Getting Started with Azure Repos

Azure Repos is the source control component of Azure DevOps. It provides unlimited, cloud-hosted private Git repositories and supports Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) for centralized version control. With Azure Repos, teams can collaborate on code, enforce quality with branch policies, and integrate seamlessly with popular IDEs and CI/CD pipelines.

Key Features of Azure Repos

Feature	Description
Development Environment Support	Works with Visual Studio, VS Code, Eclipse, IntelliJ, and any Git command-line client.
Branch Security Policies	Enforce required reviewers, build validations, merge strategies, and more before merge.
Pull Requests	Create, review, and track pull requests with built-in discussion threads and status checks.
Code Search	Quickly search across your codebase for identifiers, comments, and text.
Audit and Compliance	Track changes and view audit logs for branch policies and repository permissions.

Note

Azure Repos integrates natively with Azure Pipelines for continuous integration and delivery.

Version Control Options

Azure Repos supports two models of version control. Choose the one that best fits your team’s workflow and project requirements.

Model	Characteristics	Use Case
Git (Distributed Version Control)	- Local repository with full history<br>- Branching, pull requests, offline commits<br>- Fast merging and parallel work	Modern development, open source, microservices
Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC)	- Centralized server-side history<br>- Single-checkout model<br>- Fine-grained security at the file level	Large monolithic codebases, legacy systems

1. Git (Distributed Version Control)

Each contributor clones a full copy of the repository history.
Supports flexible branching strategies, pull requests, and offline commits.
Ideal for agile teams and open-source projects.

2. Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC)

Central server holds the authoritative version history.
Check out files for edit, then check in changes.
Provides granular permissions down to individual files or folders.

Warning

Microsoft recommends using Git for most new projects. TFVC is primarily intended for legacy applications and large codebases that require centralized control.

Getting Started

Sign in to your Azure DevOps organization.
Navigate to Repos in the project sidebar.
Create a new repository (Git or TFVC).

Clone the repository to your local machine:

# Example for Git
git clone https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_git/{repo-name}

Add, commit, and push your code:

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git push origin main

Links and References

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