Build without build VM using Azure hosted agents for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations cross apps

Build without build VM using Azure hosted agents for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations cross apps

New feature which I'm hoping would take away the need for a dedicated build VM thereby saving some of it's recurring cost

With Microsoft-hosted agents, one can automate the process of building X++ code and creating deployable packages on any build agent that run on Microsoft Windows. 

Inclusion and exclusion - This feature at present is limited to compilation and packaging. There is no support for X++ unit testing (SysTest), database synchronization, or other features that require the runtime (Application Object Server [AOS]) or its components.

Usage

.NET tools are used for building X++ in Azure DevOps, the Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild) and custom X++ targets

Prerequisities

DevOps project compiled in Visual Studio with DevOps on Platform update 27 or later

NuGet packages

To build X++ code, the basic developer tools such as the X++ compiler (xppc.exe) are required. Additionally, any referenced packages, such as the Application Platform or Application Suite, must be available in a compiled format. To enable this process, the Shared asset library in Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services (LCS) provides NuGet packages that are required to do an X++ build.

Upload the below LCS Shared asset library in Azure Artifacts feed in the Azure DevOps organization where the builds will run

Microsoft.Dynamics.AX.Platform.CompilerPackage – This package contains the X++ compiler and related tools that are required to do a build.
Microsoft.Dynamics.AX.Platform.DevALM.BuildXpp – This package contains the compiled X++ code for the Application Platform and related modules. This code is optimized for building.
Microsoft.Dynamics.AX.Application.DevALM.BuildXpp – This package contains the compiled X++ code for the Application Suite and related modules. This code optimized for building.

Pipeline

A basic pipeline for compiling X++ requires only two steps:

1) Install the NuGet packages.
2) Build the solution or projects.

GitHub sample

https://github.com/microsoft/Dynamics365-Xpp-Samples-Tools/tree/master/CI-CD/Pipeline-Samples

Reference https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/dev-itpro/dev-tools/hosted-build-automation