Azure DevOps Integration for VS Code

Integrate Azure DevOps work items, time tracking, branching, and pull requests directly inside VS Code.

🚀 Key Features

Core Functionality

• Work Items Management: Unified view with built-in filters (My Activity, Assigned to Me, Current Sprint, All Active, Recently Updated) and custom WIQL support
• Time Tracking: Lightweight timer with inactivity auto-pause, status bar integration, and automatic work item updates
• Git Integration: Create branches and pull requests directly from work items with customizable naming templates
• Smart Setup: Easy setup wizard that parses work item URLs and guides you through configuration
• AI-Powered Summaries: Generate work summaries using Copilot prompts or OpenAI integration
• Multiple Views: Switch between list and Kanban views with preserved scroll positions and keyboard navigation
• Secure Storage: PAT tokens stored securely in VS Code's secret store with automatic migration

Security & Trust

For details on how this extension handles authentication, data access, and runtime security, please read our full Security & Trust Notice.

🆕 Advanced Features (v1.8.2+)

• 🎯 Bulk Operations: Multi-select work items and apply changes in batch

  • Select with Ctrl/Cmd+Click or checkboxes
  • Bulk assign, move states, add tags, or delete
  • Real-time progress tracking with error handling
  • Animated toolbar appears when items selected

• 🔍 Filter & Query Management: Complete filtering system

  • Interactive Query Builder with 5 pre-built templates
  • Save and manage named filter sets
  • Export/import filter configurations as JSON
  • WIQL syntax help and validation

• 📊 Performance Monitoring: Real-time observability

  • Performance Dashboard with operation metrics
  • Memory usage tracking and optimization tips
  • Cache statistics and hit rates
  • Manual garbage collection

• 🚀 Performance Optimization: Intelligent caching system with 60-80% faster API responses

• ⌨️ Keyboard Navigation: Vim-style shortcuts (r, v, /), multi-select with Space/Esc/Ctrl+A

• ♿ Accessibility: Full ARIA support, screen reader compatibility, keyboard-only operation

• 🔧 Enhanced Error Handling: Detailed, actionable error messages with troubleshooting steps

📥 Installation

From VS Code: Extensions view → search "Azure DevOps Integration" → Install.

Command palette quick install:

1. Press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on macOS)
2. Type: ext install PluresLLC.azure-devops-integration-extension
3. Press Enter

Marketplace page: Azure DevOps Integration – VS Code Marketplace

🔐 Authentication

Microsoft Entra ID (Recommended) 🆕

Sign in with your Microsoft account—no token creation needed:

• OAuth 2.0 Authentication: Modern, secure authentication flow
• Automatic Token Refresh: Tokens refresh automatically in the background
• Status Bar Expiration Indicator: See how long each token has left and click to reconnect; the button automatically cycles through every connection that needs attention
• Webview Reminders: Work Items view surfaces sign-in reminders with one-click reconnect or a 30-minute snooze
• Device Code Flow: Simple browser-based sign-in, with the device code automatically copied to your clipboard when you choose Open Browser
• No Manual Setup: No need to create or manage Personal Access Tokens

Personal Access Token (Traditional)

If you prefer or need PAT authentication:

Required scopes (minimum recommended):

• Work Items (Read & Write)
• User Profile (Read)
• Team (Read)
• Code (Read & Write) – optional, for PRs & repos
• Build (Read) – optional, for planned build status features

Generate at: Azure DevOps → User Settings → Security → Personal Access Tokens.

⚙️ Quick Setup

Easy Setup Wizard (Recommended)

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Run: Azure DevOps Integration: Setup Wizard (Easy)
3. Paste a work item URL from your Azure DevOps organization
4. The wizard will auto-detect your organization and project
5. Choose Authentication Method: Microsoft Entra ID (recommended) or Personal Access Token
6. For Entra ID: Follow the device code flow to sign in; selecting Open Browser copies the device code to your clipboard and opens the Microsoft sign-in page
7. For PAT: Follow the guided steps to create a Personal Access Token
8. Test your connection and you're ready to go!

Tip: If a Microsoft Entra connection loses access, the Work Items view shows a reminder banner and the status bar button cycles through each affected connection so you can reconnect quickly.

