Set up Task Manager

Follow these steps in order. Run every command from this sample's folder (the one that contains package.json), not from the root of the samples repository. Ask the user for values you don't know (environment, Azure DevOps organization/project); never invent them.

1. Prerequisites

• Node.js 24.11 or later, npm and git. Run npm install if node_modules/ is missing.
• The sample in its own folder, not inside a clone of the samples repository: that folder becomes the app's repository. If git rev-parse --show-toplevel succeeds in the sample folder, copy the folder out first (for example cp -r Copilot-Managed-Runtime/samples/TaskManager my-taskmanager; PowerShell: Copy-Item -Recurse) and continue from the copy.
• A Power Platform environment where the user may create apps on Copilot Managed Runtime (public preview), and its environment ID (from the Power Platform admin center or maker portal URL).
• An Azure DevOps organization and project the user can read (and write, to edit work items).
• The Azure DevOps, Teams and Office 365 Users connectors must be allowed in that environment.

2. Sign in and pick the account

npx ms auth login           # opens a browser sign-in
npx ms auth status          # shows cached accounts; the active one is marked
npx ms auth switch          # only if the wrong account is active

3. Create the app (writes ms.config.json)

The template ships without ms.config.json. ms app init creates the app, its platform-managed git repository (set up as origin) and ms.config.json with the new app's appId, environmentId and "repoType": "native":

npx ms app init --display-name "Task Manager" --environment-id <ENVIRONMENT_ID> --icon-path ./public/task-manager-icon.png
npx ms app set-setting --show-header false   # the app draws its own 95 title bar

Don't pass --repo: with no git repository in the folder, init creates the platform-managed repository. If the user already has an app for this template, work in a clone of that app's repository instead of running init. Commit ms.config.json, generated/ and .ms/ to the app's repository; only .env.local stays local (gitignored).

4. Add ALL three connectors

The app needs every one of these. Each command creates or reuses a connection and generates TypeScript into generated/ (commit it with the app). Add --use-sso where the connector supports single sign-on and the user prefers it; run npx ms app add data-source --help if a flag is rejected (older CLIs call the command ms app add connector).

npx ms app add data-source --connector shared_visualstudioteamservices --as action
npx ms app add data-source --connector shared_teams --as action
npx ms app add data-source --connector shared_office365users --as action

Do not edit generated/. The app reaches it only through the adapters in src/connectors/ (azureDevOps.ts, teams.ts, office365Users.ts).

5. Configure .env.local

cp .env.example .env.local

Set at least:

Other options (work item types, states, team roster, app URL, issue tracker base URL, Teams message template, storage provider) are documented in .env.example and the README.

5b. Choose admins

Ask the installer which usernames should be admins and write them to admins.json (sign-in UPN or email, case-insensitive), for example { "admins": ["avery@contoso.example"] }. Admins see the Completed, Retrospective, Tags and Bulk edit tabs; an empty list means nobody does. This only hides UI; Azure DevOps permissions still control what anyone can change. Never add names the installer didn't give you.

6. Verify

npm run check-setup   # must print "check-setup: ... look good."
npm run typecheck
npm test

If check-setup reports a missing service or operation, re-run the matching npx ms app add data-source command (or npx ms app refresh data-source). If the CLI reported actions "skipped due to your organization's connector policy" (for example the Azure DevOps HttpRequest action), the environment's data policy removed them: ask an admin to allow them, or use an environment whose policy allows them, then refresh.

7. Run

npm run dev           # Vite dev server; prints a "Local Play" URL
npx ms app dev        # same thing through the CLI

Open the Local Play URL to run the app inside the Copilot Managed Runtime player with live connectors. Check that My Work and Board load work items, and that the title bar shows the signed-in user.

8. Commit and push

Commit everything and push it to the app's repository (git asks the user to sign in the first time). Deploy only when the user asks, from a pushed commit: npm run build, then npx ms app deploy.

git fetch origin
git reset origin/main   # start from the new repository's initial commit; your files stay as they are
git branch -M main
git add -A
git commit -m "Set up Task Manager"
git push -u origin main

Data and storage

App-owned data (retro notes, trackers, tags, work-item notes, feedback) uses the local storage provider by default: it stays in each user's browser and is not shared. The title bar says "Local mode: data stays in this browser". To share it through SharePoint, Dataverse or another backend, follow .github/skills/add-data-source/SKILL.md. Work items always stay in Azure DevOps.

Done checklist

• Sample in its own folder; ms.config.json exists (from npx ms app init, no --repo) with real appId / environmentId values and "repoType": "native"
• All three connectors added; generated/ and .ms/ exist
• .env.local sets VITE_ADO_ORG and VITE_ADO_PROJECT
• admins.json lists the admins the installer chose (or stays empty)
• npm run check-setup, npm run typecheck and npm test pass
• npm run dev (or npx ms app dev) shows live work items
• Everything committed and pushed to origin