Azure Devops Wiki

Azure DevOps Wiki Skill

Complete guide for managing Azure DevOps wikis with best practices and CLI operations.

Wiki Types

Azure DevOps supports two wiki types:

Quick Start

Create Provisioned Wiki

# Via Azure DevOps CLI
az devops wiki create --name "Project Wiki" --type projectwiki \
  --org https://dev.azure.com/ORG --project PROJECT

Publish Code as Wiki

# Publish existing Git repo as wiki
az devops wiki create --name "API Docs" --type codewiki \
  --repository REPO_NAME --mapped-path / --version main \
  --org https://dev.azure.com/ORG --project PROJECT

Repository Structure

Wiki files are stored in Git with this structure:

ProjectName.wiki/
├── .attachments/           # All attachments
├── .order                  # Root page sequence
├── Home.md                 # Home page
├── Getting-Started.md      # Top-level page
├── Getting-Started/        # Folder for subpages
│   ├── .order              # Subpage sequence
│   ├── Installation.md     # Subpage
│   └── Configuration.md    # Subpage
└── API-Reference.md        # Another top-level page

Key conventions:

• Wiki repo name: <ProjectName>.wiki
• Root branch: wikiMain
• Spaces in titles → hyphens in filenames: Getting Started → Getting-Started.md
• Subpages require matching folder: Page.md + Page/ folder

The .order File

Controls page sequence in table of contents:

Home
Getting-Started
API-Reference
Troubleshooting

Rules:

• One page name per line (without .md extension)
• Pages not listed appear alphabetically at the end
• Delete .order to restore alphabetical sorting

Essential Markdown Features

Table of Contents

Add auto-generated TOC to any page:

[[_TOC_]]

## Section 1
Content here...

## Section 2
More content...

Mermaid Diagrams

::: mermaid
graph LR
    A[Start] --> B{Decision}
    B -->|Yes| C[Action 1]
    B -->|No| D[Action 2]
:::

Supported diagram types:

• Sequence diagrams
• Flowcharts (graph not flowchart)
• Gantt charts
• Class diagrams
• State diagrams
• User journeys
• Pie charts
• Entity Relationship diagrams
• Timeline diagrams

YAML Metadata

Add searchable metadata at page start:

---
title: API Reference
author: Team Name
tags:
  - api
  - reference
  - v2
---

# Page Content

Code Blocks with Syntax Highlighting

```javascript
const config = {
  baseUrl: 'https://api.example.com',
  timeout: 5000
};

Supported languages: `javascript`, `typescript`, `python`, `csharp`, `bash`, `yaml`, `json`, `sql`, and [more](https://github.com/highlightjs/highlight.js/tree/stable-11/src/languages).

### Collapsible Sections

```html
<details>
<summary>Click to expand</summary>

Hidden content here...

</details>

Work Item Links

Link to work item: #123
Link with text: [User Story #123](#123)

User Mentions

@<alias> - mentions user
@<GroupName> - mentions group

Images with Sizing

![Alt text](/.attachments/image.png =500x300)
![Width only](/.attachments/image.png =500x)

CLI Operations

List Wikis

az devops wiki list --org https://dev.azure.com/ORG --project PROJECT -o table

Create Page

az devops wiki page create --wiki "Project Wiki" --path "NewPage" \
  --content "# Page Title\n\nPage content here" \
  --org https://dev.azure.com/ORG --project PROJECT

Update Page

az devops wiki page update --wiki "Project Wiki" --path "ExistingPage" \
  --content "Updated content" --version ETAG \
  --org https://dev.azure.com/ORG --project PROJECT

Delete Page

az devops wiki page delete --wiki "Project Wiki" --path "PageToDelete" \
  --org https://dev.azure.com/ORG --project PROJECT -y

Show Page

az devops wiki page show --wiki "Project Wiki" --path "PageName" \
  --org https://dev.azure.com/ORG --project PROJECT

Git-Based Workflow

Clone Wiki Locally

# Get wiki clone URL
az devops wiki show --wiki "Project Wiki" \
  --org https://dev.azure.com/ORG --project PROJECT \
  --query remoteUrl -o tsv

# Clone
git clone https://dev.azure.com/ORG/PROJECT/_git/PROJECT.wiki
cd PROJECT.wiki

Edit and Push

# Create/edit pages
echo "# New Page\n\nContent" > New-Page.md

# Update .order
echo -e "Home\nNew-Page\nExisting-Page" > .order

# Commit and push
git add .
git commit -m "Add new documentation page"
git push origin wikiMain

Best Practices

Structure & Organization

Content Guidelines

File Naming

Searchability

• Add YAML metadata with tags
• Use descriptive headings
• Include keywords in content
• Link work items for context

Provisioned vs Code Wiki Comparison

Troubleshooting

File Restrictions

Scripts

• scripts/wiki-clone.sh <project> <wiki-name> - Clone wiki repository
• scripts/wiki-publish.sh <project> <repo> <path> - Publish repo as wiki

References

For detailed documentation:

• references/best-practices.md - Comprehensive best practices guide
• references/markdown-syntax.md - Complete Markdown reference
• Official Azure DevOps Wiki Docs

Gotchas

• .order file determines tab order — a misspelled entry hides the file from navigation; the file exists but is invisible.
• Nested folders require dual .order files: parent's lists the folder, folder's own lists pages. Missing either breaks navigation.
• Mermaid renders only via fenced ```mermaid blocks — inline Mermaid syntax in regular markdown isn't rendered (no error, just plain text).
• Personal Wiki vs Project Wiki have DIFFERENT git URLs — clone the wrong one and pushes go to the wrong wiki silently.
• TOC [[_TOC_]] generates from headings; subheadings >6 deep are dropped — long docs lose the bottom of the nav.
• Code Wiki vs Provisioned Wiki: code wiki syncs from a repo; provisioned wiki edits in place. Switching loses formatting differences silently.