It’s been a few months since our last update on the initiative to enhance the integration between Azure Boards and GitHub. We’re excited to share that many new features have been completed and are in the process of being rolled out. Here’s a summary of our progress so far, along with an announcement of two new features 🎉.

Create GitHub branch from work item (new)

You can now create a GitHub branch directly from a work item within Azure DevOps. The “New GitHub Branch” link is available whenever a GitHub connection is configured for your project. This link can be found in all work item context menus, including the work item form, card, backlog, and queries. To create a new branch, simply enter the branch name, select the desired repository, and choose the base branch.

Connect to GitHub repository search improvements (new)

We have enhanced the process of connecting an Azure DevOps project to a GitHub organization, particularly for those managing thousands of GitHub repositories. Previously, you may have encountered challenges such as timeout errors and long wait times. The experience is now optimized, allowing you to search and select repositories without performance issues.

AB# links on GitHub pull requests

AB# links will now appear directly in the Development section of GitHub pull requests. This means you can view the linked work items without navigating through descriptions or comments, providing easier access to those AB# links.

These links will only be available when you use AB# in the pull request description. They won’t appear if you link directly from the work item to the pull request. Removing the AB# link from the description will also remove it from the Development section.

Show GitHub pull request details (on hold)

You can now see if the GitHub pull request is in draft mode, needs a review, or has status checks running directly from the links on the work item form.

Unfortunately, this feature is currently on hold from being globally released as we work through some outstanding bugs. However, we expect to resolve these issues within the next few weeks, after which we can begin rolling it out to all customers.

Improved AB# validation

We’ve enhanced the Azure Boards app to better notify users about the validity of work item links, helping them spot and fix any issues before merging with a pull request.

What is next?

There are a few more scenarios we have yet to complete. You can expect to see more information about these features on the Azure DevOps Roadmap in the coming weeks.