Azure DevOps Workflow

Manage your Azure DevOps work items, sprint boards, and task status directly from Visual Studio Code.

Features

• Setup Wizard: Automatically fetches and displays your projects and teams - no manual typing required
• Sprint Board View: View your current sprint in a dedicated panel organized by state
• My Work Items: See all work items assigned to you in a separate view
• Quick Project Switching: Switch between projects instantly with Ctrl+Alt+P
• Quick Open Work Items: Search and open work items with keyboard shortcuts
• AI-Powered Descriptions: Generate work item descriptions using Azure OpenAI (optional)
• Dynamic State Management: State dropdown shows only valid transitions for your workflow
• Smart Filtering: Hide completed/removed items by default (configurable)
• Auto-refresh: Keep your work items up to date automatically
• Status Bar Integration: See current project at a glance

Setup

First Time Setup

1. Install the extension
2. Run the Setup Wizard:
   • Press F1 and type "Azure DevOps: Setup Wizard"
   • Enter your organization name (e.g., "myorg" from dev.azure.com/myorg)
   • Enter your Personal Access Token
   • Select your project from the dropdown (fetched automatically)
   • Select your team (optional)

That's it! No need to manually type project names.

Getting a Personal Access Token

1. Go to Azure DevOps → User Settings → Personal Access Tokens
2. Create a new token with "Work Items (Read & Write)" permissions
3. Copy the token and paste it in the setup wizard

Optional: AI-Powered Descriptions with Azure OpenAI

To enable AI-generated descriptions for work items, you'll need an Azure OpenAI resource:

1. Create Azure OpenAI resource (if you don't have one):

   • Go to Azure Portal → Create Resource → Azure OpenAI
   • Deploy a model (e.g., gpt-4o-mini, gpt-4o)
   • Note your endpoint URL and API key

2. Configure in VS Code:

   • Open Settings (Ctrl+,)
   • Search for "Azure DevOps: Azure OpenAI"
   • Configure:
     • Endpoint: https://your-resource.openai.azure.com
     • API Key: Your Azure OpenAI key
     • Deployment: Your deployment name (e.g., gpt-4o-mini)

Once configured, work items without descriptions will show a "Generate with AI" button.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+Alt+S (Mac: Cmd+Alt+S): Open Sprint Board
• Ctrl+Alt+O (Mac: Cmd+Alt+O): Quick Open Work Item
• Ctrl+Alt+U (Mac: Cmd+Alt+U): Change Work Item Status
• Ctrl+Alt+P (Mac: Cmd+Alt+P): Quick Switch Project

Usage

Viewing Work Items

1. Open the Azure DevOps panel from the Activity Bar
2. View your sprint board organized by state (To Do, In Progress, Done, Removed)
3. View your assigned work items in the "My Work Items" section
4. Click on any work item to view full details in a webview panel

Switching Projects

Press Ctrl+Alt+P to quickly switch between projects:

• Shows your 10 most recently used projects
• One-click switching
• Automatically reloads work items
• Current project shown in status bar

Changing Work Item Status

Two methods:

1. Via webview: Open a work item and use the state dropdown
2. Via command: Press Ctrl+Alt+U and select work item and new state

The state dropdown dynamically shows only valid state transitions for your Azure DevOps workflow configuration.

Generating Descriptions with AI

When viewing a work item without a description:

1. A yellow banner appears: "⚠️ This work item is missing a description. Would you like to generate one with AI?"
2. Click "Generate with AI"
3. Wait 2-3 seconds while AI generates a context-aware description
4. The description is automatically saved to Azure DevOps

What context does AI use?

• Work item title
• Work item type (Task, User Story, Bug, etc.)
• Area path (team/feature context)
• Iteration path (sprint context)
• Tags

Why Azure OpenAI?

• Enterprise-grade security and compliance
• Data stays in your Azure region
• Predictable pricing through Azure subscriptions
• Same models as OpenAI, hosted in Azure

Filtering Work Items

Use the Command Palette:

• "Toggle Show/Hide Completed Items" - Hide/show Done/Closed/Resolved items
• "Toggle Show/Hide Removed Items" - Hide/show Removed/Cut items
• "Clear All Filters" - Show all work items

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

Azure DevOps Settings:

• azureDevOps.organization: Your Azure DevOps organization name
• azureDevOps.pat: Personal Access Token (stored securely)
• azureDevOps.autoRefresh: Enable/disable auto-refresh (default: true)
• azureDevOps.refreshInterval: Refresh interval in seconds (default: 300)
• azureDevOps.hideCompletedItems: Hide completed work items (default: true)
• azureDevOps.hideRemovedItems: Hide removed work items (default: true)
• azureDevOps.showOnlyAssignedToMe: In Sprint Board, show only items assigned to me (default: false)

Azure OpenAI Settings (Optional):

• azureDevOps.azureOpenAiEndpoint: Azure OpenAI endpoint URL (e.g., https://your-resource.openai.azure.com)
• azureDevOps.azureOpenAiKey: Azure OpenAI API key
• azureDevOps.azureOpenAiDeployment: Deployment name (e.g., gpt-4o-mini)

Note: Project and team are managed via the Setup Wizard and Quick Switch, not manually in settings.

Requirements

• Azure DevOps account
• Personal Access Token with Work Items (Read & Write) permissions
• (Optional) Azure OpenAI resource for AI-generated descriptions

Known Issues

None currently. Please report issues on GitHub.

Release Notes

0.0.1

Initial release with:

• Sprint board and My Work Items views
• Setup wizard with automatic project fetching
• Quick project switching
• Dynamic state transitions from Azure DevOps API
• AI-powered description generation using Azure OpenAI (optional)
• Smart filtering for completed and removed items
• Keyboard shortcuts for all major actions
• Auto-refresh functionality