Azure DevOps plugin

Monitor the Builds and Releases from your Azure DevOps Server or Azure DevOps Services (Cloud) environment.

For more information about what this plugin does and the data streams it retrieves, see:

The Azure DevOps plugin is a "hybrid" plugin, meaning it is available in SquaredUp as both a cloud and an on-prem plugin. Which plugin you use depends on whether or not your Azure DevOps instance is publicly accessible, rather then whether you're using Azure DevOps Server or Azure DevOps Services (also known as, Azure DevOps Cloud).

Use the cloud plugin if your Azure DevOps instance is publicly accessible. You do not need to configure a relay agent.
Use the on-prem plugin to access a Azure DevOps instance that is behind a company network. The on-prem plugin uses a relay agent, meaning you don't need to open up your firewall.
An on-prem data source uses a relay agent to connect SquaredUp to a data source running on your internal network.
A relay agent is installed on a server on your internal network, and has access to your data source.
Using a relay agent means that you don't need to open your firewall to allow access.

To add a data source click on the + next to Data Sources on the left-hand menu in SquaredUp. Search for the data source and click on it to open the Configure data source page.

Before you start

The Azure DevOps plugin supports two authentication methods, Microsoft Entra ID and Personal Access Token (PAT).

Microsoft Entra ID (available for Azure DevOps Cloud only): This method allows the data source instance to access Azure DevOps using a user account. It provides less granular control over permissions, which is not ideal from a "least privilege" perspective, but can be useful when experimenting with the data source in non-production environments.
For this feature to work, you must ensure that your Azure DevOps organization is connected on the Microsoft Entra tab of the Azure DevOps Settings page - https://dev.azure.com/{Your_Organization}/_settings/organizationAad.
Personal Access Token (PAT) (available for Azure DevOps Cloud and Azure DevOps Server): This method is recommended for production environments, as it allows you to create a token with granular permissions.

If you are using Microsoft Entra ID instead of a PAT, you can skip the section below and proceed to the Configuring the Data Source section.

Generating a personal access token

Follow the steps below to generate a personal access token (PAT). For additional information, please refer to the Azure DevOps Documentation.

Sign in to your Azure DevOps instance.
From your home page, open user settings and select Personal access tokens or Security.
Select + New Token.
Name your token, select the organization where you want to use the token, and then set your token to automatically expire after a set number of days.

Select the scopes for this token to authorize. You can select Show all scopes to view all scopes.

Permission	Usage
Projects and Teams (Mandatory)	Import: Projects
Agent Pools	Import: Pools Queues Agents.
Analytics	Used to make an organization wide analytics query.
Build	Import: Build Pipelines Build Folder
Code	Import: Repos Repo folder Branch
Deployment Groups	Import: Deployment Groups
Environments	Import: Environments
Packaging	Import: Artifact Package Artifact Feed
Release	Import: Release Release Folder
Task Groups	Import: Task Groups
Work Items	Import: Queries

Select Create.
Your token is now displayed, select Copy and store the token securely. You will need this when configuring the data source in SquaredUp.

Configuring and deploying an agent

For an on-prem plugin you will need a relay agent that can access the server hosting your on-prem data source. You do not need a relay agent for cloud plugins.

If you have already created a relay agent in SquaredUp that can access this data source, then you can skip this step and choose the agent group you want to use while Configuring the data source.

You can install an agent on either Windows or Linux:

