Using Sitecore TDS with Azure Pipelines

Using Sitecore TDS with Azure Pipelines

Sitecore TDS allows developers to serialize Sitecore items into a file format which enables them to be stored in source control. These items can then be turned into a Sitecore update package to be deployed into a Sitecore solution.

With tools like Team City it was possible to install the TDS application on the server, and MSBuild would pick it up in the same way that Visual Studio would when you create a build locally. However, with build tools like Azure Piplelines that are a SAAS service you do not have any access to install components on a server.

If your solution contains a TDS project and you run an Azure Pipeline, you will probably see this error saying that the target 'Build' does not exist in the project.

Fortunately, TDS can be added to a project as a NuGet package. The documentation I found on Hedgehogs site for TDS says the package is unlisted on NuGet.org but can be installed in the normal way if you know what it's called. When I tried this is didn't work, but the NuGet package is also available in the TDS download so we can do it a different way.

Firstly download TDS from Hedgehogs website. https://www.teamdevelopmentforsitecore.com/Download/TDS-Classic

Next create a folder in the root of your drive called LocalNuGet and copy the nuget package from the download into this folder.

Within Visual Studio go to Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Package Manager Settings, and in the window that opens select Package Sources on the left.

Add a new package source and set it to your LocalNuGet folder.

From the package manager screen select your local nuget server as the package source and then add the TDS package to the relevant projects.

When you commit to source control make sure you add the hedgehog package in your projects packages folder. Normally this will be excluded as your build will try and restore the NuGet packages from a NuGet feed rather than containing them in the repo.

If you run your Azure Pipleine now you should get the following error:

This is a great first step as we can now see TDS is being used and we're getting an error from it.

If you're not getting this, then open the csproj file for your solution and check that there are no references to c:\program files (x86)\Hedgehog Development\ you should have something like this:

1<Target Name="EnsureNuGetPackageBuildImports" BeforeTargets="PrepareForBuild">
2    <PropertyGroup>
3      <ErrorText>This project references NuGet package(s) that are missing on this computer. Use NuGet Package Restore to download them.  For more information, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=322105. The missing file is {0}.</ErrorText>
4    </PropertyGroup>
5    <Error Condition="!Exists('..\packages\HedgehogDevelopment.TDS.6.0.0.10\build\HedgehogDevelopment.TDS.targets')" Text="$([System.String]::Format('$(ErrorText)', '..\packages\HedgehogDevelopment.TDS.6.0.0.10\build\HedgehogDevelopment.TDS.targets'))" />
6  </Target>
7  <Import Project="..\packages\HedgehogDevelopment.TDS.6.0.0.10\build\HedgehogDevelopment.TDS.targets" Condition="Exists('..\packages\HedgehogDevelopment.TDS.6.0.0.10\build\HedgehogDevelopment.TDS.targets')" />

To fix the product key error we need to add our license details.

Edit your pipeline and then click on the variables button in the top right. Add two new variables:

  • TDS_Key - Which should be set to your license key
  • TDS_Owner - Which should be set to the company name the key is linked to

Now run your pipleline again and the build should succeed