Azure DevOps Sync Skill

Purpose: Seamlessly sync SpecWeave increments with Azure DevOps work items for unified project tracking.

Default Behavior: Bidirectional (two-way) sync - Changes in either system are automatically synchronized

⚠️ IMPORTANT: This skill provides HELP and GUIDANCE about Azure DevOps sync. For actual syncing, users should use the

/sw-ado:sync

command directly. This skill should NOT auto-activate when the command is being invoked.

Capabilities:

• Bidirectional sync: SpecWeave ↔ ADO (default)
• Create ADO work items from increments
• Sync task progress → ADO comments
• Update increment status ← ADO state changes
• Pull ADO comments and field updates → SpecWeave
• Close work items when increments complete
• Support for Epics, Features, User Stories

---

When This Skill Activates

✅ Do activate when:

• User asks: "How do I set up Azure DevOps sync?"
• User asks: "What ADO credentials do I need?"
• User asks: "How does ADO integration work?"
• User needs help configuring Azure DevOps integration

❌ Do NOT activate when:

• User invokes

  /sw-ado:sync

  command (command handles it)
• Command is already running (avoid duplicate invocation)
• Task completion hook is syncing (automatic process)
• "Close ADO work item when done"

---

Prerequisites

1. ADO Plugin Installed

# Check if installed
/plugin list --installed | grep sw-ado

# Install if needed
/plugin install sw-ado@specweave

2. Azure DevOps Personal Access Token (PAT)

Create PAT:

1. Go to https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/_usersSettings/tokens
2. Click "New Token"
3. Name: "SpecWeave Sync"
4. Scopes: Work Items (Read & Write), Comments (Read & Write)
5. Copy token → Set environment variable

Set Token:

export AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT="your-token-here"

3. ADO Configuration

Add to

.specweave/config.json

:

{
  "externalPM": {
    "tool": "ado",
    "enabled": true,
    "config": {
      "organization": "myorg",
      "project": "MyProject",
      "workItemType": "Epic",
      "areaPath": "MyProject\\Team A",
      "syncOnTaskComplete": true
    }
  }
}

---

Commands Available

/sw-ado:create-workitem <increment-id>

Purpose: Create ADO work item from increment

Example:

/sw-ado:create-workitem 0005

Result:

• Creates Epic/Feature/User Story in ADO
• Links work item to increment (metadata)
• Adds initial comment with spec summary
• Sets tags:

  specweave

  ,

  increment-0005

---

/sw-ado:sync <increment-id>

Purpose: Sync increment progress with ADO work item

Example:

/sw-ado:sync 0005

Result:

• Calculates task completion (%)
• Updates work item description
• Adds comment with progress update
• Updates state (New → Active → Resolved)

---

/sw-ado:close-workitem <increment-id>

Purpose: Close ADO work item when increment complete

Example:

/sw-ado:close-workitem 0005

Result:

• Updates work item state → Closed
• Adds completion comment with summary
• Marks work item as resolved

---

/sw-ado:status <increment-id>

Purpose: Check ADO sync status for increment

Example:

/sw-ado:status 0005

Result:

ADO Sync Status
===============
Increment: 0005-payment-integration
Work Item: #12345
URL: https://dev.azure.com/myorg/MyProject/_workitems/edit/12345
State: Active
Completion: 60% (6/10 tasks)
Last Synced: 2025-11-04 10:30:00
Sync Enabled: ✅

---

Automatic Sync

When Task Completes

Trigger: Post-task-completion hook fires

Flow:

1. User marks task complete:

   [x] T-005: Add payment tests

2. Hook detects ADO sync enabled
3. Calculate new completion %
4. Update ADO work item comment:

   ## Progress Update
   
   **Increment**: 0005-payment-integration
   **Status**: 60% complete (6/10 tasks)
   
   ### Recently Completed
   - [x] T-005: Add payment tests
   
   ### Remaining
   - [ ] T-007: Add refund functionality
   - [ ] T-008: Implement subscriptions
   - [ ] T-009: Add analytics
   - [ ] T-010: Security audit
   
   ---
   🤖 Auto-updated by SpecWeave
   

When Increment Completes

Trigger:

/sw:done

command

Flow:

