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Set up the Azure DevOps Server VCS provider

These instructions are for using an on-premises installation of Azure DevOps Server 2019 for HCP Terraform's VCS features. Azure DevOps Services has separate instructions, as do the other supported VCS providers.

Configuring a new VCS provider requires permission to manage VCS settings for the organization. (More about permissions.)

Important Notes About Authentication

HCP Terraform uses personal access tokens to connect to Azure DevOps Server. This access method requires some additional configuration and ongoing maintenance:

  • IIS Basic Authentication must be disabled on your Azure DevOps Server instance in order to use personal access tokens.
  • Personal access tokens eventually expire, with a maximum allowed lifetime of one year. If HCP Terraform's token expires, it will be unable to connect to Azure DevOps Server until the token is replaced. To avoid a gap in service, do one of the following before the token expires:
    • Update the expiration date of the existing token within Azure DevOps Server.
    • Create a new token, and edit HCP Terraform's VCS connection to use it.

Step 1: On HCP Terraform, Begin Adding a New VCS Provider

  1. Go to your organization's settings and then click Providers. The VCS Providers page appears.

  2. Click Add VCS Provider. The VCS Providers page appears.

  3. Select Azure DevOps and then select Azure DevOps Server from the menu. The page moves to the next step.

  4. On the "Set up provider" step there are three textboxes. Enter an optional Name for this VCS connection. Enter the instance URL for your Azure DevOps Server in HTTP URL and API URL textboxes. Click the "Continue" button to continue to the next step.

Leave the page open in a browser tab. In the next step you will copy values from this page, and in later steps you will continue configuring HCP Terraform.

Step 2: On Azure DevOps Server, Create a New Personal Access Token

  1. In a new browser tab, open your Azure DevOps Server instance and log in as whichever account you want HCP Terraform to act as. For most organizations this should be a dedicated service user, but a personal account will also work.

    Important: The account you use for connecting HCP Terraform must have Project Collection Administrator access to any projects containing repositories of Terraform configurations, since creating webhooks requires these permissions. It is not possible to create custom access roles with lower levels of privilege, as Microsoft does not currently allow delegation of this capability.

  2. Navigate to User settings -> Security -> Personal access tokens.

  3. Click the New Token button to generate a new personal access token with "Code (Read)" and "Code (Status)" scopes. (We recommend also granting access to "All accessible organizations.")

  4. Copy the generated token to your clipboard; you'll paste it in the next step. Leave this page open in a browser tab.

Step 3: Add the Personal Access Token on HCP Terraform

  1. On the "Configure settings" step there is one textbox. Enter your Azure DevOps Server Personal Access Token from Step 2. Click the "Continue" button to continue to the next step.

Step 4: Configure VCS Provider Scope on HCP Terraform (Optional)

This step is optional. You can configure which workspaces can use repositories from this VCS provider. By default the All Projects option is selected, meaning this VCS provider is available to be used by all workspaces in the organization.

To limit the scope of this VCS Provider:

  1. Select the Selected Projects option and use the text field that appears to search for and select projects to enable. All current and future workspaces for any selected projects can use repositories from this VCS Provider.

  2. Click the Update VCS Provider button to save your selections.

Step 5: On Workstation, Create an SSH Key for HCP Terraform

On a secure workstation, create an SSH keypair that HCP Terraform can use to connect to Azure DevOps Server. The exact command depends on your OS, but is usually something like ssh-keygen -t rsa -m PEM -f "/Users/<NAME>/.ssh/service_terraform" -C "service_terraform_enterprise". This creates a service_terraform file with the private key, and a service_terraform.pub file with the public key.

This SSH key must have an empty passphrase. HCP Terraform cannot use SSH keys that require a passphrase.

Important Notes

  • Do not use your personal SSH key to connect HCP Terraform and Azure DevOps Server; generate a new one or use an existing key reserved for service access.
  • In the following steps, you must provide HCP Terraform with the private key. Although HCP Terraform does not display the text of the key to users after it is entered, it retains it and will use it for authenticating to Azure DevOps Server.
  • Protect this private key carefully. It can read code to the repositories you use to manage your infrastructure. Take note of your organization's policies for protecting important credentials and be sure to follow them.

Step 6: On Azure Devops Server, Add SSH Public Key

  1. Navigate to User settings -> Security -> SSH public keys on your Azure DevOps Server instance.

    Azure DevOps Server screenshot: the SSH keys page

  2. Click the Add button. Paste the text of the SSH public key you created in step 3 (from the .pub file) into the text field, then click the Add key button to confirm.

Step 7: On HCP Terraform, Add SSH Private Key

  1. Go back to your HCP Terraform browser tab and paste the text of the SSH private key you created in step 3 into the Private SSH Key text field of the "Set up SSH keypair" step. Click the "Add SSH key" button.

Finished

At this point, Azure DevOps Server access for HCP Terraform is fully configured, and you can create Terraform workspaces based on your organization's repositories.

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