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:

1. 🔌 Direct Integration - Copilot can access your Azure DevOps data as if it's a native feature
2. 💬 Natural Conversation - No special commands or syntax needed
3. ⚡ Real-time Context - Copilot knows about your tickets while you code
4. 🔒 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

1. Morning: Run npm run refresh to get today's sprint data
2. During work: Ask Copilot about tickets - instant responses from cache
3. 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

1. Clone/copy this folder to your machine
2. Create .env file with your Azure DevOps credentials
3. Install dependencies: npm install && npm run build
4. Refresh cache: npm run refresh
5. Configure VS Code to enable MCP server (see MCP Configuration above)
6. 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