Azure DevOps Pipeline Validator

A command-line tool that validates Azure DevOps pipeline YAML files by checking that all referenced variable groups and variables actually exist in Azure DevOps.

Features

Parses Azure DevOps pipeline YAML files
Extracts variable group references and variable usages
Validates that variable groups exist in Azure DevOps
Validates that referenced variables exist in the variable groups
Supports template files with automatic detection and validation in parent context
Handles variables at top-level, stage, and job scopes
Supports template conditionals (${{ if ... }}) and map-syntax variables
Provides clear, actionable error messages with suggestions
Returns appropriate exit codes for CI/CD integration

Prerequisites

Azure CLI

This tool requires the Azure CLI with the Azure DevOps extension installed and configured.

Install Azure CLI: Follow the official installation guide
Install Azure DevOps Extension:
```
az extension add --name azure-devops
```
Login to Azure:
```
az login
```

Configure Default Organization (optional):

az devops configure --defaults organization=https://dev.azure.com/YOUR_ORG

Installation

From crates.io (Recommended)

cargo install azdolint

From Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/dariuszparys/azdo-linter.git
cd azdo-linter

# Build the project
cargo build --release

# The binary will be available at target/release/azdolint

Using Cargo (local)

cargo install --path .

Usage

azdolint --pipeline-file <PATH> --organization <ORG> --project <PROJECT> [OPTIONS]

Arguments

Argument	Short	Description
`--pipeline-file`	`-p`	Path to the Azure DevOps pipeline YAML file to validate
`--organization`	`-o`	Azure DevOps organization name or URL
`--project`	`-j`	Azure DevOps project name
`--verbose`	`-v`	Enable verbose output for debugging

Examples

Basic validation:

azdolint --pipeline-file azure-pipelines.yml --organization myorg --project myproject

With full organization URL:

azdolint -p azure-pipelines.yml -o https://dev.azure.com/myorg -j myproject

Verbose output:

azdolint -p azure-pipelines.yml -o myorg -j myproject --verbose

Exit Codes

The validator uses the following exit codes for CI/CD integration:

Exit Code	Meaning
`0`	Success - All variable groups and variables exist
`1`	Validation failure - Some variable groups or variables were not found
`2`	Error - Could not complete validation (e.g., Azure CLI not available, file not found)

CI/CD Integration Example

# Azure DevOps Pipeline
steps:
  - script: |
      azdolint --pipeline-file azure-pipelines.yml \
        --organization $(System.CollectionUri) \
        --project $(System.TeamProject)
    displayName: 'Validate Pipeline Variables'

Sample Output

Successful Validation

Azure DevOps Pipeline Validator
================================

Variable Groups
---------------
  [PASS] Variable group 'ProductionSecrets' exists
  [PASS] Variable group 'DatabaseConfig' exists

Variable References
-------------------
  [PASS] Variable 'ConnectionString' found in group 'DatabaseConfig'
  [PASS] Variable 'ApiKey' found in group 'ProductionSecrets'

================================
RESULT: PASSED
All 4 check(s) passed successfully.
================================

Failed Validation

Azure DevOps Pipeline Validator
================================

Variable Groups
---------------
  [PASS] Variable group 'ProductionSecrets' exists
  [FAIL] Variable group 'MissingGroup' not found
         Suggestion: Create the variable group in Azure DevOps at:
         https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_library?itemType=VariableGroups

Variable References
-------------------
  [PASS] Variable 'ApiKey' found in group 'ProductionSecrets'
  [FAIL] Variable 'UndefinedVar' not found in any referenced group
         Suggestion: Add this variable to one of the referenced variable groups,
         or verify the variable name is spelled correctly.

================================
RESULT: FAILED
2 of 4 check(s) failed.
================================

Supported Pipeline Syntax

The validator supports the following variable definition formats in Azure DevOps YAML:

Variable Groups

variables:
  - group: 'MyVariableGroup'

Inline Variables

# List format
variables:
  - name: BuildConfiguration
    value: 'Release'

# Map format
variables:
  BuildConfiguration: 'Release'

Variable References

The validator detects variable references using the $(variableName) syntax anywhere in the pipeline YAML.

Template Conditionals

variables:
  - ${{ if eq(parameters.environment, 'prod') }}:
    - group: 'ProductionSecrets'
  - ${{ else }}:
    - group: 'DevelopmentSecrets'

Stage and Job Scoped Variables

Variables defined at stage or job level are properly scoped and validated:

stages:
  - stage: Build
    variables:
      - group: 'BuildSecrets'
    jobs:
      - job: BuildJob
        variables:
          - name: JobVar
            value: 'value'

Template Files

Template files are automatically detected (files with parameters: but no trigger:). When run against a template directly, the linter shows a warning and skips validation. Templates are validated in the context of the parent pipeline that includes them.

License

MIT License

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

azdolint 0.1.1