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Azure Pipelines Validator

  • 403 installs
  • 286 repo stars
  • Updated July 26, 2026
  • akin-ozer/cc-devops-skills

azure-pipelines-validator is a Claude Code skill that validates Azure Pipelines YAML for syntax, schema, security, and CI/CD best practices for developers who need to merge pipeline changes without triggering broken Azur

About

azure-pipelines-validator is a DevOps skill in akin-ozer/cc-devops-skills, one of 14 validator skills in a 31-skill pack. It runs local bash and Python scripts via validate_azure_pipelines.sh with modes for syntax-only, best-practices, security-only, and strict review. The checker flags rule IDs such as yaml-syntax, hardcoded-secret, task-version-zero, and deployment-missing-strategy, then returns a severity-bucketed report with Blocking, Warning, Info, and Skipped counts. Developers reach for azure-pipelines-validator when editing azure-pipelines.yml, refactoring shared templates, or gating CI changes before merge.

  • Azure Pipelines YAML linting
  • Stage and job structure validation
  • Trigger and variable sanity checks
  • Template and parameter verification
  • Pre-merge CI config review

Azure Pipelines Validator by the numbers

  • 403 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • Ranked #298 of 1,435 DevOps & CI/CD skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
npx skills add https://github.com/akin-ozer/cc-devops-skills --skill azure-pipelines-validator

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs403
repo stars286
Last updatedJuly 26, 2026
Repositoryakin-ozer/cc-devops-skills

How do you validate Azure Pipelines YAML before merge?

Validate Azure Pipelines YAML for syntax, schema, and common CI/CD mistakes before merging pipeline changes or triggering broken releases.

Who is it for?

Developers maintaining Azure DevOps pipelines who want local YAML linting and security checks before CI runs.

Skip if: Teams using GitHub Actions or GitLab CI who do not maintain azure-pipelines.yml files.

When should I use this skill?

A developer edits azure-pipelines.yml or asks to validate, lint, or security-scan an Azure Pipelines config.

What you get

Severity-bucketed validation report for azure-pipelines.yml with rule IDs, line numbers, and remediation steps.

  • Severity-bucketed validation report
  • Remediation notes per flagged rule ID

By the numbers

  • Part of a 31-skill DevOps pack with 14 validator skills
  • Supports 4 validation modes: syntax-only, best-practices, security-only, and strict

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Azure Pipelines Validator

Use this skill to validate Azure DevOps pipeline YAML (azure-pipelines.yml / azure-pipelines.yaml) with local scripts first, then escalate to docs only when local output is not enough.

Trigger Phrases

Use this skill when the user asks things like:

  • "Validate my azure-pipelines.yml."
  • "Why is this Azure pipeline YAML failing?"
  • "Run a security scan on this Azure DevOps pipeline."
  • "Check this pipeline for best-practice issues."
  • "Review this pipeline in CI before merge."

Do not use this skill for pipeline generation from scratch. Use azure-pipelines-generator for that.

Deterministic Path Setup (No Ambiguity)

Run from any directory using explicit absolute paths:

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)"
SKILL_DIR="$REPO_ROOT/devops-skills-plugin/skills/azure-pipelines-validator"
PIPELINE_FILE="$REPO_ROOT/azure-pipelines.yml"

If REPO_ROOT is empty, stop and ask for the repository root path. Do not guess paths.

Validate one file:

bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh" "$PIPELINE_FILE"

Auto-detect from current directory (up to depth 3):

bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh"

If auto-detect returns multiple files, rerun with one explicit file path.

Local-First Execution Model

1. Preflight

  • Confirm bash and python3 are available.
  • Confirm target file exists.

