I’ve just completed a move to TFS 2015 (from 2013) and CI is the next feature I hope to sort out. I’ve previously read about using Octopack to perform CI with Octopus (http://docs.octopusdeploy.com/display/OD/Team+Foundation+Server) by passing arguments to MSBuild to invoke the packaging process and upload of the package to Octopus (after which, Octopus sorts out the rest). The new TFBuild engine in 2015 looks to be a huge improvement over 2013’s, and supports NuGet packaging based on NuSpec files out of the box, as well as the upload of NuGet packages to repositories. I’m also really keen to get release notes automatically populated, for example a list of Work Items that were resolved in the current build. In light of this, if a customer wants to get CI working with TFS 2015, would you recommend the Octopack/MSBuild approach or the TFBuild 2015 approach?
Hi James,
Thanks for reaching out. I would personally recommend the Octopack/MSBuild approach at this moment, mostly because its very easy to setup, thousands of users successfully use it on a daily basis and we are nowhere near to stop supporting it. Another good thing is that if one of your teams decide to start using a different Build solution like TeamCity, or maybe go to the cloud with AppVeyor, their project will work just the same as in TFS.
We are still trying to iron out some minor issues with the TFBuild 2015 plugin at the moment (the dev behind it is on vacations). But once it is done, It’ll most likely be the way to go with TFS.
Recommend your customers to use Octopack/MSBuild, but keep an eye on the TFBuild 2015 approach’s progress
Hope that helps,
Dalmiro
Thanks for the update, very useful. I look forward to the new release of the TFBuild plugin!