🚀 ADOExt — Azure DevOps for VS Code

A full-featured Azure DevOps integration for Visual Studio Code, bringing the power of ADO directly into your editor. Manage work items, pull requests, builds, and team collaboration—all without leaving VS Code.

Changelog

1.4.2

• Host bundling: Bundled the extension host entrypoint into a single runtime artifact with esbuild while preserving VS Code API externals.
• Lean runtime package: Switched VSIX packaging to ship bundled outputs only, removing node_modules from the published extension package.
• Package size reduction: Reduced the packaged extension footprint significantly by keeping only required runtime assets.

1.4.1

• Packaging optimization: Reduced VSIX size and file count by tightening .vscodeignore rules to exclude source/tooling files and dev-only dependency content from the published extension package.
• Marketplace follow-up: Published as a patch release because Marketplace package versions are immutable and cannot be overwritten in place.

1.4.0

• Modernized webviews: Rebuilt the PR details, work item details, backlog, board, sprint, and build summary panels on bundled Lit components. The extension host now focuses on loading Azure DevOps data and handling commands, while the webviews own rendering, responsive layout, and local interaction state.
• Shared webview foundation: Added reusable webview document/CSP helpers, typed view models, typed message contracts, and a browser-side rich text renderer. This reduces large inline HTML templates in the extension host and makes future panel work easier to evolve consistently.

1.3.1

• Auth reliability: The extension now automatically picks up token refreshes and session changes without requiring a window reload. The MCP server is also re-provisioned with a fresh token when the Microsoft authentication session changes.

1.3.0

• Performance fix: Limited pull request list to 100 items per scope to prevent UI freezing with large PR backlogs.
• Pull request filtering: Added regex-based filtering for PRs; run ADOExt: Filter Pull Requests to filter by PR ID or title.
• Pull request sorting: Added sort options for PRs: sort by Title (A-Z) or Date (Newest first) via ADOExt: Sort Pull Requests command.
• Backlog/Sprint filtering & sorting: Added filter (regex) and sort (Name/Date) controls to the Backlog and Sprint planning views in the webview panel.
• All filter and sort preferences persist in VS Code settings across sessions.

1.2.0

• Added regex-based filtering for work items: run ADOExt: Filter Work Items to filter by work item ID or title.
• Added sorting options for work items: sort by Name (A-Z) or Date (Newest first) via ADOExt: Sort Work Items command.
• Filter and sort preferences persist in VS Code settings across sessions.

1.1.1

• Fixed image loading in work item descriptions by widening CSP to allow Azure DevOps image sources and rewriting relative image paths to fully qualified URLs.

1.1.0

• Fixed pull request branch checkout in multi-repository workspaces by matching the PR against Azure DevOps remotes instead of guessing from folder names.
• Fixed checked-out pull request comment threads so they attach to the correct workspace repository and show inline in the affected files.

✨ Key Features

📋 Work Item Management

• Browse & Filter — View work items assigned to you, created by you, or across your entire portfolio
• Multi-Org Aggregation — Work items aggregate seamlessly across selected organizations and projects, grouped by project and state
• Regex Filtering & Sorting — Filter work items by regex pattern (ID, title) and sort by name or creation date; buttons in the Work Items view header
• Rich Details Panel — One-click to open full work item details in a dedicated webview panel
  • Edit title, description, state, priority, assignee, area path, iteration, and tags
  • View and participate in discussion comments
  • See work item history and linked items
  • Open in browser anytime for advanced ADO features
• ADO-Style Icons — Custom icons for bugs, tasks, epics, features, stories, PBIs, and issues
• State Changes — Change work item state directly from the sidebar

🎯 Create Work Items from Your Code

• From Selection — Highlight text in the editor and run ADOExt: Create Work Item from Selection to create a new work item with your selected text as the title
• From TODO Comments — VS Code code action (💡) appears on TODO comments; click to create a work item directly from the comment
• File Context — Work items automatically include the source file path and context lines for quick reference

🔍 Smart Code Completions

• Work Item References — Type # or AB# in markdown, plaintext, or git commits to see IntelliSense completions for recent work items
  • Shows work item ID, title, type, and state
  • Filter by typing ID digits or title keywords
  • Works with both #123 and AB#123 reference formats
• Team Mentions — Type @ to autocomplete team member names from your project
  • Quickly mention colleagues in descriptions, comments, and commit messages
  • Filters by display name and email prefix

🎨 Hover Cards for ADO References

• Work Item Hovers — Hover over AB#123 or #123 references in any open file to see a rich detail card
  • Shows title, type, state, assignee, and project scope
  • Quick actions: Open in Browser, View Details panel
• Pull Request Hovers — Hover over PR [#123](https://github.com/CompN3rd/ADOExt/issues/123), PR!123, or !123 to see PR details
  • Shows title, status, repository, and author
  • Quick link to open in browser
• Smart Scope Resolution — Hovers work across multi-project setups; when ambiguous, shows the matched scope

