☁️ Introduction

CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment) automates:

Building your application

Testing it

Deploying it to staging or production

For a full stack .NET application, your pipeline will handle:

Backend: ASP.NET Core Web API or MVC

Frontend: Angular, React, or Blazor

Database migrations: EF Core or SQL scripts

Deployment: Azure App Service, Azure Kubernetes Service, or other cloud services

Using Azure DevOps makes it easier to manage pipelines, artifacts, and environment deployments in a single platform.

🛠 Step 1: Organize Your Repository

A clean repository structure simplifies CI/CD:

/MyFullStackApp

├─ /Backend # ASP.NET Core Web API

├─ /Frontend # React or Angular app

├─ /Database # EF Core migrations or SQL scripts

├─ azure-pipelines.yml

└─ README.md

💡 Keep infrastructure-as-code (IaC) scripts like ARM templates or Terraform if needed.

🧩 Step 2: Set Up Azure DevOps Project

Create a new project

Connect your Git repository (Azure Repos, GitHub, or external Git)

Enable Service Connections to Azure for deployments

🔧 Step 3: Define Your Build Pipeline (CI)

Create a azure-pipelines.yml file at the root:

Example: Full Stack .NET Build Pipeline

trigger:

branches:

include:

- main

pool:

vmImage: 'windows-latest'

variables:

buildConfiguration: 'Release'

stages:

- stage: Build_Backend

displayName: 'Build Backend API'

jobs:

- job: Build

steps:

- task: UseDotNet@2

inputs:

packageType: 'sdk'

version: '8.0.x'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2

inputs:

command: 'restore'

projects: 'Backend/MyApp.csproj'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2

inputs:

command: 'build'

projects: 'Backend/MyApp.csproj'

arguments: '--configuration $(buildConfiguration)'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2

inputs:

command: 'test'

projects: 'Backend/MyApp.Tests/MyApp.Tests.csproj'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2

inputs:

command: 'publish'

projects: 'Backend/MyApp.csproj'

arguments: '--configuration $(buildConfiguration) --output $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/backend'

- stage: Build_Frontend

displayName: 'Build Frontend'

jobs:

- job: BuildFrontend

steps:

- task: NodeTool@0

inputs:

versionSpec: '18.x'

- script: |

cd Frontend

npm install

npm run build

displayName: 'Install and Build Frontend'

- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1

inputs:

PathtoPublish: 'Frontend/build'

ArtifactName: 'frontend'

✅ Key Points:

Builds backend and frontend separately

Runs unit tests automatically

Publishes build artifacts for deployment

🚀 Step 4: Define the Release Pipeline (CD)

The CD pipeline deploys your application to Azure.

Deployment Targets:

Azure App Service (simplest)

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

Azure Functions (for serverless backend)

Example: Deploy Backend to Azure App Service

- stage: Deploy_Backend

displayName: 'Deploy Backend to Azure'

dependsOn: Build_Backend

jobs:

- deployment: DeployAPI

environment: 'staging'

pool:

vmImage: 'windows-latest'

strategy:

runOnce:

deploy:

steps:

- task: AzureWebApp@1

inputs:

azureSubscription: 'MyAzureServiceConnection'

appType: 'webApp'

appName: 'MyBackendAppService'

package: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/backend'

Example: Deploy Frontend to Azure Storage / Static Web App

- stage: Deploy_Frontend

displayName: 'Deploy Frontend to Azure'

dependsOn: Build_Frontend

jobs:

- deployment: DeployFrontend

environment: 'staging'

pool:

vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

strategy:

runOnce:

deploy:

steps:

- task: AzureStaticWebApp@0

inputs:

app_location: 'Frontend'

output_location: 'build'

azure_static_web_apps_api_token: '$(AZURE_STATIC_WEB_APP_TOKEN)'

💡 You can promote to production by adding an approval step in Azure DevOps environments.

🧪 Step 5: Add Testing and Quality Gates

Unit Tests: Already included in build stage

Integration Tests: Run in a separate stage after backend build

Code Analysis: Use SonarCloud or .NET Code Analysis

Linting for frontend: ESLint or Prettier

Example for backend tests:

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2

inputs:

command: 'test'

projects: '**/*Tests/*.csproj'

🔄 Step 6: Enable Continuous Deployment

Enable triggers on the main branch (or develop for staging)

Configure release environments in Azure DevOps

Add approvals and gates for production deployments

Monitor deployment status and logs in Azure DevOps

💡 With this, every push to main triggers a full build and deployment automatically.

🧠 Best Practices

Practice Why It Matters

Separate frontend & backend builds Parallel execution, faster builds

Use environment variables Keep secrets out of source code

Enable rollback Quickly recover from failed deployments

Automate database migrations Keep schema in sync

Monitor pipelines Detect issues early

💬 Summary

A CI/CD pipeline for full stack .NET on Azure DevOps automates build, test, and deployment for backend, frontend, and database. Using Azure DevOps pipelines with artifacts, environments, and approvals ensures your app is reliable, maintainable, and deployable at any time.

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November 12, 2025