Configuring the data source

Display name:
Enter a name for your data source. This helps you to identify this data source in the list of your data sources.
Agent group:
Select the Agent Group that contains the agent(s) you want to use.
Product:
Choose your Azure DevOps instance hosting location:
- Select Azure DevOps Cloud for the Microsoft-hosted version.
- Select Azure DevOps Server if you're using an on-prem Azure DevOps instance.
For Azure DevOps Cloud:
- Organization name:
  Enter the name of the Azure DevOps organization you want to use for this data source.
- Authentication type:
  For Azure DevOps Cloud you have a choice of Microsoft Entra ID or the personal access token.
  - Microsoft Entra ID:
    Click the Sign in with Microsoft button and you can choose to login as administrator of the target tenant or a non-administrator. See Microsoft: Manage consent to applications and evaluate consent requests.
  - Personal access token:
    Enter the Azure DevOps Personal Access token generated in Generating a Personal Access Token section.
For Azure DevOps Server:
- Base URL:
  Enter the base URL that your server can be reached on (e.g. https://server.company.tld/)
- Collection Name:
  Enter the name of the Azure DevOps Server collection.
- Personal access token:
  Enter the Azure DevOps Personal Access token generated in Generating a Personal Access Token section.
(Optional) Restrict access to this data source:
You can enable this option if you only want certain users or groups to have access to the data source, or the permission to link it to new workspaces. See data source access control for more information.
Install dashboards:
Select whether you would like to install pre-built dashboards and perspectives with the data source. By default, this is set to on.
Click Test and add to validate the data source configuration. SquaredUp will now attempt to connect to SquaredUp using the provided authentication method.
- Testing passed – a success message will be displayed and then the configuration will be saved.
- Testing passed with warnings – warnings will be listed and potential fixes suggested. You can still use the data source with warnings. Select Save with warnings if you believe that you can still use the data source as required with the warnings listed. Alternatively, address the issues listed and then select Rerun tests to validate the data source configuration again. If the validation now passes, click Save.
- Testing Failed – errors will be listed and potential fixes suggested. You cannot use the data source with errors. You are able to select Save with errors if you believe that a system outside of SquaredUp is causing the error that you need to fix. Alternatively, address the issues listed and then select Rerun tests to validate the data source configuration again. If the validation now passes, click Save.
You can edit any data source configurations at any time from Settings > Data Sources.

Testing and troubleshooting

When the data source is added or edited, SquaredUp validates your selected authentication method against the provided organization to ensure that you have access. If you are using a Personal Access Token, it will also check its validity.

The errors or warnings listed below may be displayed while using the Azure DevOps data source. If you encounter an error, please refer to the guidance provided below or contact [email protected] for assistance.

Error	What to do
`Unable to retrieve projects. Check personal access token.`	Azure DevOps doesn’t provide an endpoint to verify the token; therefore, SquaredUp attempts to list projects in the provided organization using the chosen authentication method. If you encounter this error, ensure that the Organization Name is valid and that the provided authentication method has at least Project view permission.
`Unable to access global analytics. You may not be able to use analytics based data streams until you grant analytics permissions.`	This warning is displayed if SquaredUp encounters an error while trying to access the analytics endpoint. Unless you do not plan to use analytics-based data streams, you must provide Read access to `Analytics`. Please check that the user has `Analytics` read permission. If you are using a Personal Access Token (PAT), ensure that it has read access for `Analytics`.
`WARNING: No permissions to import ‘Type’ (e.g. Build Folders, Builds/ Release Folders/ Releases/ Environment/ Task Groups, Deployment Groups/ Repositories/ Feeds/ Queries’`	This warning is displayed if SquaredUp encounters an error while indexing the displayed type from your Azure DevOps organization. This likely indicates a permission error. Confirm that the token or the user has at least read permission for the displayed type in the warning. If you do not plan to use data streams for that type, you can ignore the warning.

Next Steps

Now that you have successfully added the data source, you can browse the dashboards, view all available data streams, or explore any indexed objects.

Dashboards

When configuring the Azure DevOps data source, you have the option to install pre-built dashboards. This option is recommended as these dashboards provide a great starting point.

The following dashboards are included with the Azure DevOps data source:

Pipeline: Dev Team Dashboards
Displays key metrics for the selected pipeline, such as Build Status (Failures, Total Runs, Run Duration), Task Failures, and Test Statistics.
Pipeline: Performance metrics
Provides an in-depth analysis of the selected pipeline to understand various trends such as Run Duration, Build Success Rate, Automated Test Run Duration Trend, Agent Usage, and more.
Pipeline: Test metrics
Provides an in-depth analysis of the selected pipeline to understand testing trends such as Test Results and Test duration.
Pipeline: Release & Deployment
Displays key release and deployment metrics for the selected release pipeline, such as a list of releases and deployments, release and deployment frequencies, and the latest releases and deployments.
Boards: Work Items
Displays a summary of work items for the selected project, such as Bugs and Epic statistics, and a summary of your current sprint.
Repos: PRs and Branch State
Displays metrics for the selected repository, such as PR statistics (recent PRs, open PRs, PRs by author, and more), branch state, and latest commits.
DORA: DORA metrics for DevOps
Displays various DORA metrics for DevOps including Deployment Frequency, Lead Time, Change Failure Rate and Mean Time to Recover.

