DevOps Server.

Prerequisites

To use the RebuildWarehouse command, you must be a member of the following groups:

  • the Team Foundation Administrators security group and the Administrators security group on the server or servers that are running the administration console for Azure DevOps

  • the sysadmin group on the server or servers that are running the instance of SQL Server that hosts the databases for Azure DevOps Server

For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

You might use this command when moving or splitting a project collection, restoring data, or otherwise changing the configuration of your deployment.

To start the rebuild of these databases interactively, you can use the Reporting node in the administration console for Azure DevOps. For more information, see Open the Azure DevOps Administration Console>.

Example

The following example shows how to rebuild the Analysis Services database for a deployment of Azure DevOps Server.

TFSConfig RebuildWarehouse /analysisServices

TFSConfig - Team Foundation Server Configuration Tool
Copyright � Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
The Analysis Services database was successfully rebuilt.

RegisterDB

Use RegisterDB to update name of the server that hosts the configuration database in Visual Studio Team Foundation Server (TFS). You might use this command when restoring the configuration database to new hardware or when changing the domain of a deployment.

TFSConfig RegisterDB /SQLInstance:ServerName /databaseName: DatabaseName [/usesqlalwayson]

Argument

Description

/SQLInstance: ServerName

Required. Specifies the name of the server that is running SQL Server and the name of the instance if you want to use an instance other than the default instance.

If you specify an instance, you must use the format: ServerName\InstanceName.

/databaseName: DatabaseName

Required. Specifies the name of the configuration database. By default, this is Tfs_Configuration.

/usesqlalwayson

Optional. Specifies that the databases are part of an Always On Availability Group in SQL Server.

If configured, this option sets MultiSubnetFailover in the connection string.

For more information, see [Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)](/sql/database-engine/availability-groups/windows/overview-of-always-on-availability-groups-sql-server.

Prerequisites

To use the RegisterDB command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators group on the application-tier server for Azure DevOps and a member of the sysadmin group in SQL Server on the data-tier server for Azure DevOps. For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

Back up the databases for Azure DevOps Server before you use this command.

For the RegisterDB command to succeed, the following application pools and programs must be running:

  • Azure DevOps Server Application Pool (application pool)
  • ReportServer (application pool)
  • SQL Server Reporting Services (program)

You must provide the exact name or address of the configuration database for this command to operate correctly. If you must change the server on which this database is stored, you must ensure that Azure DevOps Server points to the new location.

Example

The following example redirects Azure DevOps Server to a configuration database that is located on the server ContosoMain in the SQL Server instance TeamDatabases.

TFSConfig RegisterDB /SQLInstance:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases /databaseName:Tfs_Configuration

RemapDBs

The RemapDBs command redirects Azure DevOps Server to its databases when they are stored on more than one server and you are restoring, moving, or otherwise changing the configuration of your deployment. For example, you must redirect TFS to any databases for project collections if they are hosted on a separate server or servers from the configuration database. You must also redirect TFS to the server or servers that are running SQL Server Analysis Services or SQL Server Reporting Services if those databases are hosted on a separate server or instance from the configuration database.

TFSConfig RemapDBs /DatabaseName:ServerName;DatabaseName /SQLInstances:ServerName1,ServerName2
        [/AnalysisInstance:ServerName] [/AnalysisDatabaseName:DatabaseName]
        [/preview] [/continue] [/usesqlalwayson]

Option

Description

/DatabaseName

Specifies the name of the server that hosts the database that you want to map for Azure DevOps Server, in addition to the name of the database itself.

/SQLInstances: ServerName1,ServerName2

Specifies the name of the server that is running SQL Server, in addition to the name of the instance if you want to use an instance other than the default instance.

If you are specifying more than one server, you must use a comma to separate multiple pairs of server and instance names.

/AnalysisInstance: ServerName

Optional. Specifies the name of the server and instance that hosts SQL Server Analysis Services.

Use this option to specify the server and instance that hosts the Analysis Services database.

/AnalysisDatabaseName: DatabaseName

Optional. Specifies the name of the Analysis Services database that you want to use with Azure DevOps Server if you have more than one such database on the server that you specified with the /AnalysisInstance option.

/preview

Optional. Displays the actions that you must take to update the configuration.

/continue

Optional. Specifies that the RemapDB command should continue even if an error occurs during the attempt to locate one or more databases.

If you use the /continue option, any collections whose databases are not found on the server or servers that you specify will be reconfigured to use the server and instance that hosts the configuration database.

