Split azure-devops-cli SKILL.md into samller files by fondoger · Pull Request #841 · github/awesome-copilot

fondoger · 2026-02-28T09:37:06Z

Pull Request Checklist

I have read and followed the CONTRIBUTING.md guidelines.
My contribution adds a new instruction, prompt, agent, skill, or workflow file in the correct directory.
The file follows the required naming convention.
The content is clearly structured and follows the example format.
I have tested my instructions, prompt, agent, skill, or workflow with GitHub Copilot.
I have run npm start and verified that README.md is up to date.

Goal

The existing azure-devops-cli/skill/SKILL.md is too large. By separating it to smaller files, the agents can efferently load a partial of the skill, which not only saves tokens, but also helps AI to focus.

Structure

The original monolithic SKILL.md (2,466 lines) has been split into a compact main file with on-demand reference files to save tokens.

skills/azure-devops-cli/
├── SKILL.md                              (93 lines - basics + routing table)
└── references/
    ├── repos-and-prs.md                  (Repositories, PRs, Git refs, branch policies)
    ├── pipelines-and-builds.md           (Pipelines, runs, builds, releases, artifacts)
    ├── boards-and-iterations.md          (Work items, area paths, iterations)
    ├── variables-and-agents.md           (Pipeline variables, variable groups, agents)
    ├── org-and-security.md               (Projects, teams, users, permissions, wikis, admin)
    ├── advanced-usage.md                 (Output formats, JMESPath queries, global args)
    └── workflows-and-patterns.md         (Workflows, best practices, scripting patterns)

Only SKILL.md is loaded when the skill triggers. Reference files are read on demand based on the user's task.

Token Estimation

Estimated using ~1 token per 4 characters (English text approximation).

Scenario	Loaded content	~Tokens
Before (monolithic)	Full SKILL.md (55KB, 2,466 lines)	~14,000
After (always loaded)	Compact SKILL.md (3.9KB, 93 lines)	~1,000
After (typical task)	SKILL.md + 1 reference file	~2,500 - 4,500

Most tasks only need 1-2 reference files, saving 60-90% tokens compared to loading everything upfront.

Type of Contribution

Additional Notes

By submitting this pull request, I confirm that my contribution abides by the Code of Conduct and will be licensed under the MIT License.

fondoger · 2026-02-28T09:40:31Z

@aaronpowell, @AungMyoKyaw, please review.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Splits the previously monolithic skills/azure-devops-cli/SKILL.md into a compact entrypoint plus domain-focused reference documents, so agents can load only the relevant content on demand.

Changes:

Replaced the large SKILL.md with a shorter overview plus a routing table to reference docs.
Added seven new reference markdown files under skills/azure-devops-cli/references/ covering major Azure DevOps CLI domains.
Updated docs/README.skills.md to list the newly bundled reference assets for azure-devops-cli.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
skills/azure-devops-cli/SKILL.md	Slimmed main skill file; added authentication snippet and reference routing table
skills/azure-devops-cli/references/repos-and-prs.md	New reference for Azure Repos/PRs/policies examples
skills/azure-devops-cli/references/pipelines-and-builds.md	New reference for Pipelines, runs, builds, releases, artifacts
skills/azure-devops-cli/references/boards-and-iterations.md	New reference for Boards work items, area paths, iterations
skills/azure-devops-cli/references/variables-and-agents.md	New reference for pipeline variables, variable groups, agents/pools/queues
skills/azure-devops-cli/references/org-and-security.md	New reference for projects, teams/users, permissions, wikis, admin
skills/azure-devops-cli/references/advanced-usage.md	New reference for output formats, `--query` usage, global args, aliases
skills/azure-devops-cli/references/workflows-and-patterns.md	New reference for automation workflows, scripting/idempotency patterns
docs/README.skills.md	Lists the new reference files as bundled assets for the skill

skills/azure-devops-cli/references/advanced-usage.md

Copilot · 2026-02-28T09:40:53Z

skills/azure-devops-cli/references/advanced-usage.md

+# Extract with defaults
+az pipelines show --id $PIPELINE_ID --query "{Name:name, Folder:folder || 'Root', Description:description || 'No description'}"


These examples rely on query features that Azure CLI’s JMESPath typically doesn’t support (e.g., format_datetime(...) and the ternary enabled ? 'Enabled' : 'Disabled'). As written, they’re likely to fail when users copy/paste them. Please switch to supported JMESPath constructs or show a jq-based post-processing alternative after --output json.

