Installing and Configuring TFS Build vNext Agent on Windows

TFS Build vNext, released with TFS 2015, is a cross‑platform continuous integration engine compatible with Windows, Linux, Unix, and macOS, supporting languages such as .NET, Java, iOS, and Android.

The Build Agent is built with Node.js and is open‑source on GitHub ( https://github.com/Microsoft/vso-agent ); its tasks are also available at https://github.com/Microsoft/vso-agent-tasks .

For Windows installation, first download and install Node.js (prefer the LTS version) from https://nodejs.org , choosing the appropriate x64 or x86 installer.

Installation steps:

Log in to TFS, click the gear icon to open the admin panel.

In the Control Panel, select Agent Pools | Download Agent and save the ZIP file.

Extract the ZIP to a local folder, e.g., C:\buildagent.

Open Windows PowerShell as Administrator and set the execution policy to Unrestricted: Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Navigate to C:\buildagent and run ConfigureAgent.cmd to configure the agent name, server URL, pool, and work folder. If running as a service, provide a service account.

After configuration, the new agent appears in the pool with its capabilities.

Optionally add users to the Agent Pool Administrators role to manage the agent.

The configuration table below summarizes the key settings:

Configuration Item

Description

Agent Name

Defaults to the machine name.

Server URL

e.g.,

http://tfs2015.vsalm.local:8080/tfs

Agent Pool

Container for agents, default is

default

, can be custom.

Work Folder

Directory where builds are executed (download code, compile, test, etc.).

Service Account

Required if the agent runs as a Windows service.

Running the agent as a Windows service starts it automatically on system boot, simplifying maintenance; running it interactively allows desktop interaction for UI tests.

After completing these steps, the TFS Build vNext agent is ready for use on Windows.