Azure DevOps Connector for Tableau Azure DevOps Connector can be used to integrate Azure DevOps data in your App / BI Tools. You can create, read, query, modify, and delete WorkItems, Projects, Teams and more. In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Azure DevOps data in Tableau without coding. We will use high-performance Azure DevOps Connector to easily connect to Azure DevOps and then access the data inside Tableau. Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that! Download Documentation Azure DevOps Connector for Tableau is based on ZappySys API Driver which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few.

Connect to Azure DevOps in other apps Connect to Azure DevOps in SSIS Connect to Azure DevOps in SQL Server Connect to Azure DevOps in Power BI Connect to Azure DevOps in SSRS Connect to Azure DevOps in Informatica Connect to Azure DevOps in MS Access Connect to Azure DevOps in MS Excel Connect to Azure DevOps in SSAS Connect to Azure DevOps in C# Connect to Azure DevOps in Python Connect to Azure DevOps in JAVA Connect to Azure DevOps in SAP Crystal Reports Connect to Azure DevOps in Azure Data Factory (Pipeline) Connect to Azure DevOps in Azure Data Factory (SSIS) Connect to Azure DevOps in Talend Studio Connect to Azure DevOps in UiPath Connect to Azure DevOps in PowerShell Connect to Azure DevOps in ODBC

Create Data Source in ZappySys Data Gateway based on API Driver

1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

2. Search for gateway in start menu and Open ZappySys Data Gateway:
   

3. Go to Users Tab to add our first Gateway user. Click Add; we will give it a name tdsuser and enter password you like to give. Check Admin option and click OK to save. We will use these details later when we create linked server:
   

4. Now we are ready to add a data source. Click Add, give data source a name (Copy this name somewhere, we will need it later) and then select Native - ZappySys API Driver. Finally, click OK. And it will create the Data Set for it and open the ZS driver UI.

   AzureDevopsDSN

   
   

5. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Azure DevOps" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Azure DevOps" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

   AzureDevopsDSN

   Azure DevOps

   

6. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    OAuth [OAuth]

   Steps how to get and use Azure DevOps credentials
   Connecting to your Azure DevOps data requires you to authenticate your REST API access. Follow the instructions below:

   1. Go to https://app.vsaex.visualstudio.com/app/register to register your app.
   2. Fill in your application and company's information as required, and then select the scopes that your application needs. This should typically be Project and team (read and write) and Work items (read and write).
      Your selected scopes when registering your app must match the scopes you enter here on the connector screen. If they don't match, the connector will not be able to work with your Azure DevOps account!

      If you need further information about the scopes used in Azure DevOps, or need to see what to enter into the connector screen to match up with your selected scopes, visit https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/integrate/get-started/authentication/oauth?view=azure-devops.
      

      NOTE: For Authorization callback URL use your company's OAuth Redirect URL (if IT administrator provides you one) or you can use https://zappysys.com/oauth (it's safe).

   3. Select Create Application and then the Application Settings page will be displayed.
   4. Record the App ID for us to use later:
   5. And do the same with Client Secret:
   6. Then go to https://aex.dev.azure.com and select relevant organization on the left.
   7. Then copy Organization's host name part (e.g. acmeinc, if full host name is acmeinc.visualstudio.com), save it to a file, and click it:
   8. Back at the connector screen, enter the App ID into the Client Id (App ID) field that was recorded in the previous step.
   9. Enter the Client Secret that was recorded in the previous step into the Client Secret field. In order to edit the text in this field, select the ellipses (...) button that appears when the textbox is clicked, and edit the Client Secret with the dialog box that appears.
   10. Enter the organization that was recorded in step 5 into the Organization name or Id for url field.
   11. Click Generate Token. If proper authentication occurs, you will see a notice saying so. You can click Yes to save a backup file of your generated tokens.
   12. Select the project you want to connect to by default from the Default Project (Choose after Generating Token) field.
   13. Select the Security tab.
   14. Enter https://auditservice.dev.azure.com,https://almsearch.dev.azure.com into the Additional Trusted Domains field.
   15. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure DevOps account.
   16. If the connection test succeeds, select OK.
   17. To edit previously created app you can visit https://app.vsaex.visualstudio.com/me and see Applications and services section. Click on your desired app name.

   Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

   AzureDevopsDSN

   Azure DevOps

   OAuth [OAuth]

   https://dev.azure.com

   Required Parameters
   Client Id (App ID)	Fill-in the parameter...
   Client Secret	Fill-in the parameter...
   Organization name or Id for url (e.g. mycompany)	Fill-in the parameter...
   Return URL	Fill-in the parameter...
   Scopes (Must match with App Registration)	Fill-in the parameter...
   API Version	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   Default Project Name (Choose after Generating Token)
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429
   RetryCountMax	5
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

   

    Personal Access Token (PAT) [Http]

   Steps how to get and use Azure DevOps credentials
   To connect to Azure DevOps using a Personal Access Token (PAT), you must first create a valid PAT:

   1. Start by by going to https://aex.dev.azure.com and selecting relevant organization on the left.
   2. Then copy Organization's host name part (e.g. acmeinc, if full host name is acmeinc.visualstudio.com), save it to a file, and click it:
   3. Next, click User settings icon and then click Personal access tokens:
   4. Then click New Token button to create a new personal access token:
   5. Continue by...
      • naming your token
      • selecting the right Organization
      • setting token's Expiration date (it's recommended to use Custom defined option and make it expire after one year or later)
      • and setting the Scopes:
      

      NOTE: You may be restricted from creating full-scoped PATs. If so, your Azure DevOps administrator in Azure AD has enabled a policy which limits you to a specific custom defined set of scopes.

   6. Now click Copy button and save the newly created token into a file for quick access later:
   7. Go back to the connector screen, input the token you saved in a previous step into the Personal Access Token (PAT) field.
   8. Then enter the Organization host name part that you noted recorded in previous step into Organization name or Id for url field.
   9. Enter the name or Id of the project you want to connect to by default in the Default Project (Choose after above fields) field.
   10. Select the Security tab.
   11. Enter https://auditservice.dev.azure.com,https://almsearch.dev.azure.com,https://analytics.dev.azure.com into the Additional Trusted Domains field.
   12. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure DevOps account.
   13. Done!

   Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

   AzureDevopsDSN

   Azure DevOps

   Personal Access Token (PAT) [Http]

   https://dev.azure.com

   Required Parameters
   Personal Access Token (PAT)	Fill-in the parameter...
   Organization name or Id for url	Fill-in the parameter...
   API Version	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   AuthScheme	Bearer
   AuthHeader	Authorization
   UserName
   Default Project Name (Choose after Generating Token)
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429
   RetryCountMax	5
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

   

7. Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - Azure DevOps

   Azure DevOps Connector can be used to integrate Azure DevOps data in your App / BI Tools. You can create, read, query, modify, and delete WorkItems, Projects, Teams and more.

   AzureDevopsDSN

   

8. Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in Tableau to retrieve data from Azure DevOps. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

   SELECT * FROM Projects

   
   Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Azure DevOps API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.

9. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in Tableau:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - Azure DevOps

   Azure DevOps Connector can be used to integrate Azure DevOps data in your App / BI Tools. You can create, read, query, modify, and delete WorkItems, Projects, Teams and more.

   AzureDevopsDSN

   SELECT * FROM Projects

   
   You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.
   A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Azure DevOps API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Azure DevOps servers).

10. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Read data in SQL Server using ZappySys Data Gateway

To read the data in SQL Server, the first thing you have to do is create a Linked Server:

1. First, let's open SQL Server Management Studio, create a new Linked Server, and start configuring it:

   LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY

   Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server

   localhost,5000

   AzureDevopsDSN

   AzureDevopsDSN

   
   Choose SQL Server Native Client 11.0 as Provider if you don't see the option shown above.

2. Then click on Security option and configure username we created in ZappySys Data Gateway in one of the previous steps:

   

3. Optional step. Under the Server Options, Enable RPC and RPC Out and Disable Promotion of Distributed Transactions(MSDTC).

   

   You need to enable RPC Out if you plan to use EXEC(...) AT [LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY] rather than OPENQUERY.
   If don't enabled it, you will encounter the Server 'LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY' is not configured for RPC error.

   Query Example:

   EXEC('SELECT * FROM Projects') AT [LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY]

   ---

   If you plan to use 'INSERT INTO <TABLE> EXEC(...) AT [LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY]' in that case you need to Disable Promotion of Distributed Transactions(MSDTC).
   If don't disabled it, you will encounter the The operation could not be performed because OLE DB provider "SQLNCLI11" for linked server "MY_LINKED_SERVER_NAME" was unable to begin a distributed transaction. error.

