Ensuring Successful Pull Requests in Azure DevOps: A Comprehensive Guide to Validation

Learn how to verify successful pull requests to the Develop branch before merging to the Release branch in Azure DevOps using PowerShell.
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Ensuring Successful Pull Requests in Azure DevOps

When managing code within Azure DevOps, one common challenge developers face is validating whether pull requests (PRs) to a Release branch can proceed smoothly. Specifically, how can we ensure that any changes pushed to the Release branch are based on previously successful merges to the Develop branch? This guide breaks down the process of implementing a check that confirms the existence of successful PR merges before allowing any new PR to the Release branch.

The Problem at Hand

Developers should not be able to create a pull request to the Release branch unless there has been a successful pull request merging to the Develop branch. This ensures that all the code in the Release branch is stable and properly validated. To achieve this, we can utilize Azure DevOps functionalities through PowerShell scripts or the Azure DevOps REST API.

In our scenario, we will focus on implementing a PowerShell solution to automate this process.

Solution Overview

In this blog, we'll explore a PowerShell script to verify if the last commit in your release PR has previously appeared in the unstable branch before merging into the Develop branch. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of implementing the solution.

Step 1: Understanding the Setup

For our example, consider the following branches:

Source Branch: Unstable

Target Branch: Develop

Whenever a developer attempts to create a pull request in the Develop branch, the PowerShell script will check if the last commit was made in the Unstable branch. If the condition is met, the build continues; otherwise, it is halted.

Step 2: The PowerShell Script

Here’s a simplified version of the PowerShell script that checks for commit existence:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 3: Explanation of Key Components

Authentication: The script starts with setting up an authentication scheme to access the Azure DevOps API using a personal access token (PAT).

Branch Variables: It retrieves the repository name and IDs from environmental variables. It sets up variables for managing source and target branches efficiently.

Requesting Branch Commits: Through specific API calls to the Azure REST API, the script retrieves commits from the Unstable and Develop branches.

Validation Logic: The core of the script takes place in the validation logic, where it checks if the last commit in Develop matches any previously successful commit present in Unstable.

Step 4: Testing and Implementation

Before rolling out this script into your automated build process, thoroughly test it within your Azure DevOps environment to ensure that it accurately performs the necessary checks and functions as expected.

Conclusion

By implementing this PowerShell script, teams can enforce a robust validation process to ensure that no pull requests can be merged into the Release branch without prior successful integration into the Develop branch. This practice not only helps maintain code integrity but also streamlines releases by minimizing potential errors caused by unverified code.

Remember that automation is crucial to developing high-quality software. By ensuring every piece of code has gone through adequate validation stages, teams can build more reliable products.

Feel free to share your thoughts or any additional ideas on improving this process in Azure DevOps!

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