Linking a GitHub Commit to Azure Boards Work Item 123 Two Ways

Configure collaboration and communication

Answer Correct answer: A, B — The Development section links a pasted GitHub commit URL explicitly, and an AB#123 reference in the commit message lets Boards resolve it.

You manage a project by using Azure Boards, and you manage the project code by using GitHub repositories. You have a work item that has an ID of 123. You need to link a commit message in GitHub to work item 123 on the board. What are two ways to achieve the goal? Each correct answer presents a complete solution. NOTE: Each correct selection is worth one point.

From the Development settings of work item 123, select Add link, and then enter the URL of the commit. Correct Answer
Add AB#123 to the text of the commit message. Correct Answer
Add GH-123 to the text of the commit message.
From the Links settings of work item 123, select Add link, select Existing item, and then enter the URL of the commit.
To work item 123, add a comment that includes the URL of the commit.

Community Votes

67%

33%

67% of anonymous learners picked answer AB. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Community Insight

The Development section of a work item accepts a pasted GitHub commit URL to create the link explicitly, and writing a Boards work item reference such as AB#123 in the GitHub commit message makes Boards resolve it and attach the commit automatically.

Projects are managed in Azure Boards while code is managed in GitHub repositories, and a commit must be linked to work item 123 on the board. The link has to be created across the two systems, so one approach pushes the link from Boards and the other lets the commit message carry the reference that Boards resolves.

Adding a comment containing the commit URL, which only mentions the link in free text without creating a structured relationship, and using the GitHub-native GH-123 reference, which GitHub resolves to a GitHub issue rather than to an Azure Boards work item.

Community Discussion (5 comments)

Dankho 👍 1 Selected: AB

A instead of D since the Links settings is specifically for task dependencies, like parent-child relationships, related work, etc. Development section literally has a link for Commits. Open a User Story or task in DevOps and you will see.

RV3472 👍 1 Selected: BD

B: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/link-to-from-github?view=azure-devops#use-ab-to-link-from-github-to-azure-boards-work-items D: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/link-to-from-github?view=azure-devops#add-work-item-link-to-github-branch-commit-or-pull-request

mmmnnnooo 👍 1 Selected: AB

When I open my work item, I can see "add link" under the Development section. Here I can add a GitHub commit URL. "Search for GitHub Commits is performed only over the default branch. To link a commit outside of the default branch, you have to paste its URL manually."

MrAZ105 👍 3

Option A is not correct because the Development section in Azure Boards does not provide a direct way to add a link to a commit by entering its URL. Instead, linking commits to work items is typically done through the commit message itself or through the Links settings. Using AB#123 in the commit message (Option B) is a straightforward way to automatically link the commit to the work item.

MrAZ105 👍 3

Correct answer BD

Comments & Corrections

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Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Two options create the required link between a GitHub commit and an Azure Boards work item. First, the Development section of work item 123 lets you add a link and paste the GitHub commit URL, creating the association explicitly on the Boards side, and mmmnnnooo confirmed this in practice, noting that GitHub commit search there only covers the default branch so other commits must be pasted by URL. Second, writing a Boards work item reference such as AB#123 inside the GitHub commit message causes Azure Boards to resolve the reference and link the commit automatically. The vote was 67 for A and B and 33 for B and D. RV3472 supplied the two specific Microsoft Learn anchors for exactly these two options, which is the clearest documentary support in the thread.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

From the Links settings of work item 123, adding an existing item by commit URL (D) uses the wrong location. MrAZ105 explained that the Development section is where commit links live, and Dankho added the practical distinction that the Links settings is for dependency style links such as parent-child and related work, while the Development section literally contains a Commits link. Adding a comment to work item 123 that includes the commit URL (E) is free text and does not create the structured work item to commit relationship. Adding GH-123 to the commit message (C) uses GitHub's own reference syntax, which resolves to a GitHub issue, and since the work item lives in Azure Boards there is no GitHub issue for it to point at.

Community Comment Notes

The community favored A and B at 67 votes against 33 for B and D, and the deciding evidence came from documentation: RV3472 linked the section on using AB to link from GitHub to Boards work items and the section on adding a work item link to a branch, commit, or pull request. MrAZ105's objection to option A is factually wrong, since the Development section does provide a way to add a commit link by URL. Dankho's reply corrected him by noting the Development section has a literal Commits link that search only covers the default branch, which mmmnnnooo then confirmed from hands-on use.

Official Reference

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/link-to-from-github?view=azure-devops

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