How to Connect Azure DevOps to Renly

Azure DevOps is where your team plans sprints, tracks work items, manages code, and runs pipelines. Renly connects directly to your Azure DevOps organization, giving your AI assistant real-time access to your projects. Query work items with natural language, generate sprint reports in seconds, search code across repositories, and manage your backlog, all from a single AI chat interface.

This guide covers three ways to connect Azure DevOps to Renly, so you can choose the approach that best fits your organization's security requirements.

Option 1: Built-in Connector (Recommended)

The built-in Azure DevOps connector is the fastest way to get started. It uses OAuth: you sign in with your Microsoft account, authorize Renly, and you're connected in under 30 seconds. No tokens to manage, no configuration required.

What you get

• 20+ specialized AI tools for Azure DevOps
• Query work items by state, assignee, area path, iteration, or custom WIQL
• Get sprint status, team workload, and blocked items
• Browse wikis, search code, view pull requests
• Create, update, and bulk-manage work items (with approval)
• View test plans, test suites, and test results
• Full commit history and branch management

How to connect

1. Sign up or sign in at renly.ai
2. Open the tool selector in chat (wrench icon) or go to the Connectors page
3. Find "Azure DevOps" and click Connect
4. Sign in with your Microsoft account
5. Authorize Renly to access your Azure DevOps organization
6. Done. Start chatting. Try "show me my open work items" or "what's blocking the current sprint?"

Option 2: MCP Server with Personal Access Token

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets you extend Renly with external tool servers. For Azure DevOps, the community package @tiberriver256/mcp-server-azure-devops by Tiberriver256 supports Personal Access Token (PAT) authentication, with no app registration or IT approval needed.

Admin setup (Organization Settings)

1. Go to Organization Settings → Integrations → MCP Servers
2. Click "+ Add Server"
3. Configure the server:
   • Name: Azure DevOps
   • Transport: Stdio
   • Command: npx
   • Arguments: -y, @tiberriver256/mcp-server-azure-devops
   • Authentication: Bearer
   • Credential Env Variable: AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT
   • Environment Variables:
     AZURE_DEVOPS_ORG_URL=https://dev.azure.com/${input:ado_org}
AZURE_DEVOPS_AUTH_METHOD=pat
AZURE_DEVOPS_DEFAULT_PROJECT=${input:default_project}
4. Save

The ${input:ado_org} and ${input:default_project} placeholders will prompt each user for their organization name and default project when they connect.

User setup

1. Go to dev.azure.com/{your-org}/_usersSettings/tokens
2. Click "New Token"
3. Set a name (e.g., "Renly") and expiration date
4. Select scopes: Work Items (Read & Write), Code (Read), Wiki (Read), Project and Team (Read)
5. Click Create and copy the token
6. In Renly, go to Connectors → MCP → Azure DevOps
7. Enter your organization name and default project
8. Paste your PAT in the bearer token field
9. Click Connect

Option 3: Customer-Managed OAuth (Enterprise)

For organizations that require all third-party integrations to use company-managed app registrations, Renly supports customer-managed OAuth via MCP Servers.

When to use this

• Your Azure AD tenant blocks third-party app consent
• Your security policy requires all OAuth apps to be registered in your tenant
• You need audit trails for app access in your own Azure AD

Setup steps

1. In Azure Portal → Azure Active Directory → App registrations → New registration
2. Name: "Renly Azure DevOps" (or your preferred name)
3. Supported account types: "Accounts in this organizational directory only"
4. Redirect URI (Web): https://renly.ai/api/mcp/oauth/callback
5. Click Register
6. Note the Application (client) ID
7. Go to Certificates & secrets → New client secret → copy the value
8. Go to API permissions → Add a permission → Azure DevOps → Delegated → user_impersonation → Grant admin consent
9. In Renly Organization Settings → MCP Servers → Add Server:
   • Name: Azure DevOps
   • Transport: Stdio
   • Command: npx
   • Arguments: -y, @tiberriver256/mcp-server-azure-devops
   • Authentication: OAuth 2.0
   • Client ID: (your app's client ID)
   • Client Secret: (your app's client secret)
   • Auth URL: https://login.microsoftonline.com/{your-tenant-id}/oauth2/v2.0/authorize
   • Token URL: https://login.microsoftonline.com/{your-tenant-id}/oauth2/v2.0/token
   • Scopes: 499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798/.default offline_access
10. Save

Users can then connect by clicking Connect and signing in with their Microsoft account. The OAuth flow uses your organization's app registration.

Which Option Should I Use?

For most teams, the built-in connector is the best choice. It provides the richest tool set, automatic token refresh, and zero configuration. If your organization has strict app consent policies, the PAT-based MCP Server gets you connected in minutes without any IT involvement.