Manual Setup

1. Run: Azure DevOps Integration: Setup Connection
2. Provide your Organization (short name), Project, and PAT
3. The extension stores the PAT securely in VS Code's secret store

Optional: Team Configuration

• Use Azure DevOps Integration: Select Team to set a team context
• When set, the "Current Sprint" query uses that team's current iteration
• You can change or clear this anytime by running the command again

Accessing the Extension

• Look for the "Azure DevOps" icon in the Activity Bar
• Click to open the "Work Items" view
• Browse, filter, and manage your work items with list or Kanban views

🕒 Time Tracking

• Start/Stop Timer: Click the timer button on any work item or use the command palette
• Smart Pause: Automatically pauses after inactivity (configurable timeout)
• Auto-Resume: Resumes when you become active again
• Time Reports: View tracked time across different periods (Today, Week, Month, All Time)
• Automatic Updates: When stopping a timer, automatically updates work item's Completed/Remaining hours
• AI Summaries: Generate work summaries using Copilot prompts or OpenAI integration

🧠 AI-Powered Work Summaries

• Copilot Integration: Generate Copilot-ready prompts for work summaries
• OpenAI Support: Direct integration with OpenAI for automatic summary generation
• Smart Drafts: Per-work-item draft persistence for refining your messages
• Timer Integration: Auto-selects active work item when generating summaries

🚀 Advanced Features (v1.8.2+)

Bulk Operations

• Multi-Select UI: Click checkboxes or Ctrl/Cmd+Click to select multiple work items
• Bulk Assign: Assign multiple work items to any user at once
• Bulk Move: Change state for multiple items simultaneously
• Bulk Add Tags: Add tags to multiple items with smart merge (no duplicates)
• Bulk Delete: Soft delete with double-confirmation for safety
• Visual Feedback: Animated toolbar, progress tracking, and selection count

Filter & Query Management

• Query Builder: Interactive WIQL construction with 5 pre-built templates
  • My Work Items, Recently Changed, Active Bugs, Current Sprint, Unassigned Items
  • Live syntax validation with helpful error messages
  • Comprehensive WIQL help reference
• Saved Filters: Save, load, delete, and manage named filter sets
• Export/Import: Share filter configurations as JSON files
• Quick Actions: Clear all filters (/), focus search, manage saved queries

Performance & Monitoring

• Performance Dashboard: Comprehensive metrics and health analytics
  • Operation statistics (duration, error rate, cache hit rate)
  • Memory usage tracking (current, peak, RSS)
  • Cache statistics and optimization recommendations
• Clear Performance Data: Reset baseline metrics
• Force Garbage Collection: Manual memory cleanup (if --expose-gc enabled)
• Intelligent Caching: 60-80% faster API responses with automatic memory management
• Smart Optimization: Automatic garbage collection and performance recommendations

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Navigation: r to refresh, v to toggle Kanban view
• Search: / to focus search box
• Selection: Space to toggle selection, Esc to clear, Ctrl+A to select all
• Multi-Select: Ctrl/Cmd+Click on work items to build selection
• Accessibility: Full keyboard-only operation with screen reader support

⌨️ Essential Commands

🆕 Advanced Commands (v1.8.2+)

🔧 Key Settings

The most important settings you might want to configure:

{
  // Time tracking
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.defaultElapsedLimitHours": 3.5,
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.enableTimeTracking": true,

  // AI summaries
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.summaryProvider": "builtin", // or "openai"
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.openAiModel": "gpt-4o-mini",

  // Git integration
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.branchNameTemplate": "feature/{id}-{title}",
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.enableBranchCreation": true,

  // Work items
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.workItemsPerPage": 50,
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.enableAutoRefresh": true,

  // Debugging
  "azureDevOpsIntegration.debugLogging": false,
}

Note: Personal Access Tokens are stored securely in VS Code's secret store, not in settings.json.

🔍 Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Enable Debug Logging: Set azureDevOpsIntegration.debugLogging to true in settings
2. View Logs: Run Azure DevOps Integration: Open Logs to see detailed diagnostics
3. Copy Logs: Use Azure DevOps Integration: Copy Logs to Clipboard to share logs for support

Common Issues

📦 Development

This extension is built with modern tooling and follows VS Code extension best practices:

• TypeScript with strict type checking
• Svelte for the webview UI components
• ESBuild for fast compilation
• Comprehensive testing with unit and integration tests

Development Scripts

npm run build          # Build the extension
npm run test           # Run unit tests
npm run test:integration # Run integration tests
npm run screenshots:capture # Generate documentation screenshots

MCP Server

The repository includes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for automation and agent integrations. See mcp-server/README.md for details.

🤝 Contributing

Pull requests welcome. Please open an issue first for substantial changes. Add tests where practical (client querying, timer edge cases) and keep logging minimal outside debug mode.

📄 License

MIT License – see LICENSE

Enjoy the extension! Feedback & feature requests are appreciated.

🖼️ Screenshots

Below are preview-friendly screenshots captured at a consistent size and tightly cropped to the content so they render cleanly in VS Code preview and on the Marketplace.

Work Items – List View (v1.7.0)

Work Items – Kanban View (v1.7.0)

More

• Attribution and license details: see NOTICE and LICENSE.
• Architecture, security notes, and CI testing details: see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.
• What's new: see CHANGELOG for the latest features and fixes.