Can you copy files from one VSTS build agent to another? - azure-devops

Question

Is it possible to copy files from one build agent to another and kick it off as a part of the pipeline task?
One build agent is Linux but I need to continue my work on Windows agent.

Answer 1

Following Hanna's solution, attached more detailed working solution:
Agent-1 and Agent-2 are two different machines from a different agent pool.
Agent-1 does 2 steps:
CopyFiles - writes the file 'livne.txt' (can be any pattern) from the default working directory into the artifact's staging directory
PublishPipelineArtifact - publishes an artifact called: 'PROJECT_NAME' contains all the files copied into the default working directory.
Agent-2 does one main task:
DownloadPipelineArtifact - downloads the file 'livne.txt' (can be any pattern) from the 'PROJECT_NAME' artifact into the current agent's working directory.
simple bash script to make sure 'livne.txt' indeed exists on the working directory.
pool:
name: Agent-1
- task: CopyFiles#2
displayName: 'Copy txt file'
inputs:
SourceFolder: '$(system.DefaultWorkingDirectory)'
Contents: livne.txt
TargetFolder: '$(build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
- task: PublishPipelineArtifact#1
displayName: 'Publish Pipeline Artifact'
inputs:
targetPath: '$(build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
artifact: 'PROJECT_NAME'
dependsOn: Job_1
pool:
name: Self Hosted Ubuntu for Docker Multiplatform
steps:
- task: DownloadPipelineArtifact#2
displayName: 'Download Pipeline Artifact'
inputs:
artifactName: 'PROJECT_NAME'
itemPattern: livne.txt
targetPath: '$(build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
- bash: |
ls $(build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
cat $(build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/livne.txt
displayName: 'Bash Script'

Answer 2

I think the best way to do this is typically to publish the files as artefacts of the pipeline and then download those artefacts again on the second agent. I have done this in projects before when one machine is consuming test results from the test agent to build reports.
You might imagine your pipeline would look something like this:
- job: Build
displayName: Build on Linux
steps:
...
- task: PublishPipelineArtifact#1
displayName: Publish Built binaries from Linux
inputs:
path: $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/bin/
artifact: Binaries
- job: Additional
displayName: Do something with the binaries on windows
steps:
- task: DownloadPipelineArtifact#2
inputs:
artifact: Binaries
targetPath: $(Pipeline.Workspace)/Binaries
...
I hope this helps! :)