✅ Pull Request Management

• Browse PRs — View active pull requests (yours, created, assigned to you, all) aggregated across organizations/projects
• Regex Filtering & Sorting — Filter PRs by regex pattern (ID, title) and sort by title or creation date; buttons in the Pull Requests view header
• Inline Review — Expand PRs in the tree to see all comment threads; reply, resolve, or reopen directly from the sidebar
• Rich PR Details Panel — One-click to see full PR information, discussions, and reviewer status
• Familiar Review UX — The pull request review flow is inspired by the GitHub Pull Requests and Issues extension for VS Code, adapted for Azure DevOps workflows
• Native Diff Editor — Review changes in VS Code's native multi-diff editor (same UX as GitHub PR extension)
  • All changed files visible at once
  • Inline PR comments in the gutter
  • Add new line comments with the + affordance
• Checked-Out Branch — After running "Checkout Pull Request Branch", existing PR threads light up in your regular editor
• Smart Notifications — Toast notifications for new PR comments; configure poll frequency and notification types
• PR Queries & Buckets — Organize PRs by review state (Waiting for My Review, Created by Me, All Open) or save custom queries

📦 Backlog, Sprints & Boards

• Hierarchical Backlog — View parent/child work item relationships in a collapsible tree
• Sprint Planning — Browse work grouped by sprint/iteration with drag-and-drop reordering
• Regex Filtering & Sorting — Filter and sort items in Backlog and Sprint views by regex pattern or name/date (controls in the editor view toolbar)
• Board View — See work organized by state columns (To Do, In Progress, Done, etc.)
• Editor Views — Open Backlog and Board editor views for wider planning layouts
• State Changes — Update work item state from planning views; sidebar automatically refreshes
• Linked Details — Open any work item from planning views in the shared details panel

🔐 Multi-Account & Multi-Organization

• Built-in Auth — Uses VS Code's Microsoft authentication (no manual token management)
• Multiple Accounts — Sign in with multiple Microsoft accounts and switch seamlessly
• Organization Picker — Select one or multiple organizations or all orgs in your account
• Project Picker — Choose projects per organization or select all projects
• Smart Aggregation — All views (work items, PRs) automatically aggregate across your selection

🏗️ Build & Integration

• Build Summaries — Lightweight build status cards in PR and work item detail panels
• MCP Server — Foundry integration for AI-powered workflows and automations
• Azure Boards Integration — Full WIQL query support for advanced filtering and bulk operations

📥 Installation

From VS Code Marketplace:

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "ADOExt"
4. Click Install

From Source:

git clone https://github.com/CompN3rd/ADOExt
cd ADOExt
npm install
npm run compile
code --install-extension ./adoext-<version>.vsix

🚀 Quick Start

1. Sign In

• Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
• Run ADOExt: Sign In
• Authenticate with your Microsoft account

2. Select Organization

• Run ADOExt: Select Organization
• Choose your Azure DevOps organization(s)

3. Select Projects

• Run ADOExt: Select Project
• Choose project(s) to work with

4. Explore the Sidebar

• Work Items — Browse assigned, created, and all work items
• Pull Requests — View PRs organized by bucket (Waiting for Review, Created by Me, All Open)
• Backlog — Hierarchical view of all work
• Sprints — Current and future sprint planning
• Boards — Kanban-style board view

💡 Usage Examples

Create a Work Item from Code

// 1. Highlight problematic code:
const buggyFunction = () => {
  return undefined; // Fix null handling here
};

// 2. Right-click → "Create Azure DevOps Work Item from Selection"
// 3. Type title and choose work item type
// 4. Work item created with file:line context embedded

Use TODO Code Action

# Line 42 in main.py
# TODO: Refactor database queries for performance

# 1. Click the 💡 lightbulb that appears
# 2. Select "Create Azure DevOps Work Item from TODO"
# 3. Work item created from the TODO text

Complete Work Item References

# PR Description

This fixes AB#4521 and relates to [#4522](https://github.com/CompN3rd/ADOExt/issues/4522)

# As you type "AB#" or "#", VS Code shows matching work items:
# - AB#4521 | Bug · Login timeout · Active · Jane Smith
# - AB#4520 | Feature · Dark mode · Planned · Bob Wilson

Hover Over References

# In any editor, hover over a work item or PR reference:

AB#4521      ← Hover here to see rich card:
             │ Bug · Fix login timeout · Active
             │ Assigned To: Jane Smith
             │ Scope: contoso/backlog
             │ [Open in Browser] [View Details]

PR [#123](https://github.com/CompN3rd/ADOExt/issues/123)      ← Hover here to see:
             │ Pull Request [#123](https://github.com/CompN3rd/ADOExt/issues/123)
             │ Title: Add retry logic
             │ Status: Active
             │ Repository: backend
             │ Author: Bob Wilson
             │ [Open in Browser]

Review a Pull Request

1. Open Pull Requests sidebar
2. Expand a PR to see comment threads
3. Right-click a thread → Reply, Resolve, or Reopen
4. Or click the PR to open full details panel
5. Or run "Checkout Pull Request Branch" to pull the code
   → Existing PR threads now light up in your editor

⚙️ Configuration

Open VS Code Settings (Ctrl+, / Cmd+,) and search for adoext to customize:

🎯 Commands

📋 Requirements

• VS Code 1.101.0 or later
• Git (for PR branch checkout)
• Azure DevOps Account with at least read access to your organization
• Microsoft Authentication in VS Code (built-in; uses existing sign-in)

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please feel free to open issues or pull requests on GitHub.

