Use Azure DevOps Demo Generator to create a new Project in Azure DevOps 📑

This is the 5th post in the category Azure DevOps Fundamentals of the blog post series on working with Azure DevOps In this post the I will introduce you to the Azure DevOps Demo Generator tool by using it to create a new Project in Azure DevOps.

Since it much more fun to do research and play with technology in collaboration with others, Wesley Camargo will be covering some of the topics on he’s blog , while other topics are covered by my here. Naturally the all related posts will be referenced between the two blogs.

What is an Azure DevOps Demo Generator

This is a tool or as Microsoft documentation references it, a service which is aimed at provisioning pre-populated content that includes source code, work items, iterations, service connections, and build and release pipelines based on based on a subset of out of the box available templates.
In addition this service enables the users to make their own templates by converting existing projects into templates and use these to create new fully decked out projects.

Use Azure DevOps Demo Generator to create a new Project in Azure DevOps

Lets get our hands dirty! First

Create a custom Azure DevOps Demo Generator template

1. Open Azure DevOps Demo Generator using the following url https://azuredevopsdemogenerator.azurewebsites.net/?enableextractor=true
   Note the query parameter enableextractor=true. This parameter enables the custom template functionality
2. On the main screen click the Sig In button

   

3. Review the required authorizations carefully, click the Accept button to be able tto proceed

   

4. Click the Build your template link located in the top right corner

   

5. Select the Organization, then select the project that is desired to be used as a template and finally click the Analyze button

   

6. The project in question is now validated for a supported process and if all part of the project are accessible within with the account in question.
   Get a cup of coffee as with really large template Projects this could take a couple of minutes.
7. Assuming the analysis is successful you should see a report with the Generate Artifacts button at the bottom, click it to continue.

   

8. If everything went well the artifact summary should show all green check boxes. In addition a Click to download your file link should be available to download the Artifact. Make sure to save the artifact in a proper place as after the download it will be deleted from the Azure DevOps Demo Generator

   

As a result you should have a .zip file downloaded.

Create a new Project using the custom Azure DevOps Demo Generator template

1. If not already open, open the Azure DevOps Demo Generator tool once again using the following url https://azuredevopsdemogenerator.azurewebsites.net/?enableextractor=true
2. Click the Choose template button

   

3. In the new window click the Private link

   

4. The windows is actually quite interesting as it is possible to supply a Github or even an URL reference in addition to the Local Drive option. For the Azure DevOps Fundamentals category the Local Drive option will suffice.
   Ensure that Local Drive option is selected. Then click the Choose File button and select the in the previous chapter generated .zip file. When done click the Submit button

   

5. Note that you are returned to the main page with the Selected Template field pre-populated with the name of the uploaded template project. The template has been validated and is ready to be used to create new Azure DevOps Projects.

   

6. Type a suitable name for the new Azure DevOps Project, then select the desired Azure DevOps organization. When done click the Create Project button

   

7. Wait till creation has been completed

   

8. When the process has been completed, navigate to the newly created project by clicking the Navigate to project button

   

Since the project is created lets have a quick look at the content of this Azure DevOps project.

Limitations

For the moment I have discovered the following limitations.

• Only Agile, Scrum and Basic process based projects are supported.
• Project wiki’s are not being picked up by the template so you will end up without a wiki in case you are using project wiki.

Wrapping up

And there you have it, Use Azure DevOps Demo Generator to create a new Project in Azure DevOps. If you are interested in the reference material used to make this post, please visit the following links.

• About Azure DevOps Demo Generator
• About the Azure DevOps Services Demo Generator
• Building your own template

As always, a big thanks for reading this post. If you liked it, don’t be shy and have a look at my other posts .