Objects Indexed

SquaredUp indexes various types of objects from your Azure DevOps organization. These objects are used to build dashboards and are visible when searching across SquaredUp. Drilling down into an object will provide useful metrics and properties.

Objects	Properties
Project	Default Team Revision Visibility Description Name Links
Build Folder	Name Links Created By Created On Path Project Name
Build Pipeline	Authored By Created Data Build Id Path Quality Queue Status Project Name Pool Id Queue Id Name Links
Release Folder	Description Created On Created By Path Project Name Name and Links
Release Pipeline	Description Created On Created By Path Project Name Name Links Release Id Release Name Format and Source
Environment	Description Created By Project Name Name Links Created Date and Environment Id
Task Group	Authored By Created Date Task Group Id Runs On Category Tasks Revision Description Project Name Name and Links
Branch	Project Name Name, Links Source Ref Name Branch Id Project Id Repository Name Repo Id
Repo Folder	Project Name Name Links Source Item Path Folder Id Project Id Branch Name Repository Name Repo Id
Artifact Feed	Description Project Name Name, Links Feed Id Feed Project Id Feed Scope Capabilities Hide Delete Package Versions
Artifact Package	Name Links Artifact Id Protocol Type Feed Name Feed Id Feed Scope Feed Project Id
Query	Project Name Name Links Created By Query Id Path Query Type WIQL Is Public
Deployment Group	Project Name Name, Links Deployment Group Id Machine Count Pool Id Pool Name
Repo	Project Name Name Links Repo Id Remote URL SSH URL Default Branch Is Disabled
Environment Resource	Project Name Name Environment Id Environment Resource Id Tag(s)
Agent	Pool Id Max Parallelism Created On Version
Agent Pool	Created On Auto Provision Auto Update Auto Size Target Size Agent Cloud Id Created By Owner Scope Is Hosted Pool 'type Is Legacy Options
Pool Queue	Project Id Project Name Pool Id Pool Name Is Hosted Is Legacy Options Pool Type Scope

Data streams

You can use these data streams to create new tiles to show data, or if there are preconfigured dashboards installed you can copy or edit those.

Data streams standardize data from all the different shapes and formats your tools use into a straightforward tabular format.

While creating a tile you can tweak data streams by grouping or aggregating specific columns.

Depending on the kind of data, SquaredUp will automatically suggest how to visualize the result, for example as a table or line graph.

Data streams can be either global or scoped:

Global data streams are unscoped and return information of a general nature (e.g. "Get the current number of unused hosts").
A scoped data stream gets information relevant to the specific set objects supplied in the tile scope (e.g. "Get the current session count for these hosts").

See Data Streams for more information.

The following data streams are installed with this plugin.

