Git API Documentation

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Overview

The Azure DevOps Git API provides a comprehensive set of methods for interacting with Git repositories in Azure DevOps. It enables developers to programmatically manage repositories, branches, commits, pull requests, and more. This documentation provides detailed information about the most commonly used methods in the Git API.

Purpose

The Git API is designed to facilitate:

Repository Management

Creating new repositories
Updating repository settings
Querying repository information
Managing repository permissions

Branch and Reference Operations

Creating and deleting branches
Managing tags and other references
Setting branch policies
Retrieving branch statistics

Pull Request Workflows

Creating new pull requests
Reviewing and commenting on code
Approving and completing pull requests
Managing pull request policies

Commit Operations

Retrieving commit history
Analyzing commit details
Creating and pushing commits
Managing commit comments

File and Content Operations

Retrieving file contents
Analyzing and modifying code
Managing file history
Handling binary files

Common Use Cases

The Git API is frequently used for:

CI/CD Integration

Build automation systems that respond to repository events and trigger appropriate workflows.

Custom Dashboards

Create specialized dashboards that display repository metrics, pull request status, and code quality information.

Code Quality Automation

Implement automated code reviews and quality checks that run when code is pushed or pull requests are created.

Policy Enforcement

Ensure branch policies are consistently applied and monitor compliance across repositories.

Repository Analytics

Generate statistics and insights about repository activity, contributor patterns, and code changes.

Workflow Automation

Automate pull request creation, branch management, and other Git workflows to improve team efficiency.

Code Navigation

Build tools that help developers search, navigate, and understand code across repositories.

Migration Tools

Create utilities for migrating repositories, branches, and history between systems.

What's Included

This documentation covers:

Top 5 Git API Methods - Detailed documentation of the most commonly used Git API methods
Code Examples - Practical examples showing how to use the Git API
Common Errors - Troubleshooting information for common Git API errors

Prerequisites

To use the Git API, you'll need:

An Azure DevOps account with appropriate permissions
A Personal Access Token (PAT) or other authentication method
The Azure DevOps Node.js API client library

Getting Started

To start using the Git API, first establish a connection to your Azure DevOps organization:

import * as azdev from "azure-devops-node-api";

// Connection setup
const orgUrl = "https://dev.azure.com/yourorganization";
const token = "your-personal-access-token";

const authHandler = azdev.getPersonalAccessTokenHandler(token);
const connection = new azdev.WebApi(orgUrl, authHandler);

// Get Git API client
const gitApi = await connection.getGitApi();

// Now you can use the Git API methods
// Example: Get all repositories
const repositories = await gitApi.getRepositories();
console.log(`Found ${repositories.length} repositories`);

Integration with Other APIs

The Git API is commonly used in conjunction with other Azure DevOps APIs to create comprehensive solutions:

Git + Work Item Integration

Git repositories, commits, and pull requests can be linked to work items to provide traceability between code changes and requirements.

Common integration patterns include:

Linking pull requests to work items
Creating branches based on work item information
Updating work item status based on pull request status

See Work Item + Git Integration for detailed examples.

Git + Build Integration

Git repositories and branches can trigger builds and deployments.