Azure Code Search

Search all your repositories from one place — every searchable branch, plus an optional scan of forks.

A free, lightweight Azure DevOps extension that adds a Code Search hub under Repos. Type a query and search across every repository in your organization and each repository's searchable (indexed) branches, not just main. Forks aren't part of Microsoft's search index, so the extension can additionally scan them directly — opt-in, because it's much slower. Each result lists every branch the file matched on, and each branch links straight to that branch's copy in Azure Repos.

Features

• Organization-wide search — one box queries every project and indexed repository you can access, in a single request.
• All searchable branches — Azure DevOps indexes only the default branch by default; admins can mark additional branches "searchable" (up to 6 per repo). This extension reads that configuration and searches every indexed branch. A file is listed once, with every branch it matched on (and that branch's hit count) beside it.
• Optional fork search — Microsoft's Code Search does not index forks (a longstanding limitation). Enable "Also search forks" and the extension scans each fork's branches directly in your browser, merging those hits in with a fork badge. It's much slower and matches text literally, so it's off by default.
• Refine without re-searching — once results land, narrow them instantly: a repository banner to include/exclude repos, a filter box that trims the repository list by repository or project name — and scopes the results to the matching repositories at the same time — a file filter on the File column to narrow rows by file name or path, and a branch filter on the results table to show only the branches you care about. The filters stay disabled until the search completes, so you never filter against a half-loaded result set.
• Inline preview with highlighting — click a branch to preview that branch's copy of the file in a side panel with the matched term highlighted and scrolled into view, plus a scroll-map down the edge marking every matching line. Explore hit after hit without losing your results: step through with ↑/↓, or open the file in Azure Repos when you're ready to leave. Very large files preview up to their first 20,000 lines; if a match falls beyond that, the preview tells you so and names the term to search for once you open the full file in Azure Repos.
• Deep links — every branch also has a direct link (↗) to the file in the Azure Repos browser at that exact branch.
• No setup per repo — repositories and their searchable branches are discovered automatically.

Who it's for

Teams on Azure DevOps who need to answer "where is this string used across all our code?" — across many repos, forks, and long-lived release/feature branches — without opening each repository's search box one at a time.

Requirements

• The free Microsoft Code Search extension must be installed in the organization (it powers the underlying search index). If it isn't installed, searches return an error telling you so.
• To search a non-default branch, that branch must be configured as a searchable branch on its repository (repo Settings → Repositories → [repo] → Searchable branches). Branches that aren't indexed return no results — this is an Azure DevOps indexing limit, not an extension limit.

Permissions and data handling

The extension requests only the vso.code scope (read source code, branches, and code search). It runs entirely in your browser using your existing Azure DevOps session — nothing is stored, no data leaves your Azure DevOps tenant, and no telemetry is sent.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't my match on a feature branch show up? Azure DevOps only searches indexed branches. By default that's just the repository's default branch. Add the branch under the repository's Searchable branches setting (max 6 per repo) and it will start appearing.

Does it search forks? Not through the index — Microsoft's Code Search does not index forked repositories, and there's no setting that changes that. Instead, enabling "Also search forks" makes the extension download each fork's searchable branches and scan them directly in your browser. This genuinely covers forks, but it's much slower, matches text literally (case-insensitive, no wildcards/operators), and skips very large repos — which is why it's off by default. When a fork branch is skipped, it's listed under the results with the reason (e.g. too large, with its size against the limit), so you know exactly what wasn't scanned. The alternative, if you want forks in the fast index, is to detach them in Azure DevOps so they become normal repositories.

What does "Include non-default searchable branches" do? On (default), the search spans every branch marked searchable across your repos. Off, it searches only default branches — slightly faster, and useful if you only care about main/master.

Is any of my data sent anywhere? No. The extension calls the standard Azure DevOps REST APIs from your browser with your own session. Nothing is persisted and no third-party services are contacted. (The only non-ADO request on this listing page is the Buy Me a Coffee button image.)

Does it work on Azure DevOps Server (on-prem)? The manifest targets Microsoft.VisualStudio.Services, which covers both cloud Services and Server 2022+. Development and testing happen against Azure DevOps Services (cloud); on-prem is best-effort.

Support

• Issues, feature requests, and contact: edufur@hotmail.com
• License: Free to use (including commercially), but closed-source — it may not be resold, redistributed, or reverse-engineered. Full text is in the bundled LICENSE file (linked under this listing's resources).

Support the project ☕

This extension fixes a blind spot Microsoft has ignored since 2019.

Organization-wide code search and the inability to search across forks have been on Azure DevOps Developer Community since 2019 — repeatedly requested, upvoted, and left unaddressed year after year. If you're reading this, you already know the pain: opening repository after repository, one search box at a time, never quite sure you've covered every branch or every fork.

I built this to solve that — free to use, runs entirely in your own browser with zero telemetry. It's the tool Microsoft should have shipped years ago.

If it saved you even ten minutes of hunting, please tip. A coffee is a tiny price for closing a six-year gap, and every tip directly funds the time I spend maintaining this, fixing bugs, and building the next feature your team asks for. The more support this gets, the more I can keep pushing it forward.

Tips keep independent tools like this alive. Thank you for your support. ❤️

(This is an independent project — not affiliated with Microsoft or my employer.)