Category: Octopus Deploy
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The Zen of Deployment Automation Retrospective
Every now and then, I’m asked by one of our Octopus users: “Sometimes we need to change one or two files. Can I just deploy one or two files?” It’s at this point, I place my elbows on my desk and put my head in my hands. And I thought I was bad at letting…
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Octo.exe export/import caveat: octo.exe versions matter
After doing numerous migrations using the octo.exe version 2.6.1.52, I decided to upgrade and move to version 2.6.3.59. As always, exporting is a breeze. But the import itself seems to be inconsistent – or at least, that’s what I’ve experienced. And there’s probably a good reason for it: octo.exe versions. When I’m referring to versions…
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Setting up continuous deployments with Octopus Deploy and TFS
One reader asked in my Octo.exe deep dive if I had published how to setup continuous deployments. I had mentioned it in the deep dive and while I’d rather do a comprehensive piece to see how many different ways we could set up a continuous deployment, a simple post on how to setup continuous deployments in TFS is…
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Octopus 3 now available!
Monday, July 20th 2015 was a big day for the .NET ecosystem. Microsoft officially released Visual Studio 2015 and Release Management 2015. Coincidentally, Octopus Deploy 3.0 was released as well. While I’m habitually (or obsessively) focused on Octopus Deploy, I use Visual Studio and have a mild interest in what Release Management 2015 has to offer. With the simultaneous…
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LifeCycles: Guard rails for your deployments
In Octopus Deploy 2.6, a new feature was introduced: LifeCycles. You may be on a previous version of Octopus Deploy (2.5 or below) or you may have simply dismissed LifeCycles, but this deep dive is to encourage you to use them. They take a little bit of time to understand, but once you do they keep…
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From the frontline: Upgrading the Octopus Deploy Server
Note: I’ve had this post ready for months but completely forgot about it. It’s about four months out of date, but still interesting so I’ve decided to post it anyway. We’ve been planning on upgrading for months (since late 2014), but with a jam packed schedule it was difficult to fit in. On top of…
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Octo.exe – exporting/importing project pitfalls
Over a year ago, I mentioned that the Octo.exe supports the ability to export a project from one server to another server. This feature last year needed a lot of work and was a bit difficult to understand, but at the time I didn’t have a pressing need for it. After working with it extensively over…
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Variables are your friend
To truly harness and appreciate the power and elegance of Octopus Deploy, you need to use variables. Variables are not a foreign concept to programmers, but within Octopus there are a few different types of variables available which may cause a little confusion. We’ll cover all these different types of variables in this deep dive, how to wield variables…
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The Octo.exe – your utility knife for automation
If you’ve started using Octopus Deploy and want to fully maximize it’s potential via automation but you don’t know where to start, you need to begin investigating the Octo.exe. The Octo.exe is a neat little utility that allows you, through the command-line (and by extension, PowerShell) to interact with your Octopus Server without using the…
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Octopus Deploy 3.0 details emerge
For months, I’ve been anticipating Octopus Deploy 3.0. The details have been slowly emerging over the past few months dating back to late November 2014 from several blog posts from the Octopus team. Each post has revealed some detail about the upcoming changes and technical details behind 3.0. Looking back on all the blog posts, I found…