Data stream	Description
Agents	Gets individual agents or agents from a pool. Can be scoped to pools or agents.
Agent Runs	Returns agent run data for the selected project(s).
Agent Usage	Returns agent usage in the specified build folder(s), build pipeline(s) and/or Project(s).
Artifact Package Versions	Returns published version(s) of the selected Artifact Package(s).
Artifact Packages	Returns package(s) for the selected Artifact Feed(s).
Branch Status	Returns branch status for the selected branch(es) or for all branch(es) in the selected repo(s).
Branch Durations	Returns build duration for the selected pipeline(s) and/or for all build pipeline(s) in the selected build folder(s) and/or project(s).
Build Failures	Returns build failure(s) for the selected pipeline(s) and/or for all build pipeline(s) in the selected build folder(s) and/or project(s).
Build Runs with Stages	Returns build run(s) with stages for the selected multistage build pipeline(s)
Build in Progress	Returns build(s) in progress for the selected pipeline(s) and/or for all build pipeline(s) in the selected build folder(s) and/or project(s).
Deployment Pools	Returns deployment pool(s) in your organization.
Deployment Targets	Returns deployment target(s) for the selected deployment group(s).
Deployments	Returns a list of deployments for a release.
Environment Deployment Build Runs	Returns build run(s) for the selected environment(s).
Environment Deployment Records	Returns deployment record(s) for the selected environment(s).
Job Queues	Returns agent queues data for the selected build folder(s), build pipeline(s), and/or project(s).
Query Work Items	Returns work items based on the selected query(s) saved in Azure DevOps Queries.
Task Failures	Returns task(s) that have failed in builds for the selected build pipeline(s), build folder(s), and/or projects.
Task Group Contents	Returns task(s) for the selected Task Group(s).
Task Group References	Returns task references, showing where the tasks are used in build or release pipeline(s), for the selected task group(s).
Task Group Revisions	Returns task group revision(s), showing when they were changed, for the selected task group(s).

Configurable data streams

The following data streams installed with this plugin have configurable Parameters.

