AppVeyor Server Maintenance Guide

Upgrading AppVeyor Server

Windows

To check current installer version of AppVeyor, navigate to http://<appveyor-url>/system/settings/license page. Alternatively, installation version can be seen on Windows “Add or remove programs” screen.

To upgrade AppVeyor download the latest AppVeyor Server installer (appveyor-server.msi). Right-click it in Windows Explorer and check the version on dialog “Details” tab. Run the installer to upgrade AppVeyor. Once the service is started and the web interface is available, navigate to “License” settings page to verify the version.

Ubuntu/Debian

Download the latest AppVeyor Server Debian package using the following command:

curl -L https://www.appveyor.com/downloads/appveyor/appveyor-server.deb -o appveyor-server_7.0.3212_amd64.deb

Upgrade AppVeyor installation by running:

sudo dpkg -i appveyor-server_7.0.3212_amd64.deb

Verify the version by running:

/opt/appveyor/server/appveyor version

macOS

Stop AppVeyor Server service:

brew services stop appveyor-server

Upgrade AppVeyor Server package and start the service:

brew upgrade appveyor-server
brew services start appveyor-server

Backup/restore AppVeyor Server

Windows

Default AppVeyor Server installation keeps all application data (database, artifacts and certificates) in %PROGRAMDATA%\AppVeyor\Server directory and all application settings under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Appveyor\Server registry key.

To backup an AppVeyor installation, export HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Appveyor\Server registry key and then copy both the exported .reg file and the entire data directory to a safe location.

To restore AppVeyor, re-install it with the latest .msi, import backup .reg file by overwriting existing values and restore contents of data directory.

Linux

On Linux all AppVeyor data (SQLite database, SSL certificate and artifacts) is stored in /var/opt/appveyor/server directory (“data”) - back it up entirely.

AppVeyor settings with encryption keys are stored in /etc/opt/appveyor/server directory (“settings”) - back it up as well. Remember, without correct encryption keys the database will be unusable and you won’t be able to login to AppVeyor!

To restore AppVeyor Server just re-install AppVeyor from scratch and then overwrite “data” and “settings” directories from backup.

Migrating database engine

By default, AppVeyor Server stores data in SQLite database. Though SQLite database is going to be OK for the most installations there might be a point when your database outgrows SQLite and you need to migrate to a full-featured database engine such as SQL Server or PostgreSQL.

AppVeyor Server installation includes database migration tool which can be found at:

  • Windows: C:\Program Files\AppVeyor\Server\appveyor-db-migrator.exe
  • Linux: /opt/appveyor/server/appveyor-db-migrator

AppVeyor database migrator allows moving database data from/to the following database engines:

  • SQLite
  • SQL Server
  • PostgreSQL

AppVeyor database migrator runs with the following command:

appveyor-db-migrator.exe|appveyor-db-migrator --src-provider=<provider> --src-connection-string=<provider-connection-string> \
    --dest-provider=<provider> --dest-connection-string=<provider-connection-string>

where <provider> must be one of the following: SQLite, SqlServer or PostgreSQL.

Depending on database provider connection string must have the following format:

  • SQLite: Data source=<path-to-file.db>
  • SQL Server: Server=<ip-or-host>;Database=<database>;User ID=<user>;Password=<password>
  • PostgreSQL: Host=<host-or-ip>;Port=5432;Database=<database>;Username=<user>;Password=<password>

Destination database must be pre-created and clean before running the migrator.

For PostgreSQL database citext extension must be installed manually with the following command:

CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS citext;

Troubleshooting

Windows

Installation location

AppVeyor Server is a 64-bit application and can be run on a 64-bit OS only.

AppVeyor Server is installed into %PROGRAMFILES%\AppVeyor\Server directory.

The new Appveyor.Server Windows service is created pointing to appveyor-server.exe executable. The service runs under appveyor user account which is created by the installer and added to local Administrators group. The name of the service account can be customized with APPVEYOR_USER_NAME and APPVEYOR_USER_PASSWORD installer variables.

Settings

AppVeyor settings are stored under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Appveyor\Server registry key. The values under that key are preserved during AppVeyor Server updates.

Data

AppVeyor database, SSL certificate (if configured), build artifacts and other data are stored in %PROGRAMDATA%\AppVeyor\Server directory. The data directory stays intact on AppVeyor updates and after uninstall. Data directory path can be customized with APPVEYOR_DATA_DIR installer variable.

By default, AppVeyor stores data in SQLite database %PROGRAMDATA%\AppVeyor\Server\appveyor-server.db. All sensitive data in the database is encrypted with “master key”. Master key and its salt are stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Appveyor\Server\Security.MasterKey and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Appveyor\Server\Security.MasterKeySalt registry values respectively. These values are automatically generated on the first AppVeyor install and preserved during updates, however they will be deleted on AppVeyor uninstall. Both keys can be customized during installation by APPVEYOR_MASTER_KEY and APPVEYOR_MASTER_KEY_SALT installer variables.

NOTE: If master key and its salt are lost, AppVeyor database will be unusable!

