How do I use Azure DevOps pipeline to build an ASP NET web site

Question

I am working with an older code and attempting to build an ASP.NET website (no .csproj files). I've created a pipeline for ASP.NET added some tasks to my .yml:

# ASP.NET
# Build and test ASP.NET projects.
# Add steps that publish symbols, save build artifacts, deploy, and more:
# https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/devops/pipelines/apps/aspnet/build-aspnet-4

trigger:
- master

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

variables:
  solution: '**/*.sln'
  buildPlatform: 'Any CPU'
  buildConfiguration: 'Release'

steps:
- task: NuGetToolInstaller@1

- task: NuGetCommand@2
  inputs:
    restoreSolution: '$(solution)'

- task: VSBuild@1
  inputs:
    solution: '$(solution)'
    msbuildArgs: '/p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:WebPublishMethod=Package /p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true /p:PackageLocation="$(build.artifactStagingDirectory)"'
    platform: '$(buildPlatform)'
    configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)'

- task: VSTest@2
  inputs:
    platform: '$(buildPlatform)'
    configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)'

- task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
  inputs:
    targetPath: '$(Pipeline.Workspace)'
    artifact: 'drop'
    publishLocation: 'pipeline'

However, when I run the pipeline, it fails on the VSBuild task:

I think the problem is in line 18 where the -p ..\BOMViewer\ is specifying a directory that doesn't exist.

Do I need to follow DJ Grossman's solution later?

How to specify -p \BOMViewer instead of the above?

I changed solution to .publishproj from .sln in my YAML . But VSBuild doesn't like the change:

narikkadan · Answer 1 · Mar 25, 2022

For an ASP.NET Website, you should use website.publishproj file instead of the .sln file to build it. Because Website projects are published, and not built (and that's why the .publishproj files, in this case, work similarly to .csproj files).
Try to modify the value of your $solution variable to **\*.publishproj instead of **\*.sln.

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