How to set a different default TFS agent pool - tfs

Question

We have multiple agent pools in TFS. Is there a way to set the default agent to one of the pools?
Currently, all project builds has a Default agent when creating a build.
Instead of the Default agent to display as the first one on the list, we want to have a different agent as default. Is that possible?

Answer 1

Instead of the Default agent to display as the first one on the list, we want to have diff agent as Default. Is it possible?
I am afraid there is out of box setting to set a different default agent pool.
On the web portal, we could select the different default TFS agent pool in the option Default agent queue in the build Options tab and save it:
This setting is saved. When you queue the build, the default agent pool will be the agent you set above:
And when you next queue your build, the default agent will be the one you set before.
On the other hand, we could add a specify the demands which match the specific agent, like:
Agent.Name -equals AgentNameHere
Then queue build with the REST API and specify the demands:
Param(
[string]$collectionurl = "http://server:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection/",
[string]$projectName = "0323ScrumTFVC",
[string]$keepForever = "true",
[string]$BuildDefinitionId = "1",
[string]$user = "username",
[string]$token = "password"
)
# Base64-encodes the Personal Access Token (PAT) appropriately
$base64AuthInfo = [Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::ASCII.GetBytes(("{0}:{1}" -f $user,$token)))
function CreateJsonBody
{
$value = #"
{
"definition": {
"id": $BuildDefinitionId
},
"sourceBranch": "$/0323ScrumTFVC",
"demands":["Agent.Name -equals AgentNameHere"]
}
}
"#
return $value
}
$json = CreateJsonBody
$uri = "$($collectionurl)/$($projectName)/_apis/build/builds?api-version=2.0"
$result = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $uri -Method Post -Body $json -ContentType "application/json" -Headers #{Authorization=("Basic {0}" -f $base64AuthInfo)}
Ticket here: Specifying agent at queue build time with TFS 2015.
But, this method is not work for UI.
Check the document Predefined variables and Demands.