TFS -Location of build agent

Question

I am working on a project with two other people. We are using TFS 2015 for source control and would also like to use TFS to build our project.

I am pretty new to TFS but I think I’m starting to understand the roles that build agents and build controllers play. I am not sure, however, where to install the build agent. Is it ok to install the build agent on my own development machine or is that considered bad practice? Are there any obvious drawbacks to install the build agent on my own machine (besides that building will be dependent on whether my machine is running or not)?

Answer 1

You can, but shouldn't, install build infrastructure on your development machine -- the idea of a build server is to have a consistent machine (or set of machines) with all of the necessary requirements to build your software. Consistency is the key here.

Developer machines (at least, if they're anything like mine :)) are a mess of different tools and configuration settings, based on personal preference and necessities. They are typically not consistent from person to person or from day to day.

It's also worth noting that XAML build controllers are considered deprecated in TFS 2015. They still work, you can still use them, but the XAML build system has been supplanted by the new build, which is agent-only.