Data stream	Description	Parameters
Active Pull Requests	Returns pull request(s) for the selected branch(s) or repo(s).	Use tile timeframe: Limits pull requests to the tile timeframe. Top: Limits the number of pull requests based on the specified number. Creator: Limits pull request(s) to those created by the specified creator. Reviewer: Limits pull requests to those reviewed or reviewing by the specified reviewer. Tag(s): Limits pull requests to those with the specified tag(s).
Agent Pool Consumption	Returns agent pool consumption for the selected project(s).	Optionally, OData Query Parameters and Filter Expressions can be used to get data based on your requirements. For example: OData Query Parameter: `{ "$apply": "filter(IsRunning eq true AND IsHosted eq true)", "$orderby": "SamplingTime asc" }` JSON Filter Expression: `{ "and": [ { "IsRunning": true }, { "IsHosted": true } ] }`
Agent Pool Consumption (Microsoft-Hosted)	Gets analytics reports for a hosted agent pool	Report: Select how to display the results. Choose from: Private: Show the usage alongside the concurrency. Agent: Shows the usage within your project.
Agent Pool Consumption (Self-Hosted)	Gets analytics reports for a self-hosted agent pool.	Report: Select how to display the results. Choose from: Private: Show the usage alongside the concurrency. Agent: Shows the usage within your project.
Agent Pool Diagnostic Logs	Gets diagnostic logs for your elastic agent pools	Log level: Select specific logs levels to return (Error, Warning, Info). Operation: Choose specific operation types to return.
All Pull Requests	Returns all pull request(s) associated with the selected branch(s) and/or in the selected repo(s).	Use tile timeframe: Limits pull request to the tile timeframe. When selected you can choose the timeframe basis on either PRs Created or Closed time. Top: Limits the number of pull requests based on the specified number. Creator: Limits pull requests to those created by the specified creator. Reviewer: Limits pull requests to those reviewed or reviewing by the specified reviewer. Tag(s):Limits pull requests to those with the specified tag(s).
Analytics	Returns data based on your analytics query without using a specific source. Data streams are available in global and scoped versions. Generally, scoped access should be used over global access unless there is a specific reason not to, such as needing data from multiple projects. Scoped access is faster and less likely to run into permissions issues, like accidentally trying to access a project you do not have access to. Parameters must be provided to return data.	Entity Type (Endpoint): Specifies the endpoint to call, effectively the table from which you want to start your query. This is the only mandatory field, but the API will give you a warning if you do not configure any query options, as the response may be too large to handle. Query: Enter your query in the Query field. Select: Limits the names of the columns to return. Top: Limits the number of data returned. Skip: Skips a specified number of records.
Build Runs	Returns build run(s) for the selected pipeline(s) and/or for all build pipeline(s) in the selected build folder(s) and/or project(s).	Top: Limits the number of build run(s) returned based on the specified number. Trigger: Limits the build run(s) returned based on the specified trigger. Result: Limits the build run(s) returned based on the specified result. Status: Limits the build run(s) returned based on the specified status. Some status filters cannot be used with result filters. For example, an In Progress build will never have a result as it has not finished yet. Build IDs: Limits the build run(s) returned based on the specified comma-separated list of build IDs. Branch: Limits the build run(s) returned based on the specified branch. The specified branch must start with the prefix `refs/heads/` to function correctly.
Commits	Returns commit(s) in the selected Branch(s), Repo(s) and/or Repo Folder(s).	Branch Name: Limits the number of commit(s) returned based on the specified branch. It defaults to default branch if not specified. Relevant when using Repo(s) or Repo Folder(s) as your object Author: Limits the number of commits to the specified author. Top: Limits the number of commit(s) returned based on the specified number.
Commits in Build Runs	Returns commit(s) for the selected pipeline. This data stream has the potential to make many API calls therefore we have implemented a limit on the number of builds that can be pulled in one go. We also offer the choice to limit the number of builds pulled by filtering to various specific statuses.	Top Builds: Mandatory field that allows you to limit the number of commit(s) returned based on the specified number. Build Trigger: Limits the commits to build run(s) returned based on the specified trigger. Result: Limits the commits to build run(s) returned based on the specified result. Status: Limits the commits to build run(s) returned based on the specified status. Some status filters cannot be used with result filters. For example, an In Progress build will never have a result as it has not finished yet.
Completed Pull Requests	Returns completed pull request(s) associated with the selected branch(s) and/or in the selected repo(s).	Use tile timeframe: Limits completed pull request(s) to the tile timeframe. When selected the timeframe basis can be selected on either PRs Created or Closed time. Top: Limits the number of completed pull request(s) based on the specified number. Creator: Limits completed pull request(s) to those created by the specified creator. Reviewer: Limits completed pull request(s) to those reviewed by the specified reviewer. Tag(s): Limits completed pull request(s) to those with the specified tag(s).
Pipeline Run Activity Results	Returns pipeline run activities for pipeline(s) in the selected build folder(s), build pipeline(s), and/or pipeline(s) in project(s). OData query parameters which is mandatory, and filter expressions can be used to get data based on your requirements.	OData Query Parameter: Enter your query in the Query field. JSON Filter Expression: Filters the data based on the provided filter expression. For Example, the following filter will only return pipelines where the run outcome and task outcome are failed. `{ "and": [ { "PipelineRunOutcome": "Failed" }, { "TaskOutcome": "Failed" } ] }`
Query Work Items (simple)	Returns work items based on the query you build using the data stream Parameters.	Use dashboard timeframe: Select this checkbox to limit results to data within the dashboard timeframe. Timeframe Category: Select the data point to use when limiting results by dashboard timeframe. Top: Enter the number of work items to return for each project. Type: Specify a type to filter results by. State: Specify a state to filter results by. Assigned to: Specify an assignee to filter results by. Area: Specify an area path to filter results by. Tag: Specify a tag to filter results by. Keyword: Specify a keyword to filter results by.
Release Runs	Returns releases for the selected release pipeline(s) and/or pipeline(s) in the selected project and/or release folder(s). Optionally, parameters can be used to filter or show more information.	Top: Returns a specific number of results. Useful if you only want the latest release etc. Status: Limits the release run(s) based on the specified status. Show stages: Displays individual release stage(s) and their status. When selected, you can choose the column style: Detail: Displays stage columns with headers reflecting the stage name and shows the status in the column cell. Summary: Displays stage columns with numerical headers for each stage and shows the status in the column cell. This choice is useful when there are release runs in the data with various stages, as it can significantly reduce the number of columns. Hover over a status cell in the column to view the stage name. Show artifacts: Displays artifacts used for the release Show tags: Displays the release pipeline's tag(s). If you experience excessive timeouts with this data stream, try using it without tags, artifacts, and stages, as each incurs added API costs.
WIQL	Returns work item(s) based on the provided query. A scoped version is also available that returns data for the selected project(s).	WIQL Query: Specify a query to return work items for. For help with writing WIQL queries, see the following: Using Work Item Query Language Azure DevOps documentation

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