If you do a lot of work in Windows batch files, the IF statement offers a very. If you're ready to start scripting, let's get started! In the following example you'll see how to check your Windows version using a batch job. So you can check your batch script under.those. operating systems, using ; command.com /y /c mybatch.bat parameters.where mybatch.bat is your batch file and parameters is any thing else on the command-line you want to pass on to your batch-file. This results in command.com 'stepping' through your batch-script.

• Batch Script Tutorial

• Batch Script Resources

• Selected Reading

Very often than not you can run into problems when running batch files and most often than not you would need to debug your batch files in some way or the other to determine the issue with the batch file itself. Following are some of the techniques that can help in debugging Batch Script files.

Error Messages

To discover the source of the message, follow these steps −

Step 1 − REM out the @ECHO OFF line, i.e. REM @ECHO OFF or :: @ECHO OFF.

Step 2 − Run the batch file with the required command line parameters, redirecting all output to a log file for later comparison.

Step 3 − Search the file batch.log for the error messages

Step 4 − Check the previous line for any unexpected or invalid command, command line switch(es) or value(s); pay special attention to the values of any environment variables used in the command.

Step 5 − Correct the error and repeat this process until all error messages have disappeared.

Complex Command Lines

Another common source of errors are incorrectly redirected commands, like for example 'nested' FIND or FINDSTR commands with incorrect search strings, sometimes within a FOR /F loop.

To check the validity of these complex commands, follow these steps −

Step 1 − Insert 'command check lines' just before a line which uses the complex command set.

Following is an example wherein the ECHO command is inserted to mark where the output of the first TYPE command ends and the next one starts.

Step 2 − Follow the procedure to find error message sources described above.

Step 3 − Pay special attention to the output of the 'simplified' command lines: Is the output of the expected format? Is the 'token' value or position as expected?

Subroutines

Subroutines generating error messages pose an extra 'challenge' in finding the cause of the error, as they may be called multiple times in the same batch file.

To help find out what causes the incorrect call to the subroutine, follow these steps −

Step 1 − Add and reset a counter variable at the beginning of the script −

Step 2 − Increment the counter each time the subroutine is called, by inserting the following line at the beginning of the subroutine

Step 3 − Insert another line right after the counter increment, containing only the SET command; this will list all environment variables and their values.

Step 4 − Follow the procedure to find error message sources described above.

Windows Versions

If you intend to distribute your batch files to other computers that may or may not run the same Windows version, you will need to test your batch files in as many Windows versions as possible.

The following example shows how to check for various operating system versions to check the relevant windows versions.

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Azure Pipelines Azure DevOps Server 2019 TFS 2018 TFS 2017 TFS 2015

Use this task in a build or release pipeline to run a Windows .bat or .cmd script.Optionally, allow it to permanently modify environment variables.

Note

This task is not compatible with Windows containers.If you need to run a batch script on a Windows container, use the command line task instead.

Note

In Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2018 and previous versions,run and release pipelines are called definitions,runs are called builds,service connections are called service endpoints,stages are called environments,and jobs are called phases.

Arguments

Argument	Description
Path	Specify the path to the .bat or .cmd script you want to run. The path must be a fully qualified path or a valid path relative to the default working directory. In Team Foundation Build, this directory is $(Build.SourcesDirectory).
Arguments	Specify arguments to pass to the script.
Modify environment	Select this check box if you want stage variable modifications in the script to affect subsequent tasks.
Advanced
Working folder	Specify the working directory in which you want to run the script. If you leave it empty, the working directory is the folder where the script is located.
Fail on standard error	Select this check box if you want the build to fail if errors are written to the StandardError stream.
Control options

Example

Create test.bat at the root of your repo:

On the Build tab of a build pipeline, add this task:

Utility: Batch Script

Run test.bat. Path: test.bat

Open source

This task is open source on GitHub. Feedback and contributions are welcome.

Q & A

Where can I learn Windows commands?

How do I set a variable so that it can be read by subsequent scripts and tasks?

Q: I'm having problems. How can I troubleshoot them?

A: Try this:

1. On the variables tab, add system.debug and set it to true. Select to allow at queue time.

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2. In the explorer tab, view your completed build and click the build step to view its output.

The control options arguments described above can also be useful when you're trying to isolate a problem.

Q: How do variables work? What variables are available for me to use in the arguments?

A: $(Build.SourcesDirectory) and $(Agent.BuildDirectory) are just a few of the variables you can use.Variables are available in expressions as well as scripts; see variables to learn more about how to use them.There are some predefined build and release variables you can also rely on.

Do I need an agent?

You need at least one agent to run your build or release.

I'm having problems. How can I troubleshoot them?

See Troubleshoot Build and Release.

I can't select a default agent pool and I can't queue my build or release. How do I fix this?

See Agent pools.

I use TFS on-premises and I don't see some of these features. Why not?

Some of these features are available only onAzure Pipelinesand not yet available on-premises. Some features are available on-premises if you haveupgraded to the latest version of TFS.