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Apple Silicon macOS Agents in Azure Pipelines

17 posts · Oct 2012 – Aug 2026

What this trail covers

Azure Pipelines continues to evolve its hosted agent capabilities, providing updated macOS images for building and distributing applications. This includes support for various macOS versions and ensuring compatibility with the latest development tools and frameworks. The deprecation of older macOS images prompts users to migrate to newer, supported versions to maintain pipeline functionality and access the latest features and security updates.

All Microsoft trails
  1. Apple Silicon and Xcode 27 images available in pay-as-you-go (preview)Introduces Apple Silicon (arm64) macOS agents in Azure Pipelines as a public preview feature within the pay-as-you-go GitHub-hosted Agents pool. This allows for native building and testing of applications on Apple Silicon, avoiding emulation overhead and providing validation against the same architecture used by current Apple devices. The post details the new agent sizes (Standard and XLarge) and their corresponding VM image labels (`macos-26-arm64`, `macos-26-arm64-xl`, `xcode-27`, `xcode-27-xlarge`). It also announces a new naming convention for macOS images, based on major Xcode versions, and highlights enhanced monitoring capabilities for per-minute usage in the pool analytics and Azure Cost Management.
  2. Azure DevOps and GitHub: Journeying into the AI EraAnnounced the availability of Apple Silicon Macs as Microsoft-hosted agents in Azure Pipelines with pay-per-minute billing. This enables faster Apple-native builds for iOS and macOS without requiring customers to manage their own Mac infrastructure or plan capacity for parallel jobs. Billing is usage-based and scales with pipeline demand.
  3. Upcoming Updates for Azure Pipelines Agents ImagesThis post details the deprecation and retirement plans for older operating system images used by Azure Pipelines hosted agents, specifically Ubuntu-20.04, Windows Server 2019, and macOS-13 Ventura. It provides key dates for deprecation, brownout periods, and full removal, along with recommended actions for users to update their pipelines to newer, supported images (Ubuntu-24.04, Windows Server 2022/2025, macOS-14/15). It also explains how the 'latest' image labels will be updated to point to newer OS versions and offers alternative methods for continued use of deprecated images, such as container jobs or managed DevOps pools. The post also announces the general availability of macOS 15 Sequoia and Windows Server 2025 images, and the pause of the macOS-15 arm64 image preview.
  4. April Patches for Azure DevOps Server and Team Foundation ServerThis patch addresses the decommissioning of the Edgio CDN endpoint `vstsagentpackage.azureedge.net` used by the Azure DevOps Agent. It migrates the agent binary fetching to a new Akamai-backed CDN endpoint `download.agent.dev.azure.com` to ensure continued availability. The post also provides release notes and installation instructions for various Azure DevOps Server and Team Foundation Server versions, including specific patches for 2022.2, 2020.1.2, 2019.1.2, and 2018.3.2.
  5. CDN Domain URL change for Agents in PipelinesThis post details the retirement of Edgio CDN for Azure DevOps and the transition to Akamai and Azure Front Door CDNs, impacting agent package downloads. Customers using self-hosted agents, Azure Virtual Machine Scale Set agents, and Managed DevOps Pools agents need to update their firewall allow lists to include the new domain URL `https://download.agent.dev.azure.com`. Azure DevOps Server customers also require specific patches depending on their version. The old domain URL `https://vstsagentpackage.azureedge.net` will be inactive from June 11, 2025.
  7. Announcing the General Availability of Managed DevOps Pools (MDP) for Azure DevOpsAnnounced the General Availability of Managed DevOps Pools (MDP) for Azure DevOps. This service provides managed, custom CI/CD agent pools, offering flexibility in region, SKU (including ARM64 and GPU), and software customization (quick starter, marketplace, or bring-your-own images). It features 'Standby agent mode' for cost/performance optimization and 'bring-your-own network' for private connectivity. New GA features include support for new Azure regions, direct discoverability from Azure DevOps, proxy support, IP address visibility in pipeline logs, resource movement across resource groups/subscriptions, Ubuntu 24.04 support, and Azure Key Vault integration for secrets. Future plans include container-based agents, SPOT VM support, managed data disk support, trusted root certificate management, faster pipeline starts, and Log Analytics integration.
