Programmatically trigger a Release independently from a build

Question

I currently use Team Foundation Server 2013 Update 3 and Release Management 2013 with Update 3.

With Release Management one can start a Release manually or automatically from a build ("Can trigger a Release from a Build" option).

Is it possible to trigger a Release programmatically and independently from a build? In practice, is there a way to interact with Release Management (presumably with its server component) through a service or a command line tool (e.g. like the TFS Power Tools)?

Ideally I'd like to do that using PowerShell, so I was wondering what options I have to accomplish that.

why didn't you ask at Stack Overflow? http://meta.stackexchange.com/a/129632/165773 — gnat, Jul 03 '15 at 12:20
@gnat I thought that Programmers was more appropriate for this kind of questions since it covers quite a lot about software development and it's not related to an implementation issue, rather getting ideas on how to accomplish something in the design phase. If you think it should be migrated because it's off-topic here, I'm fine with it. — mguassa, Jul 03 '15 at 12:43

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 24 '15 at 16:42

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You have a few options, depending on whether you're using vNext release templates or agent-based release templates.

If you're using vNext release templates: There is a poorly-documented REST API available in Update 3 and Update 4.
If you are using agent-based templates, you can use ReleaseManagementBuild.exe, which is in the client's bin folder (usually in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\Release Management\Client\bin). You must run and configure the client, ReleaseManagementConsole.exe, prior to using ReleaseManagementBuild.exe.

edited Aug 24 '15 at 16:42

mguassa

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answered Jul 05 '15 at 17:40

Daniel Mann

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@divyanshm The only documentation is in blog posts, and the release build process templates that ship with the product don't work with the REST API. There's no indication that the API even exists unless you happen to find the right blog posts. That qualifies as poor documentation in my mind. :) – Daniel Mann Jul 06 '15 at 10:17

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 05 '15 at 10:42

If your version is RM 2013 with update 4 .You have WebAPI's exposed to trigger releases,If you are looking for Console way of triggering you can use RM Console application.

Some links,

WebAPI's http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudioalm/archive/2014/10/10/trigger-release-from-build-with-release-management-for-visual-studio-2013-update-3.aspx

Programmatically trigger a Release independently from a build

2 Answers2