Skip to main content

Source Control Setup

BimlStudio projects are stored as standard files and folders, making them compatible with any modern source control system. This guide covers setting up Git, the industry-standard version control system used by most development teams today.

For more advanced Git workflows and team collaboration patterns, see the Git Integration guide.

Git Setup​

Prerequisites​

  1. Install Git from git-scm.com
  2. Optionally install a Git GUI client such as:

Initializing a New Repository​

  1. Open a command prompt or terminal in your BimlStudio project directory

  2. Initialize a new Git repository:

    git init

  3. Create a .gitignore file with recommended exclusions:

    # BimlStudio build output
    /output/
    /bin/
    /obj/

    # User-specific files
    *.user
    *.suo

    # Build artifacts
    *.dtsx
    *.ispac

    # Temporary files
    *.tmp
    *~

  4. Add your project files and make the initial commit:

    git add .
    git commit -m "Initial commit"

Cloning an Existing Repository​

  1. Open a command prompt or terminal

  2. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/your-org/your-biml-project.git

  3. Open the .mst project file in BimlStudio

Azure DevOps Integration​

For enterprise teams using Azure DevOps:

  1. Create a new project in Azure DevOps or use an existing one

  2. Navigate to Repos and copy the clone URL

  3. Clone the repository locally:

    git clone https://dev.azure.com/your-org/your-project/_git/your-repo

  4. Configure Git credentials if prompted (Azure DevOps supports both HTTPS with PAT tokens and SSH keys)

  5. Add your BimlStudio project files to the repository

GitHub Integration​

For teams using GitHub:

  1. Create a new repository on GitHub

  2. Clone the repository or add the remote to an existing local repository:

    git remote add origin https://github.com/your-org/your-biml-project.git

  3. Push your project:

    git push -u origin main

Working with Source Control in BimlStudio​

BimlStudio's Project View displays source control status indicators for files:

Source Control Status

Common Workflows​

  • Committing Changes: Use your preferred Git client or command line to stage and commit changes
  • Pulling Updates: Pull changes from the remote repository before starting work
  • Branching: Create feature branches for new development work
  • Merging: Use pull requests for code review before merging to main branches

Best Practices​

  1. Commit frequently - Make small, focused commits with clear messages
  2. Use branches - Create feature branches for new work to isolate changes
  3. Review before merging - Use pull requests to review changes before merging
  4. Keep dependencies in sync - Ensure all team members use compatible versions of BimlStudio
  5. Document your patterns - Use README files to document project conventions

Migrating from TFS/TFVC​

If you're migrating from Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC):

  1. Use the git-tfs tool to migrate history
  2. Or perform a clean migration by copying files to a new Git repository

For detailed migration guidance, see Microsoft's Migrate from TFVC to Git documentation.

Next Steps​