Template parameters

You can specify parameters and their data types in a template and reference those parameters in a pipeline. With templateContext, you can also pass properties to stages, steps, and jobs that are used as parameters in a template.

You can also use parameters outside of templates. You can only use literals for parameter default values. Learn more about parameters in the YAML schema.

Passing parameters

Parameters must contain a name and data type. In azure-pipelines.yml, when the parameter yesNo is set to a boolean value, the build succeeds. When yesNo is set to a string such as apples, the build fails.

# File: simple-param.yml
parameters:
- name: yesNo # name of the parameter; required
  type: boolean # data type of the parameter; required
  default: false

steps:
- script: echo ${{ parameters.yesNo }}

# File: azure-pipelines.yml
trigger:
- main

extends:
  template: simple-param.yml
  parameters:
      yesNo: false # set to a non-boolean value to have the build fail

Use templateContext to pass properties to templates

You can use templateContext to pass more properties to stages, steps, and jobs that are used as parameters in a template. Specifically, you can specify templateContext within the jobList, deploymentList, or stageList parameter data type.

You can use templateContext to make it easier to set up environments when processing each job. By bundling a job and its environment properties object together, templateContext can help you have more maintainable and easier to understand YAML.

In this example, the parameter testSet in testing-template.yml has the data type jobList. The template testing-template.yml creates a new variable testJob using the each keyword. The template then references the testJob.templateContext.expectedHTTPResponseCode, which gets set in azure-pipeline.yml and passed to the template.

When response code is 200, the template makes a REST request. When the response code is 500, the template outputs all of the environment variables for debugging.

templateContext can contain properties.

#testing-template.yml

parameters: 
- name: testSet
  type: jobList

jobs:
- ${{ each testJob in parameters.testSet }}:  # Iterate over each job in the 'testSet' parameter
  - ${{ if eq(testJob.templateContext.expectedHTTPResponseCode, 200) }}: # Check if the HTTP response is 200
    - job:
      steps: 
      - powershell: 'Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/powershell/feed/ | Format-Table -Property Title, pubDate'
      - ${{ testJob.steps }}    
  - ${{ if eq(testJob.templateContext.expectedHTTPResponseCode, 500) }}: # Check if the HTTP response is 500
    - job:
      steps:
      - powershell: 'Get-ChildItem -Path Env:\' # Run a PowerShell script to list environment variables
      - ${{ testJob.steps }} # Include additional steps from the 'testJob' object

#azure-pipeline.yml

trigger: none

pool:
  vmImage: ubuntu-latest

extends:
  template: testing-template.yml 
  parameters:
    testSet:  # Define the 'testSet' parameter to pass to the template
    - job: positive_test # Define a job named 'positive_test'
      templateContext:
        expectedHTTPResponseCode: 200 # Set the expected HTTP response code to 200 for this job
      steps:
      - script: echo "Run positive test" 
    - job: negative_test # Define a job named 'negative_test'
      templateContext:
        expectedHTTPResponseCode: 500 # Set the expected HTTP response code to 500 for this job
      steps:
      - script: echo "Run negative test" 

Parameters to select a template at runtime

You can call different templates from a pipeline YAML depending on a condition. In this example, the experimental.yml YAML runs when the parameter experimentalTemplate is true.

#azure-pipeline.yml
parameters:
- name: experimentalTemplate 
  displayName: 'Use experimental build process?'
  type: boolean
  default: false

steps:
- ${{ if eq(parameters.experimentalTemplate, true) }}: # Check if 'experimentalTemplate' is true
  - template: experimental.yml
- ${{ if not(eq(parameters.experimentalTemplate, true)) }}:  # Check if 'experimentalTemplate' is not true
  - template: stable.yml

Parameter data types

The step, stepList, job, jobList, deployment, deploymentList, stage, and stageList data types all use standard YAML schema format. This example includes string, number, boolean, object, step, and stepList.

parameters:
- name: myString  # Define a parameter named 'myString'
  type: string  # The parameter type is string
  default: a string  # Default value is 'a string'

- name: myMultiString  # Define a parameter named 'myMultiString'
  type: string  # The parameter type is string
  default: default  # Default value is 'default'
  values:  # Allowed values for 'myMultiString'
  - default  
  - ubuntu  

- name: myNumber  # Define a parameter named 'myNumber'
  type: number  # The parameter type is number
  default: 2  # Default value is 2
  values:  # Allowed values for 'myNumber'
  - 1  
  - 2  
  - 4  
  - 8  
  - 16  

- name: myBoolean  # Define a parameter named 'myBoolean'
  type: boolean  # The parameter type is boolean
  default: true  # Default value is true

