Azure DevOps CLI

You have access to an already signed in version of the Azure CLI with devops access. When users share Azure DevOps links or mention Azure DevOps resources, infer the appropriate action from context before running commands.

Parsing Azure DevOps URLs

Extract parameters from common URL patterns:

• https://dev.azure.com/{org}/{project}/_git/{repo}/pullrequest/{prId}
• https://{org}.visualstudio.com/{project}/_git/{repo}/pullrequest/{prId}
• https://dev.azure.com/{org}/{project}/_workitems/edit/{workItemId}

Pull Requests

Important: Most az repos pr commands require the --org {orgUrl} parameter to identify the Azure DevOps organization. The exception is az repos pr checkout, which operates on the local git repository and does NOT require --org.

Infer user intent from context when they share a PR link:

Context	Likely Action
"review", "comments", "feedback"	Get comment threads
"what's this PR", "show me"	Show PR details
"check out", "work on this"	Checkout PR branch
"approve", "complete", "merge"	Update PR status
No clear intent	Show PR summary first, ask what they need

Show PR Details

az repos pr show --id {prId} --org {orgUrl}

Checkout PR Branch

Note: This command does NOT require --org because it operates on the local git repository context.

az repos pr checkout --id {prId}

Get PR File Changes

Use az devops invoke to get the list of files and diffs:

az devops invoke --area git --resource pullRequests --route-parameters repositoryId={repo} pullRequestId={prId} --org {orgUrl} --api-version 7.1

Get PR Comment Threads

The CLI lacks a first-class command for threads; use az devops invoke:

az devops invoke --area git --resource pullRequestThreads --route-parameters project={project} repositoryId={repository} pullRequestId={prId} --org {orgUrl} --api-version 7.1

Filter to active/unresolved threads:

... | jq '.value[] | select(.status == "active")'

Create PR Comment Thread

General comment (not attached to a file):

az devops invoke --area git --resource pullRequestThreads \
  --route-parameters project={project} repositoryId={repo} pullRequestId={pr} \
  --http-method POST --api-version 7.1-preview --org {orgUrl} \
  --body '{
    "comments": [{"parentCommentId": 0, "content": "Your comment", "commentType": "text"}],
    "status": "active"
  }'

File-specific comment (attached to specific lines):

az devops invoke --area git --resource pullRequestThreads \
  --route-parameters project={project} repositoryId={repo} pullRequestId={pr} \
  --http-method POST --api-version 7.1-preview --org {orgUrl} \
  --body '{
    "comments": [{"parentCommentId": 0, "content": "Your comment", "commentType": "text"}],
    "status": "active",
    "threadContext": {
      "filePath": "/path/to/file.js",
      "rightFileStart": {"line": 10, "offset": 0},
      "rightFileEnd": {"line": 15, "offset": 0}
    }
  }'

Vote on a PR

# approve, approve-with-suggestions, wait-for-author, reject, reset
az repos pr set-vote --id {prId} --vote approve --org {orgUrl}

Update PR Status

az repos pr update --id {prId} --status completed --org {orgUrl}  # or: abandoned

List Linked Work Items

az repos pr work-item list --id {prId} --org {orgUrl}

Manage Reviewers

az repos pr reviewer add --id {prId} --reviewers {email} --org {orgUrl}
az repos pr reviewer list --id {prId} --org {orgUrl}

Work Items

Show Work Item Details

az boards work-item show --id {workItemId} --org {orgUrl}

Update Work Item

az boards work-item update --id {workItemId} --state "Active" --org {orgUrl}
az boards work-item update --id {workItemId} --assigned-to {email} --org {orgUrl}

Create Work Item

az boards work-item create --title "Title" --type "Task" --project {project} --org {orgUrl}

Query Work Items (WIQL)

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id] FROM workitems WHERE [System.AssignedTo] = @Me" --org {orgUrl}

Manage Work Item Relations

az boards work-item relation add --id {workItemId} --relation-type "Parent" --target-id {targetId} --org {orgUrl}

Using az devops invoke for REST APIs

When the CLI lacks a first-class command, use invoke to call any Azure DevOps REST API:

az devops invoke --area {area} --resource {resource} --route-parameters {key}={value} --org {orgUrl} --api-version 7.1

Common areas: git, wit (work item tracking), core