AZD: Create a pull request
AZD creates pull requests in an editor-like tab of the AZD Pull Requests tool window. The tab title is New Pull Request at followed by the organization and the Azure DevOps project, for example New Pull Request at contoso/Fabrikam.
Open the new pull request tab
Start a new pull request
In the title bar of the AZD Pull Requests tool window, click Create Pull Request… (+). When the tool window has the focus, you can also press Alt+Insert (macOS: ā N).
Right-click a file or the editor, then select .
After you push a branch, click Create a pull request in the push notification. If a pull request already exists for the branch, the notification offers Open pull request details instead.
Fill in and create the pull request
Create a pull request
Check the branches in the header of the tab. The header reads
repository:target ← repository:source. AZD fills in both when the tab opens; see How AZD fills in the branches. To change a side, click it and select the repository and the Branch. AZD keeps your choice when the popup closes, so you do not have to click Save.Review the commits of the pull request in the commits list.
Check the Title. By default, the title is the name of the source branch. If you set a title template, AZD fills in the title from it; see Fill in the title from a template. To generate a title, click the AI button in the field; see AZD: Generate titles, descriptions and commit messages. If you leave the title empty, AZD uses the name of the source branch. Azure DevOps accepts titles of up to 400 characters.
Edit the Description.
If Auto-fill description from PR templates is selected and the repository has a template, AZD fills in the description from it; see Use pull request templates. Otherwise, it lists the commit messages. The counter under the field shows the length; Azure DevOps accepts up to 4000 characters.
Type
!to reference another pull request, or#to reference a work item, and select it from the completion list; see Mention people, pull requests and work items.Optional: next to Add reviewers, click the pencil icon and select reviewers.
Optional: next to Work items to link, click the pencil icon and select work items. If the name of the source branch contains work item numbers, for example
feature/1234-login, AZD links those work items when the tab opens, even if they are not in the list. By default, the list offers work items that are assigned to you and match the options in Boards and Work Items.Optional: next to Add labels, select labels. To add a label that does not exist yet, click +, enter it in the Add Custom Label dialog and click OK. You can set labels only when you create the pull request.
Click Create Pull Request. To create a draft instead, click the arrow on the button and select Create Draft Pull Request. When the pull request is created, the tab shows its details; see AZD: Review a pull request.
The button stays disabled until the pull request is ready to create. For example, it waits while AZD fills in the branches, loads the commits, links work items or generates an AI title or description. Hover over the button to see the reason, for example Waiting for the AI title….
If the source branch exists only locally, AZD opens the Pull Request Branch dialog. Confirm the Remote branch name; AZD pushes the branch and then creates the pull request.
To publish a draft later, see Publish a draft or mark as draft.
How AZD fills in the branches
The source branch is your current branch. For the target branch, AZD uses the first of these that exists on the remote and is not the source branch:
A branch from Preferred target branches (this project), in the order you listed them.
The default branch of the repository on Azure DevOps.
The remote branch that your local copy of the default branch tracks.
You do not need a local copy of the default branch. AZD uses only branches that are fetched. If the branch it needs is not fetched yet, the header shows, for example, origin/main isn't fetched. Click Fetch to fetch it and fill in the target. If the branch does not exist on the server, AZD says so and you select a target yourself.
Set preferred target branches
In , enter branch names in Preferred target branches (this project), separated by commas, for example
develop, main. The list is saved for the current project.In the new pull request tab, select a target branch and click Use as default target under the header. AZD moves the branch to the top of the preferred list. The link appears when the selected target is not already first in the list.
Fill in the title from a template
A title template fills in the title of every new pull request. Enter it in Pull request title template in . The template applies to all projects. When the field is empty, the title is the name of the source branch.
- {branch}
The name of the source branch.
- {workItemId}
The ID of the first linked work item.
- {workItemTitle}
The title of the first linked work item.
For example, with the template EP-{workItemId} {workItemTitle} and the branch feature/1234-login, the title becomes EP-1234 followed by the title of work item 1234. The work item can come from the branch name or from Work items to link.
If the template uses a work item placeholder and no work item is linked, the title is the name of the source branch. When the title comes from a work item, Title set from work item #1234 appears under the title. Click Undo to use the branch name instead.
AZD updates the title when you change the source branch or the linked work items, until you edit the title yourself.
Use pull request templates
Azure DevOps repositories can store description templates. To use them in AZD, select Auto-fill description from PR templates in . The option is off by default.
AZD looks for a default template in these locations, in this order:
.azuredevops/pull_request_template.md or .azuredevops/pull_request_template.txt
.vsts/pull_request_template.md or .vsts/pull_request_template.txt
docs/pull_request_template.md or docs/pull_request_template.txt
pull_request_template.md or pull_request_template.txt in the repository root
AZD also uses branch-specific templates from a pull_request_template/branches folder in any of these locations.
Messages in the new pull request tab
- Pull Request already exists
An active pull request already uses the same branches. Click View to open it.
- No changes between 'target' and 'source'
The source branch has no commits that the target branch lacks.
- Unable to create pull request from 'source' to 'target'
The source branch is your local copy of the target branch. Select a different source branch, such as your feature branch.
- Commits will be pushed to the protected branch
Creating the pull request would push commits to a protected branch. Check the source branch before you continue.