  8. Deprecation of the macOS-12 Hosted Pipeline ImageThis post announces the deprecation of the `macOS-12` hosted pipeline image in Azure DevOps. It details the timeline for deprecation, including brownout periods where jobs using this image will temporarily fail. Users are instructed to update their pipelines to use `macOS-latest`, `macOS-13`, or `macOS-14`. The `macos-latest` image is now updated to use `macOS-14` (Sonoma).
  9. Announcing Public Preview of Managed DevOps Pools (MDP) for Azure DevOpsAnnounced the public preview of Managed DevOps Pools (MDP) for Azure DevOps. MDP is a fully managed service that offers custom DevOps pools, combining the flexibility of VM Scale Set agents with the ease of maintenance of Microsoft-hosted agents. Key benefits include hosting on Microsoft's behalf (reducing management overhead and improving reliability), reduced management time, creation of specific pools for tailored workloads, DevOps billing optimization (up to 50% reduction observed), and enhanced scalability to thousands of agents. Notable features include quick-starter images, standby agents, private networking, bring-your-own-image support, stateful agents, flexible SKU selection, additional storage, and geographic co-location. MDP is available in the Azure Portal during public preview with no extra service-related billing beyond Azure resource costs.
  10. End of support for Azure Pipelines agents running on CentOS 6, Debian 4.9, Fedora 32, Ubuntu 16, macOS 10.14, and older versionsThis post announces the end of support for Azure Pipelines agents running on specific older operating systems that are not compatible with .NET 6. It provides a list of unsupported OS versions and outlines two options for users: upgrading their operating systems or setting the AGENT_ACKNOWLEDGE_NO_UPDATES environment variable. It also details how to set this variable via environment configuration or pipeline variables and clarifies the impact on Azure DevOps Service and Server customers.
  11. Customers using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6 should upgrade the OS on Self-hosted agentsThis post announces that RHEL 6 will no longer be supported by Azure Pipelines agents starting with version 2.214.2 due to the dependency on .NET Core 3.1, which no longer receives updates for RHEL 6. Customers are advised to upgrade their OS or set the AGENT_ACKNOWLEDGE_NO_UPDATES environment variable to 'true' to continue using RHEL 6 agents with the understanding that they will not receive security patches or future updates. It also provides guidance on identifying RHEL 6 agents and explains the reasons for the lack of updates.
  12. Upgrade of .NET agent for Azure PipelinesThis post announces the upgrade of the Azure Pipelines agent from .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 6, driven by the need to support new hardware like Apple Silicon and newer operating systems. It explicitly lists operating systems that will no longer be supported by the .NET 6 agent, outlines a phased rollout plan (Preview, GA for Microsoft-hosted, GA for self-hosted), and provides mitigation strategies for users on unsupported OSes, including a script to identify incompatible agents and warnings for pipeline runs. It also clarifies the distinction between 2.x (.NET Core 3.1) and 3.x (.NET 6) agents and discusses security patching and future feature requirements.
  13. Azure Pipelines hosted pools updatesThis post announces updates to Azure Pipelines hosted pools, including the upcoming update of `ubuntu-latest` to `ubuntu-18.04` (from `ubuntu-16.04`), the release of a new `macOS-10.15` (Catalina) image, and the update of `macOS-latest` to point to `macOS-10.15` (from `macOS-10.14`). It also details the removal of `vs2015-win2012r2`, `macOS-10.13`, and `win1803` images from hosted pools in March 2020 to facilitate the rollout of newer image versions.
  14. Removing older images in Azure Pipelines hosted poolsThis post announces the removal of specific older images from Azure Pipelines hosted pools (Windows Server 2012R2 with VS 2015, macOS High Sierra 10.13, Windows Server Core 1803) due to low usage and to make room for new updates. It provides migration guidance for users of these images, including switching to newer hosted images (e.g., `vs2017-win2016`, `windows-2019`, `macOS-10.14`, `macOS-10.15`), updating Xcode versions, or using self-hosted agents. It also details a brownout schedule to alert users of affected builds.
