Azure Pipelines overview - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Azure Pipelines overview

Code Commit Trigger

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Pipeline Starts

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Build Stage

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Test Stage

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Deploy Stage

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Pipeline Ends

This flow shows how Azure Pipelines runs automatically when code is committed, then builds, tests, and deploys the application step-by-step.

Execution Sample

Azure

trigger:
  - main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
  - script: echo Hello, Azure Pipelines!

This pipeline triggers on commits to main, runs on an Ubuntu VM, and prints a greeting message.

Process Table

Step	Action	Evaluation	Result
1	Detect commit on 'main' branch	Commit on 'main'?	Yes, pipeline triggered
2	Allocate VM from pool 'ubuntu-latest'	VM available?	VM allocated
3	Run script step	Execute 'echo Hello, Azure Pipelines!'	Output: Hello, Azure Pipelines!
4	Complete pipeline	All steps done?	Pipeline succeeded

💡 Pipeline ends after all steps complete successfully

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
Pipeline Status	Not started	Triggered	Running	Running	Succeeded
VM Status	None	None	Allocated	Allocated	Released
Script Output	None	None	None	Hello, Azure Pipelines!	Hello, Azure Pipelines!

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does the pipeline start only when code is committed to 'main'?

Because the trigger is set to the 'main' branch, as shown in execution_table row 1, so only commits there start the pipeline.

What happens if the VM is not available?

The pipeline would wait or fail at step 2 in execution_table because it cannot allocate the VM to run the steps.

Why is the script output important?

It shows the pipeline ran the commands correctly, as seen in execution_table step 3 and variable_tracker Script Output.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the pipeline status after step 2?

A Triggered

B Running

C Succeeded

D Not started

💡 Hint

Check the 'Pipeline Status' row in variable_tracker after Step 2

At which step does the pipeline print 'Hello, Azure Pipelines!'?

A Step 3

B Step 1

C Step 2

D Step 4

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Script Output' in variable_tracker and execution_table step 3

If the trigger was changed to 'develop' branch, what would happen?

A Pipeline triggers on all branches

B Pipeline triggers on commits to 'main' branch

C Pipeline triggers on commits to 'develop' branch

D Pipeline never triggers

💡 Hint

Refer to execution_table step 1 about branch triggers

Concept Snapshot

Azure Pipelines run automatically on code commits.
They use a VM to build, test, and deploy.
Triggers specify which branch starts the pipeline.
Steps run in order: build, test, deploy.
Pipeline status updates as steps complete.

Full Transcript

Azure Pipelines start when code is committed to a specified branch, like 'main'. The pipeline allocates a virtual machine to run tasks. It runs steps such as building the code, testing it, and deploying the application. Each step updates the pipeline status. The example pipeline prints a message to show it ran successfully. If the VM is unavailable, the pipeline waits or fails. Changing the trigger branch changes when the pipeline runs.