Azure DevOps MCP server

The Azure DevOps MCP Integration server provides seamless access to Azure DevOps services through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI assistants and tools to manage work items, code repositories, boards, sprints, and more through a standardized interface.

Installation

Using Smithery

The easiest way to install the Azure DevOps MCP server for Claude Desktop is via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @RyanCardin15/azuredevops-mcp --client claude

Manual Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or later)
• TypeScript (v4 or later)
• Azure DevOps account with appropriate credentials

Setup Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd AzureDevOps
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Configure environment variables by creating a .env file with the following settings:

   For Azure DevOps Services (cloud):

   AZURE_DEVOPS_ORG_URL=https://dev.azure.com/your-organization
   AZURE_DEVOPS_PROJECT=your-default-project
   AZURE_DEVOPS_IS_ON_PREMISES=false
   AZURE_DEVOPS_AUTH_TYPE=pat
   AZURE_DEVOPS_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=your-personal-access-token
   

   For Azure DevOps Server (on-premises):

   AZURE_DEVOPS_ORG_URL=https://your-server/tfs
   AZURE_DEVOPS_PROJECT=your-default-project
   AZURE_DEVOPS_IS_ON_PREMISES=true
   AZURE_DEVOPS_COLLECTION=your-collection
   AZURE_DEVOPS_API_VERSION=6.0
   
   # Choose one authentication method:
   
   # PAT authentication:
   AZURE_DEVOPS_AUTH_TYPE=pat
   AZURE_DEVOPS_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=your-personal-access-token
   
   # NTLM authentication:
   AZURE_DEVOPS_AUTH_TYPE=ntlm
   AZURE_DEVOPS_USERNAME=your-username
   AZURE_DEVOPS_PASSWORD=your-password
   AZURE_DEVOPS_DOMAIN=your-domain
   
   # Basic authentication:
   AZURE_DEVOPS_AUTH_TYPE=basic
   AZURE_DEVOPS_USERNAME=your-username
   AZURE_DEVOPS_PASSWORD=your-password
   

4. Build the project:

   npm run build
   

   If you encounter TypeScript errors but want to proceed:

   npm run build:ignore-errors
   

5. Start the server:

   npm run start
   

Configuration

Personal Access Token (PAT)

For Azure DevOps Services (cloud), create a Personal Access Token with these permissions:

• Work Items: Read & Write
• Code: Read & Write
• Project and Team: Read & Write
• Build: Read
• Release: Read

To create a PAT:

1. Go to your Azure DevOps organization
2. Click your profile icon → "Personal access tokens"
3. Click "New Token"
4. Set a name and select appropriate scopes

Entra ID Authentication

If using Entra ID authentication:

1. Ensure you have Azure CLI installed and authenticated
2. Set AZURE_DEVOPS_AUTH_TYPE=entra in your environment variables

Environment Variables

* Required if AZURE_DEVOPS_IS_ON_PREMISES=true
** Required based on chosen authentication type

Tool Filtering

You can restrict which tools are available using the ALLOWED_TOOLS environment variable:

ALLOWED_TOOLS=listWorkItems,getWorkItemById,searchWorkItems,createWorkItem

Usage

Once the server is running, you can interact with it using the MCP protocol. Here are some examples:

Working with Work Items

List Work Items

{
  "tool": "listWorkItems",
  "params": {
    "query": "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.State] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.State] = 'Active' ORDER BY [System.CreatedDate] DESC"
  }
}

Create a Work Item

{
  "tool": "createWorkItem",
  "params": {
    "workItemType": "User Story",
    "title": "Implement new feature",
    "description": "As a user, I want to be able to export reports to PDF.",
    "assignedTo": "[email protected]"
  }
}

Working with Repositories

List Repositories

{
  "tool": "listRepositories",
  "params": {
    "projectId": "MyProject"
  }
}

Create a Pull Request

{
  "tool": "createPullRequest",
  "params": {
    "repositoryId": "repo-guid",
    "sourceRefName": "refs/heads/feature-branch",
    "targetRefName": "refs/heads/main",
    "title": "Add new feature",
    "description": "This PR adds the export to PDF feature"
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Authentication Errors

• Verify your Personal Access Token is valid with correct permissions
• Ensure the organization URL is correct

TypeScript Build Errors

• Use npm run build:ignore-errors to bypass TypeScript errors
• Check for missing or incorrect type definitions

Runtime Errors

• Confirm the specified Azure DevOps project exists and is accessible
• Verify network connectivity to your Azure DevOps instance

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.