Using a new PSRule module to work with Azure DevOps pipelines

Professionals in the IT sector understand PSRule is a really helpful tool. It’s among the tools I have recently begun exploring more. PSRule is a framework consisting of a set of rules designed to be applied to YAML pipelines. It is pertinent to note that Azure DevOps Pipelines, along with various other pipeline services, utilize YAML (Yet Another Markup Language), which, despite its playful name, is not a comprehensive programming language but a domain-specific schema aimed at streamlining deployment automation.

Microsoft has recently introduced several enhancements to PSRule, such as PSRule for Pipelines. PSRule for Pipelines is particularly designed to validate your deployment pipeline code against a predefined set of rules. This is essential for ensuring sensitive information, such as passwords, GUIs, or resource names, are not hardcoded. It also verifies that naming conventions comply with established standards, like the checks performed by traditional PSRule tools. Additionally, PSRule for Pipelines focuses on identifying errors within your YAML pipeline.

The PSRule community is notably vibrant and continuously contributes new modules, extending its utility across diverse platforms like GitHub and Kubernetes, and even catering to open-source software by verifying settings compliance.

This modular ecosystem significantly aids in ensuring that YAML code adheres to organizational standards for pipeline development. It is crucial to limit the access rights of the accounts executing these pipelines to prevent excessive access to system resources. PSRule facilitates this by comparing your code against best-practice standards.