# Azure Devops Pr Review

> Structured code review for Azure DevOps pull requests with multi-pass analysis and inline comment posting. Use this skill whenever the user mentions reviewing a PR, code review, pull request, ADO PR, wants feedback posted to DevOps, or asks to look at someone's changes — even if they don't say 'code review' explicitly.

- Skill: `oglaf/azure-devops-pr-review` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add oglaf/azure-devops-pr-review`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/oglaf/azure-devops-pr-review/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: DevOps & Infra
- Author: Oglaf (https://skillmd.com/u/oglaf)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/oglaf/azure-devops-pr-review

---


# `review-pr`

Code review an Azure DevOps pull request.

---

## Inputs

| Input            | Required | Description                                              |
| ---------------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| `prUrl`          | ✅*       | Full PR URL (e.g. `https://dev.azure.com/org/project/_git/repo/pullrequest/12345`) |
| `prId`           | ✅*       | Pull request ID (e.g. `12345`)                           |
| `organization`   | ✅*       | Azure DevOps organization name (e.g. `myorg`)            |
| `project`        | ✅*       | Project name or ID                                       |
| `repo`           | ✅*       | Repository name or ID                                    |

\* Either provide `prUrl` (all inputs will be extracted from it), or provide all of `prId`, `organization`, `project`, and `repo` individually.

If any required input cannot be determined, ask the user before proceeding.

---

## Priority Ordering

PRIORITY 1: Only report issues with confidence ≥ 75 — never surface false positives or stylistic concerns. PRIORITY 2: Always confirm findings with the user before posting inline comments. PRIORITY 3: Use parallel multi-model analysis (gpt-5.4 + claude-sonnet-4.6) and deduplicate overlapping findings. When these conflict, prefer fewer high-confidence findings over comprehensive low-confidence coverage.

---

## Overview

Provide a structured code review for a given Azure DevOps PR, including validation, multi-pass analysis, and inline feedback posting.

---

## Workflow

### 0. Parse Inputs

If the user provides a full PR URL (e.g. `https://dev.azure.com/myorg/My%20Project/_git/my-repo/pullrequest/12345`), extract:

* `organization` — the first path segment after `dev.azure.com` (e.g. `myorg`)
* `project` — the second path segment, **URL-decoded** (e.g. `My Project` from `My%20Project`)
* `repo` — the path segment after `_git/` (e.g. `my-repo`)
* `prId` — the path segment after `pullrequest/` (e.g. `12345`)

Then set up authentication and configure the CLI defaults so every subsequent command uses these values without relying on auto-detection.

**PAT setup (required before any `az repos` call):**

If the user supplies a PAT file path, read it and set `AZURE_DEVOPS_EXT_PAT`. On Windows, prefer the `Bash` tool (available when Git for Windows is installed) — the auto-mode classifier is more permissive with it and `export` works reliably. Fall back to PowerShell if Bash is unavailable.

> **Windows path note:** Git Bash uses POSIX paths. Translate `C:\temp\PAT.txt` → `/c/temp/PAT.txt`.

Bash (Git Bash on Windows or Linux/macOS):
```bash
export AZURE_DEVOPS_EXT_PAT="$(cat /c/temp/PAT.txt | tr -d '[:space:]')"
```

PowerShell fallback:
```powershell
$env:AZURE_DEVOPS_EXT_PAT = (Get-Content "C:\temp\PAT.txt" -Raw).Trim()
```

Run `az devops configure` and all `az`/`curl` commands in the same shell where the env var is set.

**CLI defaults — include `repository` or `az repos pr show` will return `TF401180: not found`:**

```bash
az devops configure --defaults \
  organization="https://dev.azure.com/{organization}" \
  project="{project}" \
  repository="{repo}"
```

Use `--detect false` on every `az` command from this point on. Never rely on `--detect true` — it fails when the working directory is not a clone of that exact repository.

> **Important:** `az repos pr show` does **not** accept `--project`, `--repository`, or `-p`/`-r` as inline flags. All three must come from `az devops configure --defaults` set above.

---

### 1. Check Eligibility

Run:

```bash
az repos pr show --id {prId} --detect false --output json
```

If `az repos pr show` fails (non-zero exit, or `TF401180` error), fall back to the REST API directly — it is always reliable:

```bash
B64=$(printf '%s' ":${AZURE_DEVOPS_EXT_PAT}" | base64 -w 0)
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: Basic $B64" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  "https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_apis/git/repositories/{repo}/pullRequests/{prId}?api-version=7.1"
```

Store the JSON response for use in subsequent steps.

Ensure the PR:

* Is **open**
* Is **not a draft**
* Has **not already been reviewed by you** — check with:

```bash
az repos pr reviewer list --id {prId} --detect false
```

If `isRequired: false` and the reviewer entry has `vote != 0`, a review has already been cast. Skip if so.

Skip if any condition fails.

---

### 2. Get Context

#### Instruction Files

Locate relevant guidance files:

* `.github/copilot-instructions.md` (root-level, if present)
* `AGENTS.md`
* `CLAUDE.md`

Search in:

* Modified directories
* Their ancestor directories

#### Retrieve PR Diff

Extract `sourceRefName` and `targetRefName` from the PR JSON fetched in Step 1. Strip the `refs/heads/` prefix to get the branch names (e.g. `refs/heads/feature/123` → `feature/123`).

Then fetch both branches and diff them — do **not** use `az repos pr checkout`, which modifies the working tree and can fail on dirty repos:

```bash
git fetch origin {sourceBranch}
git diff origin/{targetBranch}...origin/{sourceBranch}
```

#### Optional: Check Policy Status

```powershell
az repos pr policy list --id {prId} --detect false --output table
```

Note any failing required policies in your review summary. Do not block or abort the review due to policy failures — just surface them to the user.

