title: do TFS clients need to have local copies of the tools invoked by the build server?
body: <p>Suppose that there is a TFS server with some kind of WF build activity installed in it. For example, and this is just an example, suppose that the activity takes the build output, decrypts credentials stored somewhere on the server, and performs an operation that requires the decrypted credentials: maybe it sends copies of the build output over the network to some computer that clients are not able to access directly.</p>
  
  <p>Would TFS clients need to have local copies of the build activity that performs that operation? Or do they just push their code changes to the server and let the TFS server decide how to build the code and what to do with the build output? Or do clients have some control over the tools TFS uses to build the code and the operations it performs on the build output? And back to the example I provided, if the user is required to provide the credentials for the post-build action, is the implementer of the activity responsible for ensuring that the credentials are properly secured as they travel from the client to the server or does TFS take care of that?</p>