How to build .sqlproj projects on a build server?

Answer: Microsoft now has an official NuGet package (see blog post). Old answer, prior to August 2016; provided in case the NuGet package doesn’t work for you: Install dacframework.msi (x86|x64) Install SQLDOM.MSI (x86|x64) Install SQLLS.MSI (x86|x64) Install SQLSysClrTypes.msi (x86|x64) Install SSDTBuildUtilities.msi (from the “Administrator Install Point” as setup in step 3 here) Done! Source: Headless … Read more

VisualStudio Build Tools 2017 offline installer

All steps to install build tools: Download build tools Download layout files for offline installation: Possible workloads are specified here. Following command contains workloads for msbuild and C++ build tools. Run (exe file will have some version numbers in name): vs_BuildTools.exe –layout c:\BT2017offline –add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.MSBuildTools –add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.VCTools –add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.WebBuildTools –add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetCoreBuildTools –lang en-US Copy c:\BT2017offline … Read more

Build ASP.NET 4.5 without Visual Studio on Build Server

To run on on your CI server without Visual Studio, you only need to copy a few folders from a development machine to the same location on the CI server. There is no need to install the SDK. VS 2015: C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v14.0\Web C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v14.0\WebApplications VS 2013: C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\Web C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\WebApplications VS … Read more

What is the purpose of a dedicated “Build Server”? [closed]

The reason given is actually a huge benefit. Builds that go to QA should only ever come from a system that builds only from the repository. This way build packages are reproducible and traceable. Developers manually building code for anything except their own testing is dangerous. Too much risk of stuff not getting checked in, … Read more

What’s the fastest filesystem for developer builds?

Use ext4fs as the base filesystem with a few speedup options like noatime,data=writeback,nobh,barrier=0,commit=300 Then union mount a tmpfs ramdisk on top of that so that files written during the builds get the benefits of the ramdisk. Either change the build procedure to move the resulting binaries off the tmpfs at the end of the build, … Read more

Can I use mstest.exe without installing Visual Studio?

It is possible to run mstest.exe without visual studio. Download one of the Agents for Visual Studio ISO’s below and install the Test Agent on the server: Visual Studio 2019 Visual Studio 2017 (127MB disk space, less than that for download) Visual Studio 2015 and older: visit https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/older-downloads/ and follow the instructions This installs everything … Read more

Team Build Error: The Path … is already mapped to workspace

Use the command line utility TF – Team Foundation Version Control Tool (tf). You can get a list of all workspaces by bringing up a Visual Studio Command Prompt then changing to your workspace folder and issuing the following commands: C:\YourWorkspaceFolder>tf workspaces /owner:* You should see your problem workspace in the list as well as … Read more

How can I install the VS2017 version of msbuild on a build server without installing the IDE?

The Visual Studio Build tools are a different download than the IDE. They appear to be a pretty small subset, and they’re called Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019 (download). You can use the GUI to do the installation, or you can script the installation of msbuild: vs_buildtools.exe –add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.MSBuildTools –quiet Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.MSBuildTools is a “wrapper” … Read more