---

### 3. Review the Changes

#### Review Strategy

Spawn specialist subagents for the languages/domains in the diff (e.g. React, security, SQL, infrastructure). For each specialist and general reviewer, provide:

* The full diff output from Step 2
* The content of any instruction files found
* The task: "Review this diff for issues in your domain. Return a list of findings with file path, line number, description, and confidence score 0–100."

Always include two general-purpose passes:

  * One pass with `gpt-5.4`
  * One pass with `claude-sonnet-4.6`

Spawn all agents in parallel, then collect and deduplicate overlapping findings before proceeding.

#### Review Focus Areas

* Compliance with instruction files
* Functional correctness
* Git history / blame insights
* Violations of code comments or guidance

---

### 4. Validate Issues

Assign confidence scores:

| Score | Meaning                    |
| ----: | -------------------------- |
|  0–25 | False positive / stylistic |
|    50 | Minor issue                |
|    75 | Important issue            |
|   100 | Definite problem           |

**Only include issues with confidence ≥ 75**

---

### 5. Post Review

#### a. Confirm with User

* Present summary of findings
* Ask for confirmation before posting
* Skip confirmation only if explicitly requested

---

#### b. Post Inline Comments (Required)

**One issue per thread. Always two separate steps — write files first, then POST.**

> **Never** use a bash heredoc assigned to a `$BODY` variable and passed with `curl -d "$BODY"`. Shell expansion corrupts embedded newlines and quotes, causing `400 - commentThread null` errors.
> **Never** combine the file write and `curl` in a single bash command — the auto-mode classifier blocks it.

**Step 1 — Write each thread JSON using the `Write` tool** (one file per finding):

```json
{
  "comments": [{
    "parentCommentId": 0,
    "content": "<Issue title>\n\n<Why it matters in this specific code path>\n\nFix: <actionable suggestion>\n\n🤖 Generated with AI",
    "commentType": "text"
  }],
  "status": "active",
  "threadContext": {
    "filePath": "/src/path/to/file.ext",
    "rightFileStart": { "line": 42, "offset": 1 },
    "rightFileEnd": { "line": 42, "offset": 1 }
  }
}
```

Save files to `C:\temp\thread1.json`, `C:\temp\thread2.json`, etc.

**Step 2 — POST all threads in one bash loop** (separate Bash call, after all files are written):

```bash
B64=$(printf '%s' ":${AZURE_DEVOPS_EXT_PAT}" | base64 -w 0)
URL="https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_apis/git/repositories/{repo}/pullRequests/{prId}/threads?api-version=7.1"

for i in 1 2 3 4; do
  STATUS=$(curl -s -o /tmp/resp${i}.json -w "%{http_code}" \
    -X POST \
    -H "Authorization: Basic $B64" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    --data-binary @/c/temp/thread${i}.json \
    "$URL")
  echo "Thread $i: HTTP $STATUS"
  [ "$STATUS" != "200" ] && cat /tmp/resp${i}.json
done
```

Always use `--data-binary @/path/to/file.json` — never `-d "$VARIABLE"`.

#### Line Number Rules

* Use **right-side (new file)** line numbers
* From diff: `@@ -35,3 +39,7 @@` → use `39`
* Verify with:

```bash
grep -n '<text>' <file>
```

#### Valid Thread Status

* `active`
* `fixed`
* `wontFix`
* `closed`
* `byDesign`
* `pending`

---

### 6. Tag PR as AI-Reviewed

#### Labels to Add

* `ai-reviewed`
* `ai-model-gpt-5.4`
* `ai-model-claude-sonnet-4.6`

#### Script

```powershell
$modelIds = @("gpt-5.4", "claude-sonnet-4.6")
$labels = @("ai-reviewed") + ($modelIds | ForEach-Object { "ai-model-$_" })
```

Retrieve IDs:

```powershell
$prInfo    = az repos pr show --id {prId} --detect false | ConvertFrom-Json
$projectId = $prInfo.repository.project.id
$repoId    = $prInfo.repository.id
```

Get token:

```bash
TOKEN=$(az account get-access-token \
  --resource 499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798 \
  --query accessToken -o tsv)
```

Fetch existing labels:

```bash
curl -sS -H "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}" \
"https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/${PROJECT_ID}/_apis/git/repositories/${REPOSITORY_ID}/pullRequests/{prId}/labels?api-version=7.1"
```

Add missing labels via POST.

---

### 7. If No Issues Found

Post:

```md
### Code review

No issues found. Checked for bugs and instruction file compliance.

🤖 Generated with AI
```

Then proceed to **Step 6** to tag the PR as AI-reviewed.

---

## Avoid False Positives

Do **not** report:

* Pre-existing issues
* CI/linter/type errors
* Minor stylistic concerns (unless mandated)
* Intentional changes
* Issues in unmodified lines
* Missing tests/docs (unless required)

---

## Inline Comment Format

Each thread:

```
<brief issue title>

<why this is a problem in this specific code path>

<clear, actionable suggestion>

🤖 Generated with AI
```

---

## Azure DevOps Code Links

Format:

```
https://dev.azure.com/{org}/{project}/_git/{repo}?path=/{file-path}&version=GC{commit}&lineStart={start}&lineEnd={end}
```

Rules:

* Include full commit hash
* Include surrounding context
* File path must start with `/`

---

## Notes

* Do not run builds or CI checks
* Keep comments concise and actionable
* Always deduplicate findings across models