Delete work items by WIQL query

Deletes all work items that match a WIQL query. The query in WITH defines which items are removed (e.g. by project and a list of IDs). Run a SELECT with the same query first to confirm the set of items before deleting.

Standard SQL query example

This is the base query accepted by the connector. To execute it in SQL Server, you have to pass it to the Data Gateway via a Linked Server. See how to accomplish this using the examples below.

DELETE FROM WorkItems
Where 1=1 
WITH(Query='SELECT * FROM WorkItems Where [System.TeamProject]=''MyProject'' AND ([System.Id]=6469 OR [System.Id]=6468) ')

Using OPENQUERY in SQL Server

SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY], 'DELETE FROM WorkItems
Where 1=1 
WITH(Query=''SELECT * FROM WorkItems Where [System.TeamProject]=''''MyProject'''' AND ([System.Id]=6469 OR [System.Id]=6468) '')')

Using EXEC in SQL Server (handling larger SQL text)

The major drawback of OPENQUERY is its inability to incorporate variables within SQL statements. This often leads to the use of cumbersome dynamic SQL (with numerous ticks and escape characters).

Fortunately, starting with SQL 2005 and onwards, you can utilize the EXEC (your_sql) AT [LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY] syntax.

DECLARE @MyQuery NVARCHAR(MAX) = 'DELETE FROM WorkItems
Where 1=1 
WITH(Query=''SELECT * FROM WorkItems Where [System.TeamProject]=''''MyProject'''' AND ([System.Id]=6469 OR [System.Id]=6468) '')'
EXEC (@MyQuery) AT [LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY]