Login to Master VM via RDP.
Please note that your builds will be run under the user you are currently logged in with, so if you want to run builds under different username please create a new user and re-login before contunue to the next steps.
Scripts below is the result of our experience of making Windows Server VMs work in AppVeyor build environment. Every step is represented by a separate PowerShell script to make this task simple, but still leave you easy way to select what script to run. You are welcome to check scripts contents before running them on your VM. Contributions are always welcome! Alternatively, you can install most of the dependencies using Chocolatey.
If you are using .NET stack you probably need some version of MSBuild and/or Visual Studio. Please use scripts below to install what you need. Please follow order in which scripts are listed (Visual Studio after MSBuild of the same generation an newer products after older ones) to be on the safe side.
Install other build framework of your choice.
Run one or more of below scripts to install and/or enable test framework of your choice
At this moment you have to decide if AppVeyor build agent will run in interactive (as a startup application) or headless (as a windows service) mode. Though headless mode seems more “server-style” and stable from the first look, we recommend interactive mode. One of most important advantages of interactive mode is ability to run UI tests seamlessly. Potential advantages of headless mode like ability to run build without user logon or automatic service recovery is not that important during short life cycle of build VM.
Restart VM to ensure that changes auto-logon/run works as expected. Next time you log on, you should not see usual profile loading screen and AppVeyor build Agent should be already started (you will see it on the task bar).
[TBD]
If you hit any issues with AppVeyor Build Agent start, first place to look is AppVeyor event log, which is located at Applications and Services Logs → AppVeyor.