Azure DevOps MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates Azure DevOps with GitHub Copilot Chat, allowing you to query work items naturally through conversation

🚀 What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that connects AI assistants like GitHub Copilot to external data sources. This tool implements an MCP server that:

🔌 Connects GitHub Copilot to your Azure DevOps project
💬 Enables natural language queries - just ask Copilot about your tickets
⚡ Provides instant responses from cached data
🔒 Keeps your data local - no third-party services involved

Instead of switching between VS Code and Azure DevOps web portal, you can ask Copilot directly:

"Show my sprint tickets"
"Summarize ticket 13080"
"What tickets are in ACC?"

🎯 What This Does

This tool helps you:

Instantly view all User Stories where you have verification tasks assigned
Query cached data without API rate limits or permission prompts
Summarize tickets with full details including comments and descriptions
Track your sprint work efficiently
Stay in your IDE - no context switching needed

✨ Key Features

🔌 MCP Protocol Implementation - Native integration with GitHub Copilot via Model Context Protocol
🚀 Cache-based queries - Instant responses from local cache
🔍 Smart filtering - Automatically finds User Stories with your query
💬 Full ticket details - Descriptions, comments, state, assignees, tags
📊 Sprint tracking - Focused on current sprint items only
🤖 Natural language interface - Ask Copilot in plain English, no special syntax needed

🛠️ Setup

1. Prerequisites

Node.js installed
Azure DevOps personal access token

2. Configuration

Create a .env file with your credentials:

AZURE_DEVOPS_ORG_URL=https://your-org.visualstudio.com
AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN=your-personal-access-token
AZURE_DEVOPS_PROJECT=your-project-name
AZURE_DEVOPS_USER_EMAIL=your.email@company.com

3. Install Dependencies

npm install
npm run build

📖 How to Use

Step 1: Refresh Cache (Once per day or when needed)

npm run refresh

This fetches all User Stories from the current sprint where you have a "Verify" task assigned. Takes ~10-30 seconds depending on the number of stories.

Output example:

Found 12 user stories with your verify tasks
✓ Cache updated successfully!
  Work items: 12
  Last updated: 2025-11-17T07:33:36.435Z

Step 2: Query Your Tickets (Instant, no prompts!)

After caching, you can query instantly using GitHub Copilot Chat in VS Code:

In Copilot Chat, ask:

show all my sprint user stories
summarize ticket 13080
show all tickets in status "In ACC"
show tickets with tag "HIGHPRIO"

Or use the CLI:

# List all your verify stories
node cli.js my-verify

# Get details of a specific ticket
node cli.js item 13080

# Query cached data
npm run query

Query Cache Commands

npm run query

Available commands:

list - List all cached user stories
item <id> - Show details for a specific ticket
by-state <state> - Filter by state (Active, "In ACC", New, etc.)
info - Show cache information

🎨 MCP Server Integration with GitHub Copilot

What Makes This Special?

This tool implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which means:

🔌 Direct Integration - Copilot can access your Azure DevOps data as if it's a native feature
💬 Natural Conversation - No special commands or syntax needed
⚡ Real-time Context - Copilot knows about your tickets while you code
🔒 Secure & Local - Your data stays on your machine, accessed via your personal token

How It Works

┌─────────────────┐
│  GitHub Copilot │  "Show my sprint tickets"
│   in VS Code    │
└────────┬────────┘
         │ MCP Protocol
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│   MCP Server    │  Queries local cache
│   (This Tool)   │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  Cached Data    │  Your sprint tickets
│  work-items.json│  (refreshed from Azure DevOps)
└─────────────────┘


### MCP Configuration

The MCP server is configured in `.vscode/settings.json`:

```json
{
  "github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions": [
    {
      "file": "azure-devops-mcp-server"
    }
  ],
  "mcp.servers": {
    "azure-devops": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/index.js"],
      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/azure-devops-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

This tells VS Code to run the MCP server when Copilot needs Azure DevOps data.

📁 Project Structure

azure-devops-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── azure-devops-client.ts    # Azure DevOps API client
│   └── index.ts                  # MCP server implementation
├── cache/
│   └── work-items.json           # Cached sprint data
├── cli.js                        # Command-line interface
├── refresh-cache.js              # Cache refresh script
├── query-cache.js               # Cache query script
├── .env                          # Your credentials (gitignored)
└── package.json                  # Project configuration

🔄 Typical Workflow

Morning: Run npm run refresh to get today's sprint data
During work: Ask Copilot about tickets - instant responses from cache
Need updates? Run npm run refresh again

🎯 Why This Matters

Before this tool:

Every query required clicking "Allow" button
Interrupts your flow
Slow responses

With this tool:

Cache once, query unlimited times
No permission prompts
Instant responses in Copilot Chat

🚀 Quick Start for Team Members

Clone/copy this folder to your machine
Create .env file with your Azure DevOps credentials
Install dependencies: npm install && npm run build
Refresh cache: npm run refresh
Configure VS Code to enable MCP server (see MCP Configuration above)
Start chatting with Copilot about your tickets!

💡 Pro Tip: Once the MCP server is running, Copilot becomes your Azure DevOps assistant. Just ask questions naturally!

💡 Tips

Refresh cache at the start of your workday
Cache includes all comments and descriptions
Works offline once cached
Cache file is human-readable JSON (check cache/work-items.json)

🔧 Troubleshooting

"Error: azureClient.getUserStoriesWithMyVerifyTasks is not a function"

Run npm run build to recompile TypeScript

"Found 0 user stories"

Check your email in .env matches Azure DevOps
Verify you have "Verify" tasks assigned in current sprint

Cache is outdated

Run npm run refresh to update

📝 License

ISC