  15. Azure Pipelines Now Supports Additional Hosted macOS VersionsThis post announces that Azure Pipelines will continue to support and maintain the High Sierra image for hosted macOS agents, in addition to the previously announced upgrade to OS X 10.14 (Mojave). This allows teams to build with older Xcode versions on High Sierra or to run automated tests on High Sierra after building on Mojave. The post provides YAML snippets and UI instructions for selecting the desired macOS version ('macOS-10.14', 'macOS-10.13', or 'macOS-latest'). It also mentions ongoing efforts to keep macOS build agents up-to-date with the latest Apple ecosystem releases and to update other tools on the agents.
  16. Hosted Pipelines Announcements: VS 2019, Mojave, and moreIntroduced a new hosted image based on Windows Server 2019 with Visual Studio 2019 Preview, and upgraded Hosted macOS pools to OS X 10.14 (Mojave). Addressed a known issue with .NET Core 3 installer in VS 2019 Preview with a workaround. Outlined future plans for hosted agents including faster update frequency, image version rollback, support for Ubuntu 18.04 and Server Core 1809, and improvements to OS drive speeds.
  17. Xcode 8.0-8.3.2 deprecation on Azure Pipelines hosted agentsThis post announces the deprecation of Xcode versions 8.0-8.3.2 on Microsoft-hosted Azure Pipelines agents, effective November 28, 2018. It recommends updating pipelines to use Xcode 8.3.3 or higher. Pipelines configured with deprecated versions will encounter errors on Microsoft-hosted agents after the end-of-support date. Self-hosted agents are not affected. Instructions are provided on how to update the Xcode version in pipeline settings or via `xcode-select`.
  18. Xcode 8.0-8.3.2 deprecation on Azure Pipelines hosted agentsAnnounces the deprecation of Xcode versions 8.0-8.3.2 on Microsoft-hosted agents, effective November 28, 2018. Recommends updating pipelines to Xcode 8.3.3 or higher. Self-hosted agents are not affected. Provides guidance on updating Xcode versions via task settings or xcode-select.
  19. Cloud-hosted Mac agents for CI/CD pipelinesThis post announces the general availability of free, cloud-hosted CI/CD agents on macOS as part of Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS). It details how teams developing for Apple devices can now build and release apps in the cloud, eliminating the need for dedicated Mac hardware. The post shares a personal story from the VSTS CI team about their transition from on-premises Mac minis to the new cloud-hosted agents, highlighting the reduced administrative burden. It also provides instructions on how to use the 'Hosted macOS Preview' option in build or release pipelines and lists the software pre-installed on the agents, including Xcode, CocoaPods, and fastlane.
  20. Continuous Mobile Beta Distribution and Crash Reporting Using VS Team Services, HockeyApp, CodePush, and Cordova / PhoneGapThis post introduces HockeyApp and CodePush integrations for Azure DevOps (formerly VSTS) to enable continuous beta distribution and crash reporting for mobile applications. It details how to configure automated builds for Cordova/PhoneGap iOS apps using a Mac build agent (via MacinCloud or on-premises) and how to set up CI triggers for the beta branch. It also explains how to integrate the HockeyApp SDK for update notifications, crash reporting, and feedback, and mentions the availability of these capabilities for native Android, iOS, Windows, and Xamarin projects.
  21. MacinCloud Visual Studio Team Services Build and Improvements to iOS Build SupportThis post details the integration of MacinCloud macOS build agents with Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) to enable cloud-hosted iOS and Xcode builds. It outlines a 5-step process for setting up the MacinCloud agent, including signing up for VSTS, subscribing to the MacinCloud VSTS/VSO plan, configuring agent pools in VSTS, creating a Personal Access Token (PAT), and setting up the agent in the MacinCloud portal. It also highlights improvements to the Xcode build step for certificate management and introduces a new Cordova extension for CI environments.
  22. Building iOS Apps in TFSIntroduces the integration of Jenkins with Team Foundation Server for building iOS applications on macOS, leveraging Git-Tf for bridging Git and TFS, and Xcode for the build process. It outlines the tools and workflow for developers using Xcode and Git locally, pushing changes to a central Git repository, which then uses Git-Tf to push to TFS. Jenkins polls TFS and triggers builds on macOS using Xcode command-line tools. It also covers configuring TFS alternate credentials, Xcode workspaces and schemes for CI builds, Git-Tf configuration and check-in, and setting up the macOS build machine with Xcode command-line tools and provisioning profiles.