Query Azure DevOps Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect AI to query Azure DevOps data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for Azure DevOps in Connect AI and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect AI provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for Azure DevOps, allowing you to easily query live Azure DevOps data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Azure DevOps, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Azure DevOps data.

Configure Azure DevOps Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to Azure DevOps from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Azure DevOps data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a Azure DevOps connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
👁 Adding a Connection

2. Select "Azure DevOps" from the Add Connection panel
👁 Selecting a data source

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Azure DevOps. You can connect to your Azure DevOps account by providing the Organization and PersonalAccessToken.

   Obtaining a Personal Access Token

   A PersonalAccessToken is necessary for account authentication.

   To generate one, log in to your Azure DevOps Organization account and navigate to Profile -> Personal Access Tokens -> New Token. The generated token will be displayed.

   If you wish to authenticate to Azure DevOps using OAuth refer to the online Help documentation for an authentication guide.

   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Azure DevOps Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
   
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Azure DevOps data from Node.js.

Query Azure DevOps from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to Azure DevOps with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for Azure DevOps (AzureDevOps1)

Connect to Azure DevOps data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'AzureDevOps1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
 if(err){
 throw err ;
 }
 new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM Builds', (err, result) => {
 console.dir(result)
 })
 
});

sql.on('error', err => {
 console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})