Using Azure DevOps REST Api with PowerShell

Azure DevOps is a cloud-based platform that provides a wide range of tools and services to help organizations build, test, and deploy software applications. The Azure DevOps REST API is a powerful tool that allows developers to access and manipulate data from Azure DevOps programmatically. In this article, we will explore how to use PowerShell to access the Azure DevOps REST API.

Step 1: Install the Azure DevOps Module for PowerShell

Before we can use PowerShell to access the Azure DevOps REST API, we need to install the Azure DevOps module for PowerShell. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open PowerShell as an administrator.
2. Type the following command: Install-Module -Name AzureDevOps -AllowClobber -Force

Step 2: Authenticate to Azure DevOps

To authenticate to Azure DevOps, you need to have a Personal Access Token (PAT) or use your Azure AD credentials. You can create a PAT by following these steps:

1. Sign in to your Azure DevOps account.
2. Click on your profile picture in the top right corner and select “Security”.
3. Select “Personal Access Tokens” and click “New Token”.
4. Enter a name for the token, select the desired permissions, and click “Create”.

To authenticate to Azure DevOps using a PAT, use the following PowerShell command:

powershellCopy code$pat = "YOUR_PAT"
$basicAuth = ("{0}:{1}" -f "", $pat) 
$basicAuth = [System.Text.Encoding]::Base64String([System.Text.Encoding]::ASCII.GetBytes($basicAuth))
$header = @{Authorization=("Basic {0}" -f $basicAuth)}

Step 3: Access Azure DevOps Data Using PowerShell

Once you have authenticated to Azure DevOps, you can use PowerShell to access data from Azure DevOps. The Azure DevOps REST API provides a wide range of endpoints to access different types of data.

Here is an example of how to use PowerShell to retrieve information about a specific build definition:

powershellCopy code$url = "https://dev.azure.com/{ORGANIZATION}/{PROJECT}/_apis/build/definitions/{DEFINITION_ID}?api-version=6.0"
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $url -Headers $header -Method Get
Write-Output $response

This script retrieves the build definition with the ID “DEFINITION_ID” from the Azure DevOps project “{PROJECT}” in the organization “{ORGANIZATION}”.

Step 4: Manipulate Azure DevOps Data Using PowerShell

PowerShell provides powerful tools to manipulate data retrieved from Azure DevOps. Here is an example of how to use PowerShell to update a work item:

powershellCopy code$body = @{ 
    op = "add"
    path = "/fields/System.Title"
    value = "New Title"
} | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 99

$url = "https://dev.azure.com/{ORGANIZATION}/{PROJECT}/_apis/wit/workitems/{WORKITEM_ID}?api-version=6.0"
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $url -Headers $header -Method Patch -Body $body -ContentType 'application/json-patch+json'
Write-Output $response

This script updates the title of the work item with the ID “WORKITEM_ID” in the Azure DevOps project “{PROJECT}” in the organization “{ORGANIZATION}”.

PowerShell provides a powerful and flexible way to access and manipulate data from Azure DevOps using the Azure DevOps REST API. With PowerShell, you can automate tasks, retrieve data, and manipulate data with ease. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can get started using PowerShell to access and manipulate data from Azure Dev