/usesqlalwayson

Optional. Specifies that the databases are part of an Always On Availability Group in SQL Server.

If configured, this option sets MultiSubnetFailover in the connection string.

For more information, see [Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)](/sql/database-engine/availability-groups/windows/overview-of-always-on-availability-groups-sql-server.

Prerequisites

To use the RemapDBs command, you must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group and a member of the sysadmin security group for any SQL Server databases that Azure DevOps Server uses. For more information, see Permission reference for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

You use the RemapDBs command to reconfigure Azure DevOps Server to use different servers and instances of SQL Server from the servers and instances in the original installation.

Example

The following example shows how to redirect Azure DevOps Server to its configuration database TFS_Configuration. This database is hosted on ContosoMain on the named instance TeamDatabases. Its project collection databases are stored on both ContosoMain\TeamDatabases and the default instance on Contoso2.

TFSConfig RemapDBs /DatabaseName:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases;TFS_Configuration
            /SQLInstances:ContosoMain\TeamDatabases,Contoso2

RepairJobQueue

Command availability: TFS 2015

You use the RepairJobQueue command to fix scheduled jobs that have stopped running for deployment and collection hosts.

TfsConfig repairJobQueue

Prerequisites

To use the RepairJobQueue command, you must be a member of the local administrators group on the machine running TfsConfig. You must also be a member of the sysadmin security role for all the SQL Server instances used by the Azure DevOps Server deployment.

Remarks

You would typically use the RepairJobQueue command if you notice any scheduled jobs are not running.
The command does not take any arguments, and requires the Azure DevOps Server deployment to be configured.

Example

TFSConfig repairJobQueue

Settings

You can use the Settings command to automate changes to the uniform resource locator (URL) that is used by the notification interface and for the server address for Azure DevOps Server. By default, the notification interface URL and the server URL match in Azure DevOps Server, but you can configure separate URLs. For example, you might want to use a different URL for the automatic e-mails that Azure DevOps Server generates. You must run this tool from the application tier to update all servers so that they use the new URLs.

To change these URLs interactively or to just view the current settings, you can use the administration console for Azure DevOps. See Administrative task quick reference.

TFSConfig Settings [/ServerURL:URL] [/NotificationURL:URL]

Option

Description

/ServerURL: URL

Specifies the URL of the application-tier server for Azure DevOps. This value is stored in the configuration database for Azure DevOps.

/NotificationURL: URL

Specifies the URL to use in the text of e-mail alerts, if that URL differs from the URL of the application-tier server for Azure DevOps. This value is stored in the configuration database.

Prerequisites

You must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group and the Administrators group on the application-tier server. For more information, see Set administrator permissions for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

The Settings command changes connection information for server-to-server communication in a deployment of Azure DevOps Server. The URL that is specified in /ServerURL must be available to all servers within the deployment.

Example

The following example changes the value of NotificationURL to http://contoso.example.com/tfs and the value of ServerURL to http://contoso.example.com:8080/tfs.

TFSConfig Settings /NotificationURL:http://contoso.example.com/tfs /ServerURL:http://contoso.example.com:8080/tfs

Setup

You use the setup command to uninstall features which are currently configured on the machine where you run the command.

TfsConfig setup /uninstall:<feature[,feature,...]>

Option

Description

/uninstall

Specifies one or more features to be uninstalled from the machine where you run the command. Options include: All, ApplicationTier, Search, and VersionControlProxy.

Prerequisites

To use the setup command, you must be a member of the Azure DevOps Administrators security group.

Examples

The following example uninstalls all Azure DevOps Server features from the current machine.

TfsConfig setup /uninstall:All

The following example uninstalls the application tier and build features from the current machine.

TfsConfig setup /uninstall:ApplicationTier

TCM

When upgrading to the latest version of Azure DevOps Server, the system automatically attempts to upgrade the Tests Management components, including test plans and suites.

If the automatic migration fails, use the TCM command to upgrade your test plans and test suites manually to their respective work item types (WITs).

TFSConfig TCM /upgradeTestPlans|upgradeStatus /CollectionName:CollectionName /TeamProject:TeamProjectName

Option

Description

/upgradeTestPlans

Required unless /upgradeStatus is used.

Converts existing test plan and test suites to point to the work item-based test plans and test suites. It also updates existing test management data and links between other existing test artifacts such as test points, test runs, and test results.

/upgradeStatus

Required unless /upgradeTestPlans is used.

Reports the migration status of test data for the specified project. It will also indicate whether the specified project has any test plans.

/CollectionName:CollectionName

Required. Specifies the project collection that contains the project for which you want to migrate test data or check the migration status.