2. Run local validator

  • Default full pass:
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh" "$PIPELINE_FILE"
  • Syntax only:
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh" "$PIPELINE_FILE" --syntax-only
  • Best practices only:
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh" "$PIPELINE_FILE" --best-practices
  • Security only:
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh" "$PIPELINE_FILE" --security-only
  • Strict mode (warnings fail):
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh" "$PIPELINE_FILE" --strict

3. Interpret exit behavior

  • 0: pass (or non-blocking checks only)
  • 1: validation failed (blocking issues)
  • 2: invalid invocation (missing/ambiguous file or bad args)

4. Return findings in the report format below.

Expected Report Format (Severity Buckets)

Always return results in this structure:

Validation Report: <path>

Summary:
- Blocking: <count>        # Syntax errors + Security critical/high
- Warning: <count>         # Security medium/low + best-practice warnings
- Info: <count>            # Suggestions
- Skipped: <count>         # Explicitly name skipped checks

Findings:
- [Blocking][syntax][<rule-id>] line <n> - <message>
- [Blocking][security-high][<rule-id>] line <n> - <message>
- [Warning][security-medium][<rule-id>] line <n> - <message>
- [Warning][best-practice][<rule-id>] line <n> - <message>
- [Info][best-practice][<rule-id>] line <n> - <message>

Remediation:
- <short, concrete fix per finding>

Execution Notes:
- Commands run: <exact commands>
- Environment/fallback notes: <tool missing, skipped checks, offline constraints>

Escalation Policy (Docs Only When Needed)

Run local checks first. Escalate only when at least one condition is true:

  • Local finding depends on current upstream behavior (task versions, deprecations, new inputs).
  • User asks for "latest/current/recent" Azure Pipelines task or schema details.
  • Local scripts cannot determine validity for a specific task/resource syntax.

Escalation order:

1. Context7 docs tooling first.

mcp__context7__resolve-library-id(...)
mcp__context7__query-docs(...)

2. Official docs second (learn.microsoft.com / Microsoft Azure DevOps docs). 3. General web search only if the first two are insufficient.

When escalating, cite the source URL and state what local check could not answer.

Fallback Behavior

Use this matrix when tools are unavailable:

  • Condition: yamllint unavailable.
  • Action: Continue with syntax/best-practice/security checks.
  • Report note: "YAML lint skipped because yamllint is unavailable."
  • Condition: python3 unavailable or venv/dependency setup fails.
  • Action: Mark scripted validation blocked; perform manual YAML review only if requested.
  • Report note: "Local scripted validation blocked by missing Python runtime/dependencies."
  • Condition: No network while dependencies/docs are needed.
  • Action: Run whatever local checks are still possible; defer doc/version verification.
  • Report note: "External verification deferred due offline environment."
  • Condition: Multiple auto-detected pipeline files.
  • Action: Do not pick arbitrarily; require explicit target file path.
  • Report note: "Validation paused until a single target file is specified."

Rule Buckets (What the Scripts Check)

Syntax examples:

  • yaml-syntax
  • yaml-invalid-root
  • invalid-hierarchy
  • task-invalid-format
  • pool-invalid
  • deployment-missing-strategy

Best-practice examples:

  • missing-displayname
  • task-version-zero
  • task-missing-version
  • pool-latest-image
  • missing-cache
  • missing-deployment-condition

Security examples:

  • hardcoded-password
  • hardcoded-secret
  • curl-pipe-shell
  • eval-command
  • insecure-ssl
  • container-latest-tag
  • variable-not-secret

Use script output rule IDs directly in the report.

References and Examples

  • Syntax reference: docs/azure-pipelines-reference.md
  • Example pipelines: examples/

Quick local test:

bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh" "$SKILL_DIR/examples/basic-pipeline.yml"

Done Criteria

This skill execution is done when all conditions are true:

  • Trigger match is explicit and plain-language examples are provided near the top.
  • Validation command(s) were run with unambiguous paths.
  • Report uses severity buckets (Blocking, Warning, Info, Skipped).
  • Fallback behavior is explicitly reported for unavailable tools/environment constraints.
  • External docs were consulted only when local checks were insufficient.

Related skills

How it compares

Pick azure-pipelines-validator over generic YAML linters when the file is Azure Pipelines YAML with task, pool, and deployment-specific rules.

FAQ

What does azure-pipelines-validator check?

azure-pipelines-validator checks Azure Pipelines YAML for syntax errors, schema issues, security findings like hardcoded-secret, and best-practice rules such as task-version-zero. It runs local scripts and returns a severity-bucketed report before Azure DevOps executes the pipeli

How do I run azure-pipelines-validator locally?

azure-pipelines-validator runs bash devops-skills-plugin/skills/azure-pipelines-validator/scripts/validate_azure_pipelines.sh against azure-pipelines.yml. Pass --syntax-only, --security-only, --best-practices, or --strict to scope the validation gate.

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