Chapter 5 of 10 · Microsoft AZ-400
Pipelines: design and implement pipelines
Actions versus Azure Pipelines, hosted and self-hosted agents, GitHub integration, YAML triggers and templates.
- 3topics
- 16 minfast track
- 2diagrams and exhibits
Topics in this chapter
Take them in order, or jump to the one you need.
- 1Deployment Automation Tools and Agent InfrastructureAZ-400 platforms and agents: GitHub Actions versus Azure Pipelines, hosted and self-hosted agents and runners, scale sets, cost…Diagram6 min
- 2GitHub Integration, YAML Pipelines and TriggersAZ-400 YAML pipelines: the Azure Pipelines GitHub app, CI, PR and scheduled triggers, path filters, dependsOn, conditions, matrix…5 min
- 3Reusable Pipeline Elements, Checks and ApprovalsAZ-400 reuse and control: YAML templates and extends, variable groups, reusable workflows, environments, approvals and checks on…Diagram5 min
About this chapter
What this chapter covers
This is the heart of the build and release pipelines domain, which is worth 50 to 55 percent of the exam across its chapters. It covers choosing the automation platform, designing the agent or runner infrastructure, connecting GitHub to Azure Pipelines, writing YAML pipelines with triggers and job ordering, and building reusable templates, checks and approvals.
The key skill is reading a scenario about cost, network access, security and reuse, and choosing the platform feature that fits.
How the topics fit together
- Deployment automation tools and agent infrastructure covers platform choice and hosted, self-hosted and scaled agents.
- GitHub integration, YAML pipelines and triggers covers the GitHub app, trigger rules, job order and parallelism.
- Reusable pipeline elements, checks and approvals covers templates, variables, task groups and the controls on resources.
Most "which agent" questions come down to network access (self-hosted), zero maintenance (hosted) or elastic scale (scale set or managed pool).
How to use these pages
Each topic page has the same shape, so you can skim for what you need.
- What it is: the idea in plain words.
- How it works: the mechanism, with examples and tables.
- What to remember for the exam: the facts to memorise and how questions are phrased.
- Common mistakes: the classic traps.
- Check yourself: three questions to test your understanding.
Ready for more practice?
The full Microsoft AZ-400 question bank has 766 questions, with timed practice exams and an explanation for every answer.
This study guide is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft. Vendor names, certification names and exam codes are trademarks of their respective owners and are used for identification only.