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/CompN3rd/ADOExt
cd ADOExt
npm install
npm run compile      # Build extension TypeScript and webview bundles
npm run watch        # Watch extension TypeScript
npm run watch:webviews # Watch bundled webview assets
code .               # Open in VS Code for testing

📝 License

This extension is open source and available under the MIT License.

🐛 Feedback & Support

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on GitHub.

Happy coding! 🎉

1. Open the Azure DevOps activity bar icon (sidebar)
2. Click Sign In (or the organization icon) to authenticate with your Microsoft account
3. Select your Azure DevOps organization from the auto-populated list
4. Select your project from the auto-populated list
5. Work items and pull requests will load automatically

Configuration

Query and bucket management

Use ADOExt: Select Work Item Query to switch the active work item preset. In the Pull Requests view, built-in review buckets are always shown (Waiting for My Review, Created by Me, All Open), and ADOExt: Save Pull Request Query Preset adds custom buckets to that list. Use the inline refresh action on a bucket to reload only that bucket.

Development

npm install
npm run compile
# or for watch mode:
npm run watch
npm run watch:webviews

Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.

MCP Server Integration

ADOExt integrates with the official Microsoft Azure DevOps MCP server (@azure-devops/mcp), providing a single-install experience with shared configuration. Updates to the official server flow through automatically.

Quick Setup

Use the ADOExt: Copy MCP Server Configuration command to get a ready-to-paste configuration for .vscode/mcp.json. The command offers multiple authentication options:

Interactive (browser-based, default — no PAT needed):

{
  "servers": {
    "azure-devops": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@azure-devops/mcp", "your-org"]
    }
  }
}

Windows note: If not using VS Code's native MCP provider (which handles this automatically), replace "npx" with "npx.cmd" in the command field.

Bearer token via environment variable (e.g. from ADOExt sign-in session):

{
  "servers": {
    "azure-devops": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@azure-devops/mcp", "your-org", "--authentication", "envvar"],
      "env": {
        "ADO_MCP_AUTH_TOKEN": "${ADO_MCP_AUTH_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

PAT via environment variable:

{
  "servers": {
    "azure-devops": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@azure-devops/mcp", "your-org", "--authentication", "pat"],
      "env": {
        "PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

The official Azure DevOps MCP server provides tools across multiple domains:

• Core — Projects, teams, iterations
• Work Items — Query, create, update work items
• Work — Boards, sprints, backlogs
• Repositories — Repos, pull requests, branches
• Pipelines — Builds, releases
• Wiki — Pages, content
• Search — Code and work item search
• Test Plans — Test suites and results
• Advanced Security — Alerts and scanning

Use the --domains (-d) flag to load only specific domains. See the official toolset docs for the full list.

Development Wrapper

For development/testing purposes, the repository includes a wrapper script that bridges environment variables to the official server CLI:

# Interactive browser-based auth (default, no env vars needed)
npx -y @azure-devops/mcp your-org

# Development wrapper (run from repo after `npm run compile`)
export ADO_ORGANIZATION="your-org"
node out/mcp/main.js                              # interactive (browser)

export ADO_ACCESS_TOKEN="bearer-token-here"       # maps to ADO_MCP_AUTH_TOKEN
node out/mcp/main.js                              # uses --authentication envvar

export AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT="your-pat-here"           # maps to PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN
node out/mcp/main.js                              # uses --authentication pat

Note: The node out/mcp/main.js path is only valid when running from the source repository after compilation. End users should use the npx @azure-devops/mcp configurations above.

Authentication

The MCP server supports multiple authentication methods (checked in order by the wrapper):

1. Interactive (browser) — Default. Opens a browser for Microsoft OAuth sign-in. No environment variables needed.
2. Bearer token (ADO_MCP_AUTH_TOKEN) — Pass a bearer token via the --authentication envvar method. The wrapper maps ADO_ACCESS_TOKEN → ADO_MCP_AUTH_TOKEN.
3. PAT (PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN) — Personal access token for automation scenarios. The wrapper maps AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT → PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN.

The ADOExt: Copy MCP Server Configuration command generates env-var-based configurations that reference ${ADO_MCP_AUTH_TOKEN} or ${PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN} — tokens are never embedded directly in the config file.