Agent skill

azure-devops

Complete Azure DevOps (ADO) automation — work items, boards, sprints, repos, pull requests, pipelines, builds, artifacts. Use when user mentions ADO, work items, user stories, bugs, sprints, builds, releases, or Azure DevOps URLs.

View SKILL.md on GitHub Repository
Stars 45
Forks 28

Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/rysweet/amplihack/tree/main/amplifier-bundle/skills/azure-devops

SKILL.md

Azure DevOps Skill

Complete Azure DevOps integration covering boards, repositories, pipelines, and artifacts.

Auto-activates when: User mentions Azure DevOps, ADO, work items, boards, repos, pipelines, artifacts, or Azure DevOps URLs.

Purpose

This skill provides comprehensive guidance for Azure DevOps automation through purpose-built Python CLI tools that handle:

Work Items (Boards)

  • Work item creation with HTML-formatted descriptions
  • Work item updates (state, assignments, fields)
  • Work item deletion with confirmation
  • Parent-child relationship linking
  • WIQL query execution
  • Work item type and field discovery

Repositories

  • Repository listing with details
  • Pull request creation with reviewers and work items
  • Branch validation
  • Clone URL access

Pipelines

  • Pipeline listing and execution
  • Build monitoring and logs
  • Deployment management

Artifacts

  • Package feed management
  • Package publishing and downloading
  • Version management

Quick Start

1. Authentication First

ALWAYS start by checking authentication:

bash
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/auth_check.py --auto-fix

This verifies Azure CLI is installed, you're logged in, org/project are configured, and you have access.

See: [@authentication.md]

2. Common Operations

Create Work Item

bash
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_work_item.py \
  --type "User Story" \
  --title "Implement feature" \
  --description @story.md

Query Work Items

bash
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/list_work_items.py --query mine

Create Pull Request

bash
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_pr.py \
  --source feature/branch \
  --target main \
  --title "Add feature"

Progressive Loading References

For detailed guidance on specific operations, see:

  • [@authentication.md] - Authentication methods (PAT, OAuth, environment variables)
  • [@work-items.md] - Work item CRUD operations, field updates, state transitions
  • [@queries.md] - WIQL query patterns, filtering, sorting
  • [@html-formatting.md] - HTML formatting in work item descriptions/comments
  • [@repos.md] - Repository operations, pull request workflows
  • [@pipelines.md] - Pipeline triggers, build monitoring, deployment
  • [@artifacts.md] - Package management, artifact publishing
  • [@HOW_TO_CREATE_YOUR_OWN.md] - Template for creating similar integration tools

Available Tools

Tool Purpose When to Use
auth_check.py Verify authentication Before any operations
create_work_item.py Create work items Add User Stories, Tasks, Bugs, etc.
update_work_item.py Update work items Change state, assignee, fields
delete_work_item.py Delete work items Remove work items (with confirmation)
get_work_item.py Get work item details View complete work item info
list_work_items.py Query work items Find, filter, and list work items
link_parent.py Link parent-child Create Epic → Feature → Story hierarchies
query_wiql.py Execute WIQL queries Complex filtering with WIQL
format_html.py Convert to HTML Format rich descriptions
list_types.py Discover types/fields Explore available options
list_repos.py List repositories View all repositories in project
create_pr.py Create pull request Submit code for review

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Create Work Item with Parent

bash
# Create parent work item
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_work_item.py \
  --type "Epic" \
  --title "Q1 Planning Initiative" \
  --description @epic_desc.md

# Output: Created work item #12345

# Create child and link to parent
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_work_item.py \
  --type "Feature" \
  --title "Authentication System" \
  --description @feature_desc.md \
  --parent-id 12345

# Output: Created work item #12346 and linked to parent #12345

Pattern 2: Query and Update Work Items

bash
# Find your active work items
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/list_work_items.py \
  --query mine \
  --format ids-only

# Update work item state
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/update_work_item.py \
  --id 12345 \
  --state "Active" \
  --comment "Starting work on this"

Pattern 3: Feature Branch to Pull Request

bash
# List repositories
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/list_repos.py

# Create pull request
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_pr.py \
  --source feature/auth \
  --target main \
  --title "Add authentication" \
  --description @pr_desc.md \
  --reviewers "user1@domain.com,user2@domain.com" \
  --work-items "12345,12346"

Pattern 4: Discover Available Types

bash
# List all work item types in your project
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/list_types.py

# Show fields for specific type
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/list_types.py \
  --type "User Story" \
  --fields

Critical Learnings

HTML Formatting Required

Azure DevOps work item descriptions use HTML, not Markdown or plain text.

The tools handle this automatically:

  • create_work_item.py converts markdown to HTML by default
  • Use --no-html to disable conversion
  • Or use format_html.py directly for custom formatting

See: [@html-formatting.md]

Two-Step Parent Linking

You cannot specify a parent during work item creation via CLI (Azure limitation).

The tools provide two approaches:

Option A: Use --parent-id flag (recommended):

bash
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_work_item.py \
  --type "Task" \
  --title "My Task" \
  --parent-id 12345

Option B: Link separately:

bash
# Step 1: Create
TASK_ID=$(python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_work_item.py \
  --type "Task" \
  --title "My Task" \
  --json | jq -r '.id')

# Step 2: Link
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/link_parent.py \
  --child $TASK_ID \
  --parent 12345

Area Path and Work Item Types

  • Area path format: ProjectName\TeamName\SubArea
  • Work item types vary by project (standard + custom types)
  • Use list_types.py to discover what's available in your project

Error Recovery

Error Tool to Use Example
Authentication failed auth_check.py --auto-fix Auto-login and configure
Invalid work item type list_types.py See available types
Field validation error list_types.py --type "Type" --fields See valid fields
Parent link failed Check IDs exist, verify hierarchy rules Epic → Feature → Story → Task
Branch does not exist Verify with git branch -a Push branch first

Tool Implementation

All tools are in ~/.amplihack/.claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/:

  • Standalone Python programs (can run independently)
  • Importable modules (can use in other scripts)
  • Comprehensive error handling
  • Tests in tests/ directory

See: Tool README

Philosophy

These tools follow amplihack principles:

  • Ruthless Simplicity: Each tool does one thing well
  • Zero-BS: Every function works, no stubs or TODOs
  • Reusable: Importable and composable
  • Fail-Fast: Clear errors with actionable guidance
  • Self-Contained: Standard library + azure CLI wrapper only

Quick Reference

bash
# Setup (first time)
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/auth_check.py --auto-fix

# Create work item
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_work_item.py \
  --type "User Story" \
  --title "Title" \
  --description @desc.md

# Update work item
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/update_work_item.py \
  --id 12345 \
  --state "Active"

# Query work items
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/list_work_items.py --query mine

# Create pull request
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/create_pr.py \
  --source feature/branch \
  --target main \
  --title "Add feature"

# Discover types
python .claude/scenarios/az-devops-tools/list_types.py

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