Azure File Copy task
TFS 2017 | TFS 2015
Use this task to copy files to Microsoft Azure storage blobs or virtual machines (VMs).
Note
This task is written in PowerShell and thus works only when run on Windows agents. If your pipelines require Linux agents and need to copy files to an Azure Storage Account, consider running az storage blob commands in the Azure CLI task as an alternative.
Note
In Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2018 and previous versions, build and release pipelines are called definitions, runs are called builds, service connections are called service endpoints, stages are called environments, and jobs are called phases.
The task is used to copy application files and other artifacts that are required in order to install the app; such as PowerShell scripts, PowerShell-DSC modules, and more.
Note
If you are using Azure File copy task version 3 or below, see Azure file copy version 3 or earlier.
When the target is Azure VMs, the files are first copied to an automatically generated Azure blob container and then downloaded into the VMs. The container is deleted after the files have been successfully copied to the VMs.
The task uses AzCopy, the command-line utility built for fast copying of data from and into Azure storage accounts. The version 4 of the Azure File Copy task uses AzCopy V10.
To dynamically deploy Azure Resource Groups that contain virtual machines, use the Azure Resource Group Deployment task. This task has a sample template that can perform the required operations to set up the WinRM HTTPS protocol on the virtual machines, open the 5986 port in the firewall, and install the test certificate.
Note
If you are deploying to Azure Static Websites as a container in blob storage, you must use Version 2 or higher of the task in order to preserve the $web container name.
The task supports authentication based on Azure Active Directory. Authentication using a service principal and managed identity are available. For managed identities, only system-wide managed identity is supported.
Note
For authorization you will have to provide access to the Security Principal. The level of authorization required can be referred here.
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
sourcePath - Source |
Required. The source of the files to copy. YAML Pipelines and Classic Release support predefined system variables like Build.Repository.LocalPath as well. Release variables are supported only in classic releases. Wild card symbol (*) is supported anywhere in the file path or file name. |
connectedServiceNameARM or azureSubscription - Azure Subscription |
Required. The name of an Azure Resource Manager service connection configured for the subscription where the target Azure service, virtual machine, or storage account is located. See Azure Resource Manager overview for more details. |
destination - Destination Type |
Required. The type of target destination for the files. Choose Azure Blob or Azure VMs. |
storageAccountRM or storage - RM Storage Account |
Required. The name of an existing storage account within the Azure subscription. |
containerName - Container Name |
Required if you select Azure Blob for the Destination Type parameter. The name of the container to which the files will be copied. If a container with this name does not exist, a new one will be created. |
blobPrefix - Blob Prefix |
Optional if you select Azure Blob for the Destination Type parameter. A prefix for the blob names, which can be used to filter the blobs. For example, using the build number enables easy filtering when downloading all blobs with the same build number. |
environmentNameRM or resourceGroup - Resource Group |
Required if you select Azure Resource Manager for the Azure Connection Type parameter and Azure VMs for the Destination Type parameter. The name of the Azure Resource Group in which the virtual machines run. |
resourceFilteringMethod - Select Machines By |
Depending on how you want to specify the machines in the group when using the Filter Criteria parameter, choose Machine Names or Tags. |
machineNames - Filter Criteria |
Optional. A list of machine names or tag names that identifies the machines that the task will target. The filter criteria can be: - The name of an Azure Resource Group. - An output variable from a previous task. - A comma-delimited list of tag names or machine names. Format when using machine names is a comma-separated list of the machine FQDNs or IP addresses. Specify tag names for a filter as {TagName}:{Value} Example: Role:DB;OS:Win8.1 |
vmsAdminUserName - Admin Login |
Required if you select Azure VMs for the Destination Type parameter. The user name of an account that has administrative permissions for all the target VMs. - Formats such as username, domain\username, machine-name\username, and .\username are supported. - UPN formats such as username@domain.com and built-in system accounts such as NT Authority\System are not supported. |
vmsAdminPassword - Password |
Required if you select Azure VMs for the Destination Type parameter. The password for the account specified as the Admin Login parameter. Use the padlock icon for a variable defined in the Variables tab to protect the value, and insert the variable name here. |
targetPath - Destination Folder |
Required if you select Azure VMs for the Destination Type parameter. The folder in the Azure VMs to which the files will be copied. Environment variables such as $env:windir and $env:systemroot are supported. Examples: $env:windir\FabrikamFiber\Web and c:\FabrikamFiber |
additionalArgumentsForBlobCopy - Optional Arguments (for uploading files to blob) |
Optional. Any arguments you want to pass to the AzCopy.exe program for use when uploading to the blob and downloading to the VMs. See Transfer data with the AzCopy Command-Line Utility for more details. If you are using a Premium storage account, which supports only Azure page blobs, then pass '--blob-type=PageBlob' as an additional argument. The default arguments are --log-level=INFO (default) and --recursive (only if container name is not $root). |
additionalArgumentsForVMCopy - Optional Arguments (for downloading files to VM) |
