ADO PR Notifier

Transforming the Azure DevOps code review experience — directly inside VS Code

v0.1.1 — May 2026

🔄 The Current Code Review Workflow

5–8×

Daily context switches
between editor & browser

~30 min

Avg. time from PR assignment
to first review action

3+

Tabs & tools needed
for a single review

😩 Developers lose focus every time they switch to the browser to check PR status, comment, or vote
📧 Email notifications are noisy and easy to miss — no real-time awareness while coding
⏳ Repetitive friction: find the PR → open it → navigate to comment → type → go back to editor

⚡ Before vs After — Taking Action on PRs

❌ Browser (Today)

✗ Switch to browser, find the PR in ADO portal

✗ Navigate tabs to find diff, comments, approvals

✗ Reply to threads one by one in the web UI

✗ Resolve threads manually

✗ Complete / abandon requires multiple clicks

✗ No proactive notifications — you check manually

✗ Auto-complete buried in settings dropdown

✅ VS Code Extension (New)

✓ All PRs visible in sidebar — zero browser switches

✓ One-click diff view with native VS Code diff

✓ Reply to comment threads inline from VS Code

✓ Resolve / reactivate threads with one click

✓ Complete, abandon, set auto-complete from context menu

✓ Real-time toast notifications for mentions & assignments

✓ Auto-complete with merge strategy in two clicks

🚀 Reviewing a PR: Step-by-Step Comparison

Browser Flow

1 Open email / ADO portal ~15s

2 Navigate to project → PRs ~10s

3 Find and open the PR ~5s

4 Review description & comments ~20s

5 Click "Files" tab, pick a file ~10s

6 Review diff in browser viewer varies

7 Reply to comments / resolve ~15s

8 Click Approve / Complete ~5s

9 Switch back to editor ~5s

Total overhead: ~85s + context switch

→

VS Code Extension Flow

1 See toast notification in editor ~0s

2 Click PR in sidebar ~2s

3 View description, stats & threads ~5s

4 Click file → native diff view ~3s

5 Review diff with full editor power varies

6 Reply / resolve threads inline ~5s

7 Approve / Complete from toolbar ~3s

— No context switch needed

— Already in your editor

Total overhead: ~18s — no context switch

🆕 What's New in v0.1.1

💬

Reply & Resolve Threads

Reply to existing comment threads, resolve or reactivate them — same as the browser experience. Existing threads load automatically when viewing diffs.

✔️

Complete PR

Complete (merge) a PR with your choice of merge strategy: no fast-forward, squash, or rebase. Option to delete source branch after merge.

🚀

Auto-Complete

Set auto-complete so the PR merges automatically once all policies pass. Cancel auto-complete with one click. Choose merge strategy upfront.

🗑️

Abandon PR

Abandon a pull request directly from the tree view context menu or from the PR detail panel — with a confirmation prompt.

📊

PR Stats

Instant stats in the detail view: total comments, active/resolved threads, number of iterations (push updates), and files changed.

🔐

No More PAT

Removed all Personal Access Token references. Authentication uses VS Code's built-in Microsoft / Entra ID SSO — more secure, zero token management.

📋 Full Feature Comparison

Capability	ADO Browser	VS Code Extension
View active PRs	✅	✅ Sidebar + Panel
Real-time notifications	❌ Email only	✅ Toast notifications
View diffs	✅ Web viewer	✅ Native VS Code diff
Inline comments on diff	✅	✅ VS Code comment API
Reply to threads	✅	✅ Inline + Panel
Resolve / reactivate threads	✅	✅
Approve / Reject / Wait	✅	✅ One-click
Complete PR (merge strategies)	✅	✅
Set auto-complete	✅	✅
Abandon PR	✅	✅
PR stats (threads, iterations)	Partial	✅ At a glance
Build status	✅	✅
Linked work items	✅	✅
Zero context switch	❌	✅
No PAT / token management	N/A	✅ Entra ID SSO

📈 Expected Developer Impact

~75%

Reduction in
context switches

~4x

Faster first
review response

100%

PR actions available
without leaving editor

0

Tokens to manage
(SSO-only auth)

🧠 Stay in flow state — reviews happen where you code, not in a separate browser tab
⚡ Faster review cycles — real-time notifications mean you act on PRs minutes sooner
🔒 More secure — no PATs to rotate, leak, or manage; just your org SSO
📊 Better visibility — PR stats, thread status, and build checks at a glance

Start reviewing PRs
without leaving your editor.

Install ADO PR Notifier from the VS Code Marketplace, sign in with your Microsoft account, and never context-switch for a code review again.

🚀 Install ADO PR Notifier v0.1.1