SQL Server database

AppVeyor Server can be configured to store its data in a SQL Server database. During the installation, specify the following installer variables:

  • APPVEYOR_DATABASE_PROVIDER=SQLServer
  • APPVEYOR_SQLSERVER_CONNECTION_STRING=Server=<ip-or-host>;Database=<database>;User ID=<user>;Password=<password>

After installation, provider and connection string can be changed in the registry values Database.Provider and Database.SQLiteConnectionString respectively.

PostgreSQL database

AppVeyor Server can be configured to store its data in PostgreSQL database. During the installation specify the following installer variables:

  • APPVEYOR_DATABASE_PROVIDER=PostgreSQL
  • APPVEYOR_POSTGRESQL_CONNECTION_STRING=Host=<host-or-ip>;Port=5432;Database=<database>;Username=<user>;Password=<password>

After creating Postgres database and before running the installer you have to install citext extension:

CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS citext;

After installation, provider and connection string can be changed in the registry values Database.Provider and Database.PostgreSqlConnectionString respectively.

Logs

AppVeyor Server logs are written to Windows Event log. They can be viewed in Event Viewer under Applications and Services Logs -> AppVeyor. It’s recommended to increase the size of AppVeyor event log (for example, to 10Mb) to keep more logging data.

Web bindings

By default, AppVeyor web app tries to bind to 80 and 443 ports for http and https protocols respectively. If one of these ports is taken by another application, AppVeyor will bind to 8050 and 8051 ports. Binding is created on all (*) interfaces, so AppVeyor web can be accessed with both loopback (e.g. localhost) and external (if configured) addresses. AppVeyor web interface ports can be customized with APPVEYOR_HTTP_PORT and APPVEYOR_HTTPS_PORT installer variables. After installation, ports can be changed in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Appveyor\Server key.

A new Windows advanced firewall rule - AppVeyor Server - is configured by the AppVeyor installer. which allows access to %PROGRAMFILES%\AppVeyor\Server\appveyor-server.exe application.

Custom installation

To run AppVeyor Server installer with custom parameters and create an installation log use the following command:

msiexec /i appveyor-server.msi /L*V appveyor-install.log PARAM_1=VAL_1 PARAM_2=VAL_2 ...

For example, to install AppVeyor with SQL Server database:

msiexec /i appveyor-server.msi /L*V appveyor-install.log APPVEYOR_DATABASE_PROVIDER=SQLServer APPVEYOR_SQLSERVER_CONNECTION_STRING=<connection-string>

Full list of installer variables and their default values:

  • APPVEYOR_USER_NAME: appveyor
  • APPVEYOR_USER_PASSWORD: <random>
  • APPVEYOR_DATA_DIR: %ProgramData%\AppVeyor\Server
  • APPVEYOR_DATABASE_PROVIDER: SQLite
  • APPVEYOR_SQLITE_CONNECTION_STRING: Data Source=[DataDir]\appveyor-server.db
  • APPVEYOR_POSTGRESQL_CONNECTION_STRING: <empty>
  • APPVEYOR_SQLSERVER_CONNECTION_STRING: <empty>
  • APPVEYOR_MASTER_KEY: <random>
  • APPVEYOR_MASTER_KEY_SALT: <random>
  • APPVEYOR_HTTP_PORT: 80
  • APPVEYOR_HTTPS_PORT: 443

Linux

Installation location

AppVeyor Server is installed into /opt/appveyor/server directory.

The new appveyor-server systemd service is created pointing to /opt/appveyor/server/appveyor-server executable. The service runs under appveyor user account which is created by the installer and added to sudoers.

Settings

AppVeyor settings are stored in /etc/opt/appveyor/server directory. Settings are preserved during AppVeyor Server updates.

Data

AppVeyor database, SSL certificate (if configured), build artifacts and other data are stored in /var/opt/appveyor/server directory. The data directory stays intact on AppVeyor updates and after uninstall.

By default, AppVeyor stores data in SQLite database /var/opt/appveyor/server/appveyor-server.db. All sensitive data in the database is encrypted with “master key”. Master key and its salt are stored in /etc/opt/appveyor/server/appsettings.json. These values are automatically generated on the first AppVeyor install and preserved during updates.

NOTE: If the master key and its salt are lost, AppVeyor database will be unusable!

Logs

AppVeyor service logs are stored in journal and can be viewed with the following command:

journalctl -u appveyor-server

Docker builds

Known issues on Windows

  • nanoserver-based build images do not contain Mercurial (hg.exe) and Subversion (svn.exe). For Bitbucket Mercurial repositories you can set shallow_clone: true;
  • ssh utility is not working on nanoserver-based build image preventing cloning of private repositories via SSH - only cloning via HTTPS is working;
  • Network “blips” with net::ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED error in Chrome. Disable Proxy “Automatic detect settings” - ADD SCREENSHOT.
  • Windows Server 2016 is currently unable to run Docker builds.

  • Windows 10 release history
  • Windows Container Version Compatibility

Known issues on Linux

  • If AppVeyor was installed before Docker appveyor user should be added to docker group:
sudo usermod -aG docker appveyor

Restart AppVeyor to take effect:

systemctl restart appveyor-server

Running Docker commands (Linux only)

If you need to run docker commands inside Docker builds you have to map Docker daemon socket and docker CLI executable into the build container.

You should modify Docker cloud settings under Account → Build environment and put the following into Custom Docker command arguments:

-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock -v /usr/bin/docker:/usr/bin/docker
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