Suggested change

# Extract with defaults

az pipelines show --id $PIPELINE_ID --query "{Name:name, Folder:folder || 'Root', Description:description || 'No description'}"

# Extract with defaults using jq after JSON output

az pipelines show --id $PIPELINE_ID --output json \

| jq '{Name:.name, Folder:(.folder // "Root"), Description:(.description // "No description")}'

skills/azure-devops-cli/references/advanced-usage.md

Copilot · 2026-02-28T09:40:53Z

skills/azure-devops-cli/SKILL.md

+# Login with PAT token
+az devops login --organization https://dev.azure.com/{org} --token YOUR_PAT_TOKEN


The authentication example passes the PAT directly on the command line (--token YOUR_PAT_TOKEN), which is likely to be captured in shell history/process listings. Prefer documenting a safer pattern (e.g., AZURE_DEVOPS_EXT_PAT env var + az devops login, or piping the token via stdin) and avoid showing tokens in CLI arguments.

Suggested change

# Login with PAT token

az devops login --organization https://dev.azure.com/{org} --token YOUR_PAT_TOKEN

# Login with PAT token using environment variable (recommended)

export AZURE_DEVOPS_EXT_PAT=YOUR_PAT_TOKEN

az devops login --organization https://dev.azure.com/{org}

skills/azure-devops-cli/references/workflows-and-patterns.md

Copilot · 2026-02-28T09:40:54Z

skills/azure-devops-cli/references/workflows-and-patterns.md

+  while IFS=',' read -r vg_name variables; do
+    ensure_variable_group "$vg_name" "$variables"


sync_variable_groups reads variables as a single comma-separated string (per the config.csv example), then passes it as one argument to ensure_variable_group. az pipelines variable-group create --variables ... expects space-separated key=value pairs, so the comma-separated format (and single-argument pass-through) will likely fail. Either parse the CSV into individual key=value args (and call ensure_variable_group with multiple args), or change the documented config format to match what the CLI expects.

Suggested change

while IFS=',' read -r vg_name variables; do

ensure_variable_group "$vg_name" "$variables"

while IFS=',' read -r vg_name vars; do

# Convert comma-separated key=value pairs into a space-separated list

local formatted_vars=${vars//,/ }

ensure_variable_group "$vg_name" $formatted_vars

skills/azure-devops-cli/references/workflows-and-patterns.md

fondoger added 2 commits February 28, 2026 17:32

Split azure-devops-cli SKILL.md into samller files

92c7abd

Run npm start

a6c507c

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 28, 2026 09:37

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of fondoger February 28, 2026 09:37 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 28, 2026

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Split azure-devops-cli SKILL.md into samller files#841

Split azure-devops-cli SKILL.md into samller files#841
fondoger wants to merge 2 commits intogithub:stagedfrom
fondoger:fondoger/ado-skill-update

fondoger commented Feb 28, 2026 •

edited

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		# Extract with defaults
		az pipelines show --id $PIPELINE_ID --query "{Name:name, Folder:folder \|\| 'Root', Description:description \|\| 'No description'}"

-# Extract with defaults
-az pipelines show --id $PIPELINE_ID --query "{Name:name, Folder:folder || 'Root', Description:description || 'No description'}"
+# Extract with defaults using jq after JSON output
+az pipelines show --id $PIPELINE_ID --output json \
+  | jq '{Name:.name, Folder:(.folder // "Root"), Description:(.description // "No description")}'

		# Login with PAT token
		az devops login --organization https://dev.azure.com/{org} --token YOUR_PAT_TOKEN

		while IFS=',' read -r vg_name variables; do
		ensure_variable_group "$vg_name" "$variables"

-  while IFS=',' read -r vg_name variables; do
-    ensure_variable_group "$vg_name" "$variables"
+  while IFS=',' read -r vg_name vars; do
+    # Convert comma-separated key=value pairs into a space-separated list
+    local formatted_vars=${vars//,/ }
+    ensure_variable_group "$vg_name" $formatted_vars

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Pull Request Checklist

Goal

Structure

Token Estimation

Type of Contribution

Additional Notes

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fondoger commented Feb 28, 2026

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fondoger commented Feb 28, 2026 •

edited

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