Azure DevOps Library Enhancer

Enhance your Azure DevOps Library experience with hierarchical variable group organization and improved navigation.

✨ Features

🌳 Hierarchical Grouping

• Automatically groups Variable Groups by name using - delimiter
• Example: myapp-api-prod, myapp-api-test → grouped under myapp > api
• Collapsible/Expandable folders for better organization

🔗 Enhanced Navigation

• Left Click: Navigate to variable group details
• Right Click or Ctrl+Click: Open in new tab
• Middle Click: Open in new tab
• Maintains native Azure DevOps look and feel

Yes, revolutionary features like "open in new tab" - because apparently Microsoft forgot to implement this in 2025. 🎉

🏷️ Additional Features

• Copy Variable Group Names: Hover over any variable group and click the copy icon
• Dual View Modes: Switch between hierarchical tree view and flat list view
• Search and Filter: Easily find variable groups across your organization
• Real-time Updates: Displays modification dates and user information

🚀 Getting Started

After installing the extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace, simply navigate to Pipelines → Library in your Azure DevOps project. The enhanced library view will automatically replace the default one.

🎯 How It Works

The extension:

1. Loads all Variable Groups via Azure DevOps REST API
2. Parses names by - character to build hierarchy
3. Renders an interactive tree view with expand/collapse
4. Enables multiple click actions for flexible navigation
5. Provides quick copy functionality for variable group names

📊 Example

Your Variable Groups:

• frontend-web-prod
• frontend-web-dev
• frontend-api-prod
• backend-services-prod
• backend-database-prod

Organized as:

📁 frontend
  📁 web
    📦 prod (5 variables)
    📦 dev (3 variables)
  📁 api
    📦 prod (8 variables)
📁 backend
  📁 services
    📦 prod (12 variables)
  📁 database
    📦 prod (6 variables)

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👨</> For Developers

Local Development Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Milvasoft/azuredevops-library-enhancer.git
cd azuredevops-library-enhancer

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Development mode:

npm run dev

4. Build for production:

npm run build

5. Create extension package:

npm run package

Project Structure

├── src/
│   ├── components/          # React components
│   │   ├── LibraryHub.tsx   # Main component (production)
│   │   ├── LibraryHubTest.tsx # Test component
│   │   └── HierarchicalTree.tsx # Tree view component
│   ├── services/            # Business logic
│   │   └── VariableGroupService.ts
│   ├── styles/              # CSS files
│   ├── types/               # TypeScript types
│   └── library-hub.tsx      # Entry point
├── dist/                    # Build output
├── images/                  # Extension assets
└── vss-extension.json       # Extension manifest

Testing Locally

1. Build and package the extension
2. Upload to your test marketplace publisher
3. Install to a test Azure DevOps organization
4. Navigate to Library to see changes

For detailed development guidelines, see DEVELOPER.md

Configuration

Update vss-extension.json to customize:

• Extension name and description
• Publisher ID
• Version number
• Permissions and scopes

🐛 Troubleshooting

Extension not appearing?

• Verify it's enabled in your organization settings
• Clear browser cache and reload
• Check that you have the correct permissions

Groups not forming correctly?

• Ensure variable group names use - as delimiter
• Check browser console for errors
• Verify API permissions

Copy button not working?

• Check browser clipboard permissions
• Try using keyboard shortcuts as fallback

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open Pull Request

Please ensure:

• Code follows existing style
• All tests pass
• Documentation is updated

📝 License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify.

📞 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Documentation: Developer Guide
• Email: info@milvasoft.com

🔒 Privacy & Security

Your data is safe. This is a critical concern for variable groups that often contain sensitive information like API keys, connection strings, and secrets.

🛡️ Security Guarantees

• ✅ 100% Open Source: All code is publicly available on GitHub for audit
• ✅ No External Servers: Extension runs entirely in your browser, no backend services
• ✅ No Data Transmission: Zero external API calls or data uploads
• ✅ Read-Only Access: Uses vso.variablegroups_read scope - cannot modify or delete anything
• ✅ No Analytics or Tracking: No telemetry, no usage statistics, no cookies
• ✅ Local Processing Only: All grouping and rendering happens client-side in your browser
• ✅ Microsoft Security Model: Inherits Azure DevOps' security and permission system

🔍 How to Verify

1. Review the source code yourself
2. Check the extension's permissions in Azure DevOps organization settings
3. Use browser DevTools to verify no external network requests
4. Build and package from source if you prefer

🔐 Sensitive Data Handling

• Variable group values are never accessed - only names, descriptions, and metadata
• The extension only displays what you already have permission to see
• No clipboard or localStorage usage for sensitive data
• Works within Azure DevOps' existing security context

Bottom line: If you can see it in the standard Library view, you can trust it in the enhanced view. If you don't trust it, audit the code.

⚠️ Compatibility

• Azure DevOps Services: ✅ Fully supported
• Azure DevOps Server 2019+: ✅ Supported
• Browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari

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Made with ❤️ by Milvasoft