If there are spaces in the name of the project collection, enclose the name in quotation marks, for example, "Fabrikam Fiber Collection".

/TeamProjectName:TeamProjectName

Required. Specifies the project for which you want to migrate test data or check the migration status. This project must be defined in the collection that you specified by using the /collectionName parameter.

If there are spaces in the name of the project, enclose the name in quotation marks, for example, "My Project".

Prerequisites

You must be a member of the Team Foundation Administrators security group, and an administrator on the application-tier server.

See Set administrator permissions for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

Your application-tier server must be upgraded to the latest version of Azure DevOps Server to use this command.

Before you can use the TCM command, you must first import the test plan work item definition and the test plan category into the project.

To learn more about the migration and when to use this command, see Manual updates to support test management.

The TCM command is applied to individual projects. If you need to upgrade test plans in more than one project, you will have to run it against each project individually.

You must run the TCM command from the tools directory for Azure DevOps Server. By default, that location is: drive:\%programfiles%\TFS 12.0\Tools.

You use the TCM command only in the event that automatic migration of existing test data fails.

To learn more about the migration and when to use this command, Manual updates to support test management.

If you can't access test plans or test suites that were defined before the server upgrade occurred, run TFSConfig TCM upgradeStatus to determine the status of the migration.

You run the TCM command for an individual project. If you need to upgrade more than one project, you will have to run it against each project in turn.

Examples

The following example shows how to check the status of test plan upgrade on the Fabrikam Fiber project hosted on the default project collection (DefaultCollection):

tfsconfig tcm /upgradeStatus /CollectionName:DefaultCollection /TeamProject:"Fabrikam Fiber"

Unattend

Command availability: TFS 2018, TFS 2017, TFS 2015, TFS 2013

The Unattend command is designed for users who are familiar with Azure DevOps Server and the configuration process, and who need to install Azure DevOps Server on different machines.

For example, if you use Team Foundation Build, you can use the Unattend command to install multiple build servers using the same configuration file.

Use the Unattend /create option to create an unattend file. This file defines all configuration parameters for a Azure DevOps Server installation. Next, use the Unattend /configure option to actually perform the configuration.

This process allows you to configure Azure DevOps Server from start to finish without having to provide input during the installation process. In the case of multiple installations, this also helps ensure that the exact same configuration parameters are used across multiple servers.

TFSConfig unattend /create|unattend /type:InstallType /unattendfile:ConfigurationFileName [/inputs:Key1=Value1; Key2=Value2;...] [/verify] [/continue]

Option

Description

/create

Creates the unattend file with the name and parameters you specify.

/configure

Configures Azure DevOps Server using the unattend file and parameters you specify.

You must use /type or /unattendfile with this option.

/type:InstallType

Specifies the type of configuration to use.

  • Basic: Configures Azure DevOps Server in the basic configuration, including SQL Server Express.

  • Standard: Configures Azure DevOps Server in the standard single-server configuration.

  • ATOnly: Configures an additional application-tier for an existing Azure DevOps Server deployment.

  • Build: Configures the Team Foundation Build Service.

  • Proxy: Configures Azure DevOps Proxy Server.

  • SPInstall: Installs and configures SharePoint Foundation 2013 for use with a Azure DevOps Server deployment.

  • Upgrade: Upgrades a previous version of Azure DevOps Server to the latest version of the software.

You must have downloaded and installed that version locally before running this command with /configure.

  • SPExtensions: Configures the SharePoint Extensions for Azure DevOps Server.

When you use /configure, either /type or /unattendfile are required, but you cannot use both.

/unattendfile:ConfigurationFileName

Specifies the unattend file to create or use, depending on whether the initial parameter is /create or /configure. When you use /configure, either /unattendfile or /type is required.

/inputs:Key1=Value1; Key2=Value2;...

Optional. If you use /create, specifies settings and values to use when creating the unattend file.

If you use /configurespecifies additional settings and values to use in conjunction with the unattend file.

As an alternative to using /inputs, you can manually edit the unattend file in any plain-text editor.

This is necessary for certain input types, such as ServiceAccountPassword or PersonalAccessToken as those secret values cannot be set using the /inputs parameter.

/verify

Optional. Specifies a configuration run that only completes verification checks based on the unattend file, inputs, and configuration type.

This is an alternative to performing a complete configuration.

/continue

Optional. Specifies that /create or /configure should continue regardless of warnings from verification checks.

/?

Optional. Provides command-line help for the unattend command.