   Query Example:

   INSERT INTO dbo.Products
   EXEC('SELECT * FROM Projects') AT [LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY]
   

4. Finally, open a new query and execute a query we saved in one of the previous steps:
   

   SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY], 'SELECT * FROM Projects')

   

   SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY], 'SELECT * FROM Projects')

Create Linked Server using Code

In previous section you saw how to create a Linked Server from UI. You can do similar action by code too (see below). Run below script after changing necessary parameters. Assuming your Data Source name on ZappySys Data Gateway UI is 'AzureDevopsDSN'

USE [master]
GO
--///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
--Run below code in SSMS to create Linked Server and use ZappySys Drivers in SQL Server
--///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

-- Replace YOUR_GATEWAY_USER, YOUR_GATEWAY_PASSWORD
-- Replace localhost with IP/Machine name if ZappySys Gateway Running on different machine other than SQL Server
-- Replace Port 5000 if you configured gateway on a different port


--1. Configure your gateway service as per this article https://zappysys.com/links?id=10036

--2. Make sure you have SQL Server Installed. You can download FREE SQL Server Express Edition from here if you dont want to buy Paid version https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-editions-express

--Uncomment below if you like to drop linked server if it already exists
--EXEC master.dbo.sp_dropserver @server=N'LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY', @droplogins='droplogins'

--3. Create new linked server

EXEC master.dbo.sp_addlinkedserver
    @server = N'LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY'  --Linked server name (this will be used in OPENQUERY sql
, @srvproduct=N''
---- For MSSQL 2012,2014,2016 and 2019 use below (SQL Server Native Client 11.0)---
, @provider=N'SQLNCLI11'
---- For MSSQL 2022 or higher use below (Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server)---
--, @provider=N'MSOLEDBSQL'
, @datasrc=N'localhost,5000' --//Machine / Port where Gateway service is running
, @provstr=N'Network Library=DBMSSOCN;'
, @catalog=N'AzureDevopsDSN' --Data source name you gave on Gateway service settings

--4. Attach gateway login with linked server

EXEC master.dbo.sp_addlinkedsrvlogin
@rmtsrvname=N'LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY'  --linked server name
, @useself=N'False'
, @locallogin=NULL
, @rmtuser=N'YOUR_GATEWAY_USER' --enter your Gateway user name
, @rmtpassword='YOUR_GATEWAY_PASSWORD'  --enter your Gateway user's password
GO

--5. Enable RPC OUT (This is Optional - Only needed if you plan to use EXEC(...) AT YourLinkedServerName rather than OPENQUERY
EXEC sp_serveroption 'LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY', 'rpc', true;
EXEC sp_serveroption 'LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY', 'rpc out', true;

--Disable MSDTC - Below needed to support INSERT INTO from EXEC AT statement
EXEC sp_serveroption 'LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY', 'remote proc transaction promotion', false;

--Increase query timeout if query is going to take longer than 10 mins (Default timeout is 600 seconds)
--EXEC sp_serveroption 'LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY', 'query timeout', 1200;
GO

Create View in SQL Server

Finally, use this or similar query in a view or stored procedure, which you will be able to use in Tableau. We will create a view to return invoices:

1. CREATE VIEW vwApiInvoices AS
    SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY], 'SELECT * FROM Invoices')

Read data in Tableau from SQL Server

Actually, we will be getting data from SQL Server which in turn will be getting data from ZappySys Data Gateway data source. Let's begin and see how to accomplish that:

1. Open Tableau Desktop and click File > New
2. To create new Connection click More > Microsoft SQL Server > Enter your credentials to connect to SQL Server (in our example before we used tdsuser):
3. Once connection is created for SQL Server we can read Azure DevOps data 3 different ways:
   1. Query View which contains OPENQUERY to Linked Server for Azure DevOps data
   2. Use direct SQL Query using OPENQUERY
   3. Use Stored Procedure (Mostly useful to parameterize calls
4. See below example to pull data from Azure DevOps in Tableau using SQL View approach:
5. Once your data sources are created you can click on Sheet1 and drag fields to create visualizations for Tableau Dashboard:

Passing Parameters to Azure DevOps calls in Tableau (Dynamic SQL)

Now let's look at scenario where you have to pass parameters to build Dynamic Dashboard. You can try to insert Parameters in your Direct SQL when you build Dynamic SQL but we found some issues with that so we are going to suggest Stored Procedure approach. For more information on Known issue on Dynamic Metadata Check this post.