1. User runs

   /sw:done 0005

2. Validate all tasks complete
3. Close ADO work item automatically
4. Add completion comment with summary

---

Work Item Types

Epic (Recommended)

Use When: Large feature spanning multiple sprints

Mapping:

• SpecWeave increment → ADO Epic
• Tasks → Epic description (checklist)
• Progress → Epic comments

---

Feature

Use When: Medium-sized feature within a sprint

Mapping:

• SpecWeave increment → ADO Feature
• Tasks → Feature description (checklist)
• Progress → Feature comments

---

User Story

Use When: Small, single-sprint work

Mapping:

• SpecWeave increment → ADO User Story
• Tasks → User Story description (checklist)
• Progress → User Story comments

---

Bidirectional Sync (Optional)

Enable: Set

bidirectional: true

in config

Flow: ADO → SpecWeave

1. User updates work item state in ADO (Active → Resolved)
2. SpecWeave detects change (polling or webhook)
3. Updates increment status locally
4. Notifies user: "Work item #12345 resolved → Increment 0005 marked complete"

Note: Bidirectional sync requires webhook or polling setup

---

Configuration Options

.specweave/config.json

:

{
  "externalPM": {
    "tool": "ado",
    "enabled": true,
    "config": {
      "organization": "myorg",
      "project": "MyProject",
      "personalAccessToken": "${AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT}",
      "workItemType": "Epic",
      "areaPath": "MyProject\\Team A",
      "iterationPath": "MyProject\\Sprint 1",
      "syncOnTaskComplete": true,
      "syncOnIncrementComplete": true,
      "createWorkItemsAutomatically": true,
      "bidirectional": false,
      "tags": ["specweave", "increment"],
      "customFields": {
        "incrementId": "Custom.IncrementId"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Troubleshooting

Error: "Personal Access Token invalid"

Solution:

1. Verify token is set:

   echo $AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT

2. Check token scopes: Work Items (Read & Write)
3. Ensure token not expired
4. Regenerate token if needed

---

Error: "Work item not found"

Solution:

1. Check work item ID is correct
2. Verify you have access to the project
3. Ensure work item not deleted

---

Error: "Organization or project not found"

Solution:

1. Verify organization name: https://dev.azure.com/{organization}
2. Check project name (case-sensitive)
3. Ensure you have access to the project

---

API Rate Limits

Azure DevOps:

• Rate limit: 200 requests per minute per PAT
• Burst limit: 5000 requests per hour
• Recommendation: Enable rate limiting in config

Config:

{
  "externalPM": {
    "config": {
      "rateLimiting": {
        "enabled": true,
        "maxRequestsPerMinute": 150
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Security Best Practices

DO:

• ✅ Store PAT in environment variable (

  AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT

  )
• ✅ Use

  .env

  file (gitignored)
• ✅ Set minimum required scopes
• ✅ Rotate PAT every 90 days

DON'T:

• ❌ Commit PAT to git
• ❌ Share PAT via Slack/email
• ❌ Use PAT with excessive permissions
• ❌ Log PAT to console/files

---

Related Commands

• /sw:inc

  - Create increment (auto-creates ADO work item if enabled)

• /sw:do

  - Execute tasks (auto-syncs progress to ADO)

• /sw:done

  - Complete increment (auto-closes ADO work item)

• /sw:status

  - Show increment status (includes ADO sync status)

---

Examples

Example 1: Create Increment with ADO Sync

# User
"Create increment for payment integration"

# SpecWeave (if ADO enabled)
1. PM agent generates spec.md
2. Auto-create ADO Epic #12345
3. Link Epic to increment metadata
4. Display: "Created increment 0005 → ADO Epic #12345"

Example 2: Manual Sync

# User completed 3 tasks manually
# Now sync to ADO

/sw-ado:sync 0005

# Result: ADO Epic #12345 updated with 30% progress

Example 3: Check Sync Status

/sw-ado:status 0005

# Output:
# Work Item: #12345
# URL: https://dev.azure.com/myorg/MyProject/_workitems/edit/12345
# State: Active
# Completion: 60%
# Last Synced: 5 minutes ago

---

Status: Ready to use Version: 0.1.0 Plugin: specweave-ado