Optional. AzCopy.exe arguments that will be applied when downloading to VM like, --check-length=true. If no optional arguments are specified here, the following optional arguments will be added by default: --log-level=INFO (if the pipeline is running in debug mode set --log-level=DEBUG), --recursive |
enableCopyPrerequisites - Enable Copy Prerequisites |
Available if you select Azure Resource Manager for the Azure Connection Type parameter and Azure VMs for the Destination Type parameter. Setting this option configures the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) listener over HTTPS protocol on port 5986, using a self-signed certificate. This configuration is required for performing copy operation on Azure virtual machines. - If the target virtual machines are accessed through a load balancer, ensure an inbound NAT rule is configured to allow access on port 5986. - If the target virtual machines are associated with a Network Security Group (NSG), configure an inbound security rule to allow access on port 5986. |
copyFilesInParallel - Copy in Parallel |
Available if you select Azure VMs for the Destination Type parameter. Setting this option causes the process to execute in parallel for the copied files. This can considerably reduce the overall time taken. |
cleanTargetBeforeCopy - Clean Target |
Available if you select Azure VMs for the Destination Type parameter. Setting this option causes all of the files in the destination folder to be deleted before the copy process starts. |
skipCACheck - Test Certificate |
Available if you select Azure VMs for the Destination Type parameter. WinRM requires a certificate for the HTTPS transfer when copying files from the intermediate storage blob into the Azure VMs. If you set use a self-signed certificate, set this option to prevent the process from validating the certificate with a trusted certificate authority (CA). |
sasTokenTimeOutInMinutes - SAS Token Expiration Period In Minutes |
Optional. Provide the time in minutes after which SAS token will expire. Valid only when the selected destination is Azure Blob. Default should be 4 hours. |
| Control options | See Control options |
Related tasks
FAQ
What are the Azure PowerShell prerequisites for using this task?
The task requires Azure PowerShell to be installed on the machine running the automation agent. The recommended version is 1.0.2, but the task will work with version 0.9.8 and higher. You can use the Azure PowerShell Installer v1.0.2 to obtain this.
What are the WinRM prerequisites for this task?
The task uses Windows Remote Management (WinRM) HTTPS protocol to copy the files from the storage blob container to the Azure VMs. This requires the WinRM HTTPS service to be configured on the VMs, and a suitable certificate installed. Configure WinRM after virtual machine creation
If the VMs have been created without opening the WinRM HTTPS ports, follow these steps:
- Configure an inbound access rule to allow HTTPS on port 5986 of each VM.
- Disable UAC remote restrictions.
- Specify the credentials for the task to access the VMs using an administrator-level login in the simple form username without any domain part.
- Install a certificate on the machine that runs the automation agent.
- Set the Test Certificate parameter of the task if you are using a self-signed certificate.
What type of service connection should I choose?
For Azure Resource Manager storage accounts and Azure Resource Manager VMs, use an Azure Resource Manager service connection type. See more details at Automating Azure Resource Group deployment using a Service Principal.
While using an Azure Resource Manager service connection type, the task automatically filters appropriate newer Azure Resource Manager storage accounts, and other fields. For example, the Resource Group or cloud service, and the virtual machines.
How do I create a school or work account for use with this task?
A suitable account can be easily created for use in a service connection:
- Use the Azure portal to create a new user account in Azure Active Directory.
- Add the Azure Active Directory user account to the co-administrators group in your Azure subscription.
- Sign into the Azure portal with this user account and change the password.
- Use the username and password of this account in the service connection. Deployments will be processed using this account.
If the task fails, will the copy resume?
Since AzCopy V10 does not support journal files, the task cannot resume the copy. You will have to run the task again to copy all the files.
Are the log files and plan files cleaned after the copy?
The log and plan files are not deleted by the task. To explicitly clean up the files you can add a CLI step in the workflow using this command.
Do I need an agent?
You need at least one agent to run your build or release.
I'm having problems. How can I troubleshoot them?
See Troubleshoot Build and Release.
I can't select a default agent pool and I can't queue my build or release. How do I fix this?
See Agent pools.
My NuGet push task is failing with the following error: "Error: unable to get local issuer certificate". How can I fix this?
This can be fixed by adding a trusted root certificate. You can either add the NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS=file environment variable to your build agent, or you can add the NODE.EXTRA.CA.CERTS=file task variable in your pipeline. See Node.js documentation for more details about this variable. See Set variables in a pipeline for instructions on setting a variable in your pipeline.
I use TFS on-premises and I don't see some of these features. Why not?
Some of these features are available only on Azure Pipelines and not yet available on-premises. Some features are available on-premises if you have upgraded to the latest version of TFS.
How do I use the Azure file copy task to copy a file to an Azure virtual machine that doesn't have a public IP address?
Make sure that you're using version 4 of the Azure file copy task. If the task fails, you can add a build step to execute the command azcopy cp "source-file-path" "destination-file-path" to substitute the source and destination values.
Open source
This task is open source on GitHub. Feedback and contributions are welcome.