1. First lets create a stored procedure in SQL Server for Parameter Example. Notice how we added WITH RESULT SETS in the code to describe metadata.

   --DROP PROC dbo.usp_GetInvoicesByCountry
   --GO
   /*
   Purpose: Parameterize Azure DevOps call via SQL. Call ZappySys Drivers inside SQL Server.
   */
   CREATE PROC dbo.usp_GetInvoicesByCountry
   	@country varchar(100) 
   AS 
   
   DECLARE @sql varchar(max)
   --//Escape single ticks carefully
   SET @sql =  'SELECT OrderID,CustomerID,Country,Quantity FROM $
   WITH (Src=''https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json@filter=Country eq '+ @country +'''
   	 ,Filter=''$.value[*]''
   	 ,DataFormat=''OData''
   )'
   
   DECLARE @sqlFull varchar(max)
   SET @sqlFull='SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([LS_TO_AZURE_DEVOPS_IN_GATEWAY], ''' + REPLACE( @sql, '''', '''''' ) + ''' )'
   PRINT @sqlFull --//For DEBUG purpose
   
   EXECUTE (@sqlFull) 
   WITH RESULT SETS ( 
    (OrderID int,CustomerID varchar(100),Country varchar(100),Quantity int) --//describe first result. If you don't do this then wont work in Tableau 
   )
   GO
   -- Example call
   EXEC dbo.usp_GetInvoicesByCountry @country='Germany'

2. Once you create a stored procedure go to Tableau datasource and select Database which contains the stored procedure we just created.
3. Now find your stored proc and drag it on the datasource pane. You will see parameters UI as below. You can create new parameter - Select New Parameter under Value Column.
4. Thats it now you can reuse your parameterized datasource anywhere in Dashboard.
5. If you have need to select Parameters from predefined values rather than free text then edit your parameter and select List option. Define values you like to select from as below.
6. When you create Tableau Dashboard you will see Parameter dropdown (If you selected List) elase you may see Textbox to enter custom value.

Firewall settings

So far we have assumed that Gateway is running on the same machine as SQL Server. However there will be a case when ZappySys ODBC PowerPack is installed on a different machine than SQL Server. In such case you may have to perform additional Firewall configurations. On most computers firewall settings wont allow outside traffic to ZappySys Data Gateway. In such case perform following steps to allow other machines to connect to Gateway.

Method-1 (Preferred)

If you are using newer version of ZappySys Data Gateway then adding firewall rule is just a single click.

1. Search for gateway in start menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway.
2. Go to Firewall Tab and click Add Firewall Rule button like below. This will create Firewall rule to all Inbound Traffic on Port 5000 (Unless you changed it).

Method-2 Here is another way to add / edit Inbound Traffic rule in windows firewall. Use below method if you choose to customize your rule (for advanced users).

1. Search for Windows Firewall Advanced Security in start menu.
2. Under Inbound Rules > Right click and click [New Rule] >> Click Next
3. Select Port on Rule Type >> Click Next
4. Click on TCP and enter port number under specified local port as 5000 (use different one if you changed Default port) >> Click Next
5. Select Profile (i.e. Private, Public) >> Click Next
6. Enter Rule name [i.e. ZappySys Data Gateway – Allow Inbound ] >> Click Next
7. Click OK to save the rule

Actions supported by Azure DevOps Connector

Learn how to perform common Azure DevOps actions directly in Tableau with these how-to guides:

• Create Project
• Create Team
• Create Work Item
• Create Work Item Comment
• Delete Project
• Delete Team
• Delete Work Item
• Delete Work Item Comment
• Get List of Projects
• Get List of Queries
• Get List of Teams
• Get Project Details
• Get Query Fileds
• Get Team Details
• Get Team Iteration Capacities
• Get Team Iterations
• Get Team Members
• Get Work Item Column Fields
• Get Work Item Comment by Comment Id and Work Item Id
• Get Work Item Comments (by WorkItem Id)
• Get Work Item Types
• Get Work Items by Ids
• Get Work Items for Specified Query Id
• Query Work Item Comments
• Query Work Items
• Search for Work Items by Text
• Update Project
• Update Team
• Update Work Item
• Update Work Item Comment
• Generic Request
• Generic Request (Bulk Write)

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Azure DevOps in Tableau and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort. It's worth noting that ZappySys API Driver allows you to connect not only to Azure DevOps, but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).

We encourage you to download Azure DevOps Connector for Tableau and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.

Download Azure DevOps Connector for Tableau Documentation

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