Skip to main content

Azure pipeline templates

Azure Pipeline Templates​

Documentation of reusable Azure DevOps pipeline design patterns and template architecture used in the Edge AI Accelerator project.

In this guide​

Template architecture​

Our Azure DevOps pipelines follow a modular, template-based design with multiple layers:

Template types​

  • Stage templates: Complete validation and deployment stages that can be reused across pipelines
  • Job templates: Specific jobs like security scanning, linting, and infrastructure validation
  • Task templates: Individual tasks for Terraform/Bicep operations and Azure authentication
  • Variable templates: Shared variable definitions for environments and configurations

Template benefits​

  • Consistency: Standardized pipeline patterns across all components and blueprints
  • Maintainability: Updates in template files propagate to all consuming pipelines
  • Matrix builds: Conditional execution based on changed components for efficient resource usage
  • Environment promotion: Same templates used across dev, staging, and production environments

Template organization​

Templates are organized in .azdo/templates/ with clear separation by function:

  • Validation templates: Code quality, security scanning, and infrastructure validation
  • Deployment templates: Environment-specific deployment and post-deployment validation
  • Utility templates: Common tasks like authentication, caching, and artifact management

Core templates​

Matrix folder check template​

Location: .azdo/templates/matrix-folder-check-template.yml

Dynamically detects changed components and generates pipeline matrices for:

  • Terraform components in src/**/terraform/**
  • Bicep components in src/**/bicep/**
  • Scripts and configuration changes

Component validation templates​

Terraform validation: .azdo/templates/cluster-test-terraform-template.yml Bicep validation: .azdo/templates/docs-check-bicep-template.yml

Provide standardized validation with configurable scope:

  • Format checking: Terraform fmt and Bicep linting
  • Security scanning: Checkov integration for policy compliance
  • Documentation validation: Ensures docs stay in sync with code changes

Security and compliance templates​

Checkov template: .azdo/templates/checkov-template.yml Dedicated lint templates: .azdo/templates/*-lint-template.yml

Centralized security and quality validation:

  • Multi-framework security scanning (Terraform, Bicep, Docker)
  • Code quality validation through dedicated lint job templates
  • Compliance checking and policy enforcement

Variable compliance templates​

Terraform: .azdo/templates/variable-compliance-terraform-template.yml Bicep: .azdo/templates/variable-compliance-bicep-template.yml

Ensure consistent variable definitions across modules and maintain parameter compliance.

Usage patterns​

Main pipeline integration​

stages:
  - template: templates/matrix-folder-check-template.yml

  - template: templates/cluster-test-terraform-template.yml
    parameters:
      componentPath: $(matrix.component)
      environment: 'dev'

Variable template usage​

variables:
  - template: templates/variables/common-variables.yml
  - template: templates/variables/dev-variables.yml

Conditional template execution​

  - template: templates/checkov-template.yml
  parameters:
    scanPath: 'src/'
    frameworks: 'terraform,bicep'

🤖 Crafted with precision by ✨Copilot following brilliant human instruction, then carefully refined by our team of discerning human reviewers.