Implementation:Microsoft Onnxruntime WindowsAI NuGet Pipeline

Knowledge Sources	Microsoft_Onnxruntime
Domains	CI/CD, Packaging, Windows
Last Updated	2026-02-10 04:00 GMT

Overview

An Azure DevOps OneBranch pipeline definition that builds, packages, signs, and publishes the Microsoft.AI.MachineLearning NuGet package for Windows (x64, x86, arm64) with both dynamic and static runtime variants.

Description

The `OneBranch.Nuget-WindowsAI-Pipeline.Official.yml` defines the official CI/CD pipeline for producing the Windows AI (Microsoft.AI.MachineLearning) NuGet package. Key aspects:

• Parameters: `UploadSymbols` (boolean, default false) controls whether symbols are uploaded to Microsoft's symbol server.

• Triggers: Manually triggered (`trigger: none`).

• Global SDL settings: Configures TSA (enabled), prefast (disabled), CG alerting (non-blocking), and PoliCheck (breaking on issues with exclusions file).

• Build stage (Windows_Build): Contains multiple jobs using the `windowsai-steps.yml` template:

 - Six build jobs for all combinations of architecture (x64, x86, arm64) and runtime (dynamic, static).
 - x86 builds use `pythonx86` package name.

• NuGet_Packaging job: Depends on all six build jobs. Downloads all architecture-specific NuGet artifacts, then:

 - Extracts all `.nupkg` files.
 - Copies native binaries (onnxruntime.dll, onnxruntime.lib, microsoft.ai.machinelearning.dll/lib) from each architecture into a unified package structure including `runtimes/win-{arch}/_native/` and `runtimes/win-{arch}/_native/static/` directories.
 - Copies UAP build files for UWP support.
 - Repacks into a merged NuGet package using 7z.
 - Similarly merges symbol packages (`.snupkg`) with PDB files.
 - Signs the final NuGet package using ESRP code signing (NuGetSign + NuGetVerify operations).

• NuGet_Publishing job: Depends on packaging. Downloads the merged artifact and publishes to the `PublicPackages/ORT-Nightly` feed when building from the `main` branch.

• NuGet publishing configuration: Publishes `.nupkg` files (excluding `.symbols.nupkg`) with `continueOnConflict: true`.

Usage

This pipeline is used by the ONNX Runtime team to produce official Windows AI NuGet packages. It is triggered manually and publishes nightly builds to the public ORT-Nightly feed.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: Microsoft_Onnxruntime
• File: .pipelines/OneBranch.Nuget-WindowsAI-Pipeline.Official.yml
• Lines: 1-355

Signature

parameters:
- name: UploadSymbols
  displayName: Upload Symbols to Microsoft symbol server?
  type: boolean
  default: false

trigger: none

extends:
  template: v2/OneBranch.Official.CrossPlat.yml@templates
  parameters:
    nugetPublishing:
      feeds:
      - name: PublicPackages/ORT-Nightly
        files_to_publish: '*.nupkg;!*.symbols.nupkg'
        continueOnConflict: true
    stages:
    - stage: Windows_Build
      jobs:
      - template: .pipelines/windowsai-steps.yml@self
        parameters:
          BuildArch: x64
      # ... x86, arm64, static variants ...
      - job: NuGet_Packaging
        # ... merge and sign NuGet packages ...
      - job: NuGet_Publishing
        # ... publish to feed ...

Import

# Referenced templates:
resources:
  repositories:
    - repository: templates
      type: git
      name: OneBranch.Pipelines/GovernedTemplates
      ref: refs/heads/main

I/O Contract

Stage/Job	Inputs	Outputs	Description
Windows_Build (x64/x86/arm64 dynamic+static)	Source code, build parameters	Per-arch NuGet packages	Builds native binaries and per-arch NuGet packages
NuGet_Packaging	All per-arch artifacts	Merged + signed NuGet package	Merges architectures and signs the package
NuGet_Publishing	Signed NuGet package	Published to ORT-Nightly feed	Publishes to public NuGet feed (main branch only)

Usage Examples

# Trigger the pipeline manually in Azure DevOps
# Set UploadSymbols to true if symbol server upload is needed
# The pipeline produces:
#   - Microsoft.AI.MachineLearning.{version}.nupkg (merged, signed)
#   - Microsoft.AI.MachineLearning.{version}.snupkg (symbols)

Related Pages

• Environment:Microsoft_Onnxruntime_Windows_Build_Environment