Prerequisites

  • You must be a member of the Administrators group on the computer where you are installing the software.

  • Depending on the type of installation, you might also require additional administrator permissions. For example, if you are using the Unattend command to install Azure DevOps Server, you must be a member of the sysadmin group on the instance of SQL Server that will support Azure DevOps Server. For more information, see the Q & A section of Set administrator permissions for Azure DevOps Server.

Remarks

Before you can use the Unattend command to configure Azure DevOps Server, you must create the service accounts that you will use as part of your deployment. You must also install any prerequisite software for your chosen installation type. This includes Azure DevOps Server itself. You must install Azure DevOps Server but you don't have to configure it because the Unattend command will do that for you.

The Unattend command configures Azure DevOps Server components. It does not perform the initial installation of the software. It configures the software according to your specifications after the bits are present on the computer.

Examples

The following example shows how to create an unattend file for a basic installation of Azure DevOps Server.

TFSConfig Unattend /create /type:basic /unattendfile:configTFSBasic.ini

In this example, the unattend file is created in the same directory as the command. A log file is created as part of the command, and the location of the file is returned in the command as part of executing the command.

The following example shows how to specify a Git repository for use with GVFS during configuration.

TFSConfig Unattend /configure /type:proxy /inputs:ProjectCollectionUrl=http://FabrikamFiberTFS:8080/tfs/defaultcollection;GvfsProjectName=Fabrikam-Fiber-Git;GvfsRepositoryName=TestGit

The following example shows how to create an unattend file for the configuration of a Azure DevOps Proxy Server.

Important: In this example, if the administrators want to use a personal access token for authentication they will need to manually edit the file to specify the personal access token value. This can be achieved by adding a line for the personal access token in the created unattend file like: "PersonalAccessToken=PersonalAccessTokenValue".

TfsConfig Unattend /create /type:proxy "/inputs:ProjectCollectionUrl=http://FabrikamFiberTFS:8080/tfs/defaultcollection" /unattendFile:c:\unattend.txt

The following example shows how to create an unattend file for the configuration of Team Foundation Build on a server using "FabrikamFiber\BuildSVC" as the build service account, and then configure Team Foundation Build using that unattend file.

Important:
In this example, after creating the unattend file, the administrator manually edits the file to specify the password for the build service account. Adding the password as an input using "ServiceAccountPassword=Password" doesn't add the password information to the file.

TFSConfig Unattend /create /type:build /unattendfile:configTFSBuild.ini
        /inputs:IsServiceAccountBuiltIn=false;ServiceAccountName=FabrikamFiber\\BuildSVCTFSConfig
        Unattend /configure /unattendfile:configTFSBuild.ini

The first command returns the following:

Microsoft (R) TfsConfig - Team Foundation Server Configuration Tool
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Command: unattend
Logging sent to file C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Team Foundation\Server Configuration\Logs\TFS_Build Configuration_0512_203133.log

The second command returns the following information, including the name of the server where Team Foundation Build was configured (FabrikamFiberTFS) and the project collection associated with the controller (DefaultCollection):

Microsoft (R) TfsConfig - Team Foundation Server Configuration Tool
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Command: unattend

---------------------------------------------
        Inputs:
---------------------------------------------

Feedback
        Send Feedback: True

Build Resources
        Configuration Type: create
        Agent Count: 1
        New Controller Name: FabrikamFiberTFS - Controller
        Clean Up Resources: False

Project Collection
        Collection URL: http://FabrikamFiberTFS:8080/tfs/defaultcollection

Windows Service
        Service Account: FabrikamFiber\BuildSVC
        Service Password: ********

Advanced Settings *
        Port: 9191

---------------------------------------------
        Running Readiness Checks
---------------------------------------------

[1/2] System Verifications
[2/2] Build Service Verifications

---------------------------------------------
        Configuring
---------------------------------------------

        root
[1/4] Install Team Foundation Build Service
        Installing Windows services ...
        Adding service account to groups ...
        Setting ACL on a windows service
[2/4] Enable Event Logging
        Adding event log sources ...
        Token replace a config file
        RegisterBuildEtwProvider
        Configuring ETW event sources ...
[3/4] Register with Team Foundation Server
        Registering the build service
[4/4] Start Team Foundation Build Service
        StartBuildHost
        Starting Windows services ...
        Marking feature configured status
[Info] [Register with Team Foundation Server] Firewall exception added for port
9191

TeamBuild completed successfully.
Logging sent to file C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Team Foundation\Server Configuration\Logs\TFS_Build Configuration_0512_203322.log

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