- name: myObject  # Define a parameter named 'myObject'
  type: object  # The parameter type is object
  default:  # Default value is an object with nested properties
    foo: FOO  # Property 'foo' with value 'FOO'
    bar: BAR  # Property 'bar' with value 'BAR'
    things:  # Property 'things' is a list
    - one  
    - two  
    - three  
    nested:  # Property 'nested' is an object
      one: apple  # Property 'one' with value 'apple'
      two: pear  # Property 'two' with value 'pear'
      count: 3  # Property 'count' with value 3

- name: myStep  # Define a parameter named 'myStep'
  type: step  # The parameter type is step
  default:  # Default value is a step
    script: echo my step 

- name: mySteplist  # Define a parameter named 'mySteplist'
  type: stepList  # The parameter type is stepList
  default:  # Default value is a list of steps
    - script: echo step one  
    - script: echo step two  

trigger: none  

jobs: 
- job: stepList  # Define a job named 'stepList'
  steps: ${{ parameters.mySteplist }}  # Use the steps from the 'mySteplist' parameter

- job: myStep  # Define a job named 'myStep'
  steps:
    - ${{ parameters.myStep }}  # Use the step from the 'myStep' parameter

You can iterate through an object and print each string in the object.

parameters:
- name: listOfStrings  
  type: object
  default: 
  - one
  - two

steps:
- ${{ each value in parameters.listOfStrings }}: # Iterate over each value in the 'listOfStrings' parameter
  - script: echo ${{ value }} # Output the current value in the iteration

Additionally, you can iterate through nested elements within an object.

parameters:
- name: listOfFruits
  type: object
  default:
  - fruitName: 'apple'
    colors: ['red','green']
  - fruitName: 'lemon'
    colors: ['yellow'] 

steps:
- ${{ each fruit in parameters.listOfFruits }} : # Iterate over each fruit in the 'listOfFruits'
  - ${{ each fruitColor in fruit.colors}} : # Iterate over each color in the current fruit's colors
    - script: echo ${{ fruit.fruitName}} ${{ fruitColor }} # Echo the current fruit's name and color

Required parameters

You can add a validation step at the beginning of your template to check for the parameters you require.

Here's an example that checks for the solution parameter using Bash:

# File: steps/msbuild.yml

parameters:
- name: 'solution'
  default: ''
  type: string

steps:
- bash: |
    if [ -z "$SOLUTION" ]; then
      echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error;]Missing template parameter \"solution\""
      echo "##vso[task.complete result=Failed;]"
    fi
  env:
    SOLUTION: ${{ parameters.solution }}
  displayName: Check for required parameters
- task: msbuild@1
  inputs:
    solution: ${{ parameters.solution }}
- task: vstest@2
  inputs:
    solution: ${{ parameters.solution }}

To show that the template fails if it's missing the required parameter:

# File: azure-pipelines.yml

# This will fail since it doesn't set the "solution" parameter to anything,
# so the template will use its default of an empty string
steps:
- template: steps/msbuild.yml

You can pass parameters to templates. The parameters section defines what parameters are available in the template and their default values. Templates are expanded just before the pipeline runs so that values surrounded by ${{ }} are replaced by the parameters it receives from the enclosing pipeline. As a result, only predefined variables can be used in parameters.

To use parameters across multiple pipelines, see how to create a variable group.

Job, stage, and step templates with parameters

# File: templates/npm-with-params.yml

parameters:
  name: ''  # defaults for any parameters that aren't specified
  vmImage: ''

jobs:
- job: ${{ parameters.name }}
  pool: 
    vmImage: ${{ parameters.vmImage }}
  steps:
  - script: npm install
  - script: npm test

When you consume the template in your pipeline, specify values for the template parameters.

# File: azure-pipelines.yml

jobs:
- template: templates/npm-with-params.yml  # Template reference
  parameters:
    name: Linux
    vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

- template: templates/npm-with-params.yml  # Template reference
  parameters:
    name: macOS
    vmImage: 'macOS-10.13'

- template: templates/npm-with-params.yml  # Template reference
  parameters:
    name: Windows
    vmImage: 'windows-latest'

You can also use parameters with step or stage templates. For example, steps with parameters:

# File: templates/steps-with-params.yml

parameters:
  runExtendedTests: 'false'  # defaults for any parameters that aren't specified

steps:
- script: npm test
- ${{ if eq(parameters.runExtendedTests, 'true') }}:
  - script: npm test --extended

When you consume the template in your pipeline, specify values for the template parameters.

# File: azure-pipelines.yml

steps:
- script: npm install

- template: templates/steps-with-params.yml  # Template reference
  parameters:
    runExtendedTests: 'true'

Parameters aren't limited to scalar strings. As long as the place where the parameter expands expects a mapping, the parameter can be a mapping. Likewise, sequences can be passed where sequences are expected. For example:

# azure-pipelines.yml
jobs:
- template: process.yml
  parameters:
    pool:   # this parameter is called `pool`
      vmImage: ubuntu-latest  # and it's a mapping rather than a string


# process.yml
parameters:
  pool: {}

jobs:
- job: build
  pool: ${{ parameters.pool }}