VS2013 Cordova iOS Remotebuild Error Cannot POST /build/tasks?command=build&vcordova=4.3.1&cfg=debug

Question

I am a new member here and hope that I'm asking my question the right way. I think my question is identical to the one posted at:

Visual Studio 2013 Cordova RemoteBuild failed (Cannot POST /build/tasks?command=build&vcordova=4.3.1&)

I'm using Visual Studio 2013 Update 5 with TACO to try to port a JavaScript app to iOS. To make sure my setup is correct, I'm starting with a "Hello World" BlankCordovaApp template. I have run remotebuild --secure false on my Mac mini. I have configured VS Tools -> Options -> Tools for Apache Cordova -> Remote Agent Configuration to point at my Mac mini Host / Port. When I build the cordova template in VS, I get the following:

1>Done executing task "RemoveDir". (TaskId:20)
1>Done building target "MDACleanAfterInstall" in project "BlankCordovaApp1.jsproj".: (TargetId:12)
1>Done executing task "CallTarget". (TaskId:10)
1>Task "Error" skipped, due to false condition; ($(MDAInstallErrorCode) != '0' And $(MDAInstallErrorCode) != '-17') was evaluated as (-17 != '0' And -17 != '-17').
1>Done building target "InstallMDATargets" in project "BlankCordovaApp1.jsproj".: (TargetId:11)
1>Done executing task "CallTarget". (TaskId:8)
1>Done building target "EnsureNodeJsRequirementsAreAtCorrectVersion" in project "BlankCordovaApp1.jsproj".: (TargetId:10)
1>Target "BuildMDA: (TargetId:14)" in file "C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\CordovaTools\vs-mda-targets\Microsoft.MDA.targets" from project "C:\Users\XXX\documents\visual studio 2013\Projects\BlankCordovaApp1\BlankCordovaApp1\BlankCordovaApp1.jsproj" (target "Build" depends on it):
1>Task "Error" skipped, due to false condition; ($(Platform) == 'iOS' AND $(iOSRemoteBuildSecurityPIN) == 'NULL') was evaluated as (iOS == 'iOS' AND  == 'NULL').
1>Task "CreateBuildInfoMetadata" skipped, due to false condition; ( '$(Platform)' == 'android' ) was evaluated as ( 'iOS' == 'android' ).
1>Task "CreateBuildInfoMetadata" skipped, due to false condition; ( '@(BuildMDACpuSpecificPlatform)' != '' ) was evaluated as ( '' != '' ).
1>Task "ExportRemoteIosCertificates" skipped, due to false condition; ($(Platform) == 'iOS' AND $(iOSRemoteBuildSecurityPIN) != '') was evaluated as (iOS == 'iOS' AND  != '').
1>Task "MdaVsCli" skipped, due to false condition; ( '@(BuildMDACpuSpecificPlatform)' != '' ) was evaluated as ( '' != '' ).
1>Using "MdaVsCli" task from assembly "C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\CordovaTools\vs-mda-targets\Microsoft.VisualStudio.MultiDeviceHybridApps.MdaBuildTasks.dll".
1>Task "MdaVsCli" (TaskId:21)
1>  Task Parameter:NpmInstallDir=C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\npm (TaskId:21)
1>  Task Parameter:Platform=iOS (TaskId:21)
1>  Task Parameter:ProjectDir=. (TaskId:21)
1>  Task Parameter:Configuration=Debug (TaskId:21)
1>  Task Parameter:ProjectName=BlankCordovaApp1 (TaskId:21)
1>  Task Parameter:Language=en-US (TaskId:21)
1>  Task Parameter:BuildServerUrl=http://192.168.0.10:3000 (TaskId:21)
1>  Task Parameter:BuildTarget=iOSEmulatoriPhone5 (TaskId:21)
1>   (TaskId:21)

and then

1>  ------ Submitting new build request to: http://192.168.0.10:3000/build/tasks?command=build&vcordova=4.3.1&cfg=debug (TaskId:21)
1>MDAVSCLI : error : Cannot POST /build/tasks?command=build&vcordova=4.3.1&cfg=debug
1>Done executing task "MdaVsCli" -- FAILED. (TaskId:21)
1>Done building target "BuildMDA" in project "BlankCordovaApp1.jsproj" -- FAILED.: (TargetId:14)

What I see in my Mac mini terminal output is

POST /build/tasks?command=build&vcordova=4.3.1&cfg= debug 404 118.747 ms - 72

I'm trying this for the first time and after failing to find a solution here and on the Microsoft boards, I'm hoping someone has seen this before and can help. Thank you in advance.

Update: Given that VS is "submitting a new build request" I am tentatively concluding that the problem is not on the VS build side but on the Mac simulator side. I suspect that my Mac mini remotebuild agent is refusing to accept the build from VS and that my terminal output 404 code is a connection error. Could this be a node.js or npm issue on the Mac?

Answer 1

I solved my problem by downloading Visual Studio 2015 and building the BlankCordovaApp in VS2015.