A complete, beginner-friendly course to master Azure DevOps — from planning to deployment.
Build, test, and deploy a real-world application using every core Azure DevOps service. By the end of this course, you'll have a fully working CI/CD pipeline that deploys a containerized app to an Azure VM.
- Set up an Azure DevOps organization and project from scratch
- Plan work using Azure Boards (Kanban, sprints, user stories)
- Manage code with Azure Repos (Git, PRs, branch policies)
- Build CI/CD pipelines with Azure Pipelines (YAML, multi-stage)
- Deploy to an Azure VM using a self-hosted agent
- Containerize apps with Docker and Docker Compose
- Explore Azure Artifacts, Test Plans, dashboards, and security
- (Bonus) Provision infrastructure with Terraform
Throughout this course, we build SkillPulse — a Skill Tracker / Learning Dashboard where you can:
- Track skills you're learning (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Go, etc.)
- Log study sessions with hours and notes
- View your progress with visual dashboards
Think of it as your personal GitHub contribution graph, but for learning.
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Backend | Go (Gin framework) |
| Frontend | HTML / CSS / JavaScript |
| Database | MySQL 8.0 |
| Web Server | Nginx (reverse proxy) |
| Containers | Docker + Docker Compose |
| CI/CD | Azure Pipelines (YAML) |
| Deployment | Azure VM + Self-hosted Agent |
- A free Azure DevOps account (we'll set this up in Chapter 1)
- A free Azure account (for the VM in Chapter 7)
- Basic familiarity with Git (clone, commit, push)
- Basic understanding of what Docker does (we'll cover the rest)
- A code editor (VS Code recommended)
- A terminal (any OS works — Windows, macOS, Linux)
No prior Azure or Azure DevOps experience needed. We start from zero.
| Chapter | Title | Duration | What You'll Do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Introduction to Azure & Azure DevOps | 15-20 min | Sign up, create your first project |
| 02 | Azure Boards — Planning Your Project | 15-20 min | Create backlog, sprints, Kanban board |
| 03 | Azure Repos — Version Control | 15-20 min | Push code, set branch policies, create PRs |
| 04 | Building SkillPulse | 20-25 min | Build the app locally with Docker Compose |
| 05 | Azure Pipelines — CI (Build & Test) | 20-25 min | Create your first CI pipeline |
| 06 | Azure Pipelines — CD (Deploy) | 20-25 min | Add deployment stages, environments, approvals |
| 07 | Self-Hosted Agent & Azure VM Deployment | 20-25 min | Set up VM, install agent, deploy end-to-end |
| 08 | Artifacts & Advanced Features | 15-20 min | Artifacts, Test Plans, dashboards, security |
| 09 | Putting It All Together | 15-20 min | Full workflow demo with a new feature |
| Bonus | Infrastructure as Code with Terraform | 15-20 min | Provision Azure VM with Terraform |
Total Duration: ~2.5-3 hours
Good news — you can complete this entire course on the free tier:
| Resource | Free Allowance |
|---|---|
| Users (Basic plan) | First 5 users free |
| Private Git repos | Unlimited |
| CI/CD (Microsoft-hosted) | 1 parallel job, 1,800 min/month |
| CI/CD (Self-hosted) | 1 parallel job, unlimited minutes |
| Azure Artifacts | 2 GiB free storage |
| Boards & Work Tracking | Included |
azure-devops-zero-to-hero/
├── README.md # You are here
├── chapters/
│ ├── 01-intro-azure-devops/ # Chapter READMEs with step-by-step guides
│ ├── 02-azure-boards/
│ ├── 03-azure-repos/
│ ├── 04-building-skillpulse/
│ ├── 05-pipelines-ci/
│ ├── 06-pipelines-cd/
│ ├── 07-self-hosted-agent-vm/
│ ├── 08-artifacts-advanced/
│ ├── 09-complete-workflow/
│ └── bonus-terraform/
├── project/
│ ├── skillpulse/ # The SkillPulse application
│ │ ├── backend/ # Go (Gin) REST API
│ │ ├── frontend/ # HTML/CSS/JS dashboard
│ │ ├── nginx/ # Nginx reverse proxy config
│ │ ├── mysql/ # Database init scripts
│ │ ├── docker-compose.yml
│ │ └── .env.example
│ └── azure-pipelines.yml # CI/CD pipeline definition
├── scripts/
│ ├── setup-vm.sh # Azure VM provisioning helper
│ └── install-agent.sh # Self-hosted agent setup
└── bonus/
└── terraform/ # Terraform IaC files
- Follow in order — Each chapter builds on the previous one
- Read the README first — Every chapter has detailed step-by-step instructions
- Do the hands-on — Don't just read, actually create the resources in Azure DevOps
- Use the SkillPulse project — Clone it, modify it, break it, fix it
- Check the free tier — Everything in this course works on Azure DevOps free tier
Shubham Londhe — Cloud & DevOps educator at TrainWithShubham. Building India's largest DevOps learning community, one course at a time.
- Azure DevOps Documentation
- Azure DevOps Pricing
- Azure Free Account
- Go Documentation
- Docker Documentation
Ready to start? Head to Chapter 1: Introduction to Azure & Azure DevOps.
