ADO Work Items

Create, read, update, link, comment, and query Azure DevOps work items. Supports all work item types: User Story, Bug, Task, Epic, Feature, PBI, Issue.

When to use

• User wants to create a new work item (any type)
• User wants to update fields on an existing work item (state, assignee, story points, etc.)
• User wants to add a comment or resolve a comment thread
• User wants to link two work items (Parent/Child, Related, Blocks, Duplicate)
• User wants to browse the product backlog
• User wants to run a saved or ad-hoc WIQL query
• User wants to attach a file or screenshot to a work item

MCP tools used

Workflow

Reading a work item

1. Call wit_work_item(id) — returns all fields: title, state, assignee, area, iteration, story points, tags, description, and comment count.
2. Present the key fields in the Work Item Detail format below.

Creating a work item

1. Extract required fields from the user's request: work item type, title, project.
2. Extract optional fields: description, assignee, area path, iteration path, story points, priority, tags, acceptance criteria.
3. Call wit_work_item_write with the field patch document.
4. Confirm creation with the new ID and a deep link to the work item.

Updating a work item

1. Identify the work item ID from the user's request.
2. Identify the field(s) to change.
3. Call wit_work_item_write(id, patchDocument) with only the changed fields.
4. Confirm the update.

Linking work items

1. Identify source ID, target ID, and link type (Parent, Child, Related, Blocks, Duplicate).
2. Call wit_work_item_link_write(sourceId, targetId, linkType).
3. Confirm the link was created.

Backlog

1. Identify project and team name.
2. Call wit_backlog(project, team) to get the ordered backlog.
3. Apply optional filters (type, state, assignee) in the result.
4. Present as a Backlog table.

Query

1. If the user provides a saved query name, call wit_query(queryName).
2. If the user describes criteria in plain English, build a WIQL WHERE clause and call wit_query(wiql).
3. Return results as a table (ID, Type, Title, State, Assignee).

Output Format

Work Item Detail

Backlog

Query results

Notes

• When creating linked items in one user request (e.g. "create a bug and link it to #42"), create the work item first, capture the new ID, then call wit_work_item_link_write.
• Story Points field name varies by process template: Microsoft.VSTS.Scheduling.StoryPoints (Agile) or Microsoft.VSTS.Scheduling.Effort (Scrum). Use wit_work_item on an existing item first to confirm the correct field name.
• To bulk-update multiple items, iterate wit_work_item_write calls; there is no bulk API.

Active context

This skill respects the session context set by the ado-context skill.

• If activeProject is set, use it automatically as the project parameter — do not ask the user to re-specify it.
• If no context is set and a project is required, invoke Workflow E of ado-context to resolve it (list projects, ask user to pick, then proceed).