Use the hosted build controller
When you build your app, you need a build controller. It’s much easier to use the hosted build controller, but some restrictions apply.
When can I use a hosted build controller?
These questions are here to help you figure out if any of the restrictions apply to you.
Q: Does your build depend on software other than this software that is installed on the build controller?
A: No. Then you can use the hosted build controller.
(But if you do need other software, you can install it on on-premises build agents. These agents are controlled by an on-premises build controller, which you can connect to your Team Foundation Service collection. Learn more on MSDN: Build controller, Build agent.)
Q: Are you building a Windows 8 store app?
A: No. Then you can use the hosted build controller.
(But here's how you can build a Windows 8 store app using on-premises build servers.)
Q: Does your build process take less than an hour to run?
A: Yes. Then you can use the hosted build controller.
Q: Does your build process use less that 1GB of total storage on a build server?
A: Yes. Then you can use the hosted build controller.
Q: Do any of the processes for your build need administrator privileges?
A: No. Then you can use the hosted build controller.
Q: Do you need to log on to the build server?
A: No. Then you can use the hosted build controller.
Q: Do you need to run your build service in interactive mode?
A: No. Then you can use the hosted build controller.
Tip: If you are not sure about the answers to these questions, you can just try the hosted build controller and see if it works. Any issues will be reported in the build log.
If you can't use the hosted build controller, here's information on using an on-premises build controller instead.
Are there any extra steps required to use the hosted build controller?
Some situations need further configuration steps. See if any of these apply to you.
Q: Do you have additional assemblies that are required when you build your app?
A: Yes. Follow the steps here to add any additional assemblies and then you can use the hosted build controller.
Q: Do you want to run unit tests using third-party unit test frameworks?
A: Yes, I want to do this as part of my build process. Follow the steps here and then you can use the hosted build controller.
Q: Do you have custom build activities or tasks that you have enabled?
A: Yes, I do. Follow the steps here and then you can use the hosted build controller.
If your build process leverages custom code (such as custom workflow activities or custom MSBuild tasks), needs additional assemblies or runs tests from other unit test frameworks, then read on.
Check in the code
Check in the assemblies and tasks to version control.
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Add the folder to TFS.
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TFS may have guessed that you don't want some of the binaries. Go to the excluded items tab to include them all.
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Now check that in.
Tell the hosted build controller where to find the code
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Go to the builds page in the team explorer.
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Edit the hosted build controller's properties.
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Set the path to the code.
The hosted build controller is now enabled to run your custom build processes or run tests from other unit test frameworks.
Software on the hosted build server
The hosted build server is deployed with the following software:
- Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit environment)
- Team Foundation Build (Team Foundation Server 2012)
- Visual Studio
- Visual Studio 2012 Ultimate RTM
- Visual Studio SDK 2012 RTM
- Visual Studio 2010 SP1
- The .NET Framework
- Windows Azure
- SDK 1.8
- SDK 1.7
- SDK 1.6
- Integration Components 1.6
- Other components
- Microsoft Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio 2012 - Preview 2
- SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013
- SQL Server Data Tools for Visual Studio 2010 and Visual Studio 2012
- TFS 2012_BuildExtensions.msi (for Java)
- TypeScript 0.8.3
- Web Deploy 3.0
- Windows Phone SDK 8.0
- Windows PowerShell 3.0
For more details, see this list.