Integrating with Azure Repos & GitHub

What is Azure Repos?

Azure Repos is a built-in Git repository service within Azure DevOps. It lets teams host, version, and collaborate on their code in a secure and scalable environment.

• Offers unlimited private Git repositories for free
• Supports all standard Git operations like branching, merging, and tagging
• Provides pull requests with built-in review workflows
• Allows setting up branch policies and role-based permissions
• Integrates smoothly with Azure Pipelines for CI/CD

How to Set Up Azure Repos

1. Go to your Azure DevOps project and open Repos
2. Click New Repository and choose Git as the type
3. Clone the repo locally using Git commands or tools like VS Code
4. Push your code to the repository
5. Create branches and submit pull requests for collaborative review

What is GitHub?

GitHub is one of the most popular platforms for open-source and enterprise Git repositories. It enables distributed collaboration, code review, and automation.

• Supports both public and private repositories
• Facilitates pull requests with review and approval workflows
• Includes GitHub Actions for CI/CD automation
• Integrates with Azure DevOps for enhanced visibility and control

How to Connect GitHub to Azure DevOps

1. Open your Azure DevOps project and go to Project Settings
2. Select Service Connections and add a new connection for GitHub
3. Authorize Azure DevOps to access your GitHub account
4. Choose the repository you want to link
5. Configure pipelines to trigger builds when GitHub code is updated

Integrating with Azure Pipelines

Once your source code is connected, Azure Pipelines can automatically build, test, and deploy your application — every time someone pushes new code.

• Use a YAML pipeline to define build steps and environments
• Run automated tests on every commit
• Use multi-stage pipelines for staging and production deployments
• View logs and status in Azure DevOps for every build

Best Practices for Source Control Integration

• Use a branching strategy like GitFlow to organize work
• Set up branch policies to enforce code review and testing
• Protect main branches to prevent accidental changes
• Automate pull request validation builds
• Clean up obsolete branches regularly

Conclusion

Whether you use Azure Repos or GitHub, integrating your source control with Azure DevOps unlocks powerful automation, secure collaboration, and full traceability from code to deployment. It’s the foundation of an effective DevOps practice.

Next, we’ll look at how to run automated tests directly within your CI/CD pipelines to catch bugs early and maintain code quality.