Azure DevOps: Comments and Closed Work Items

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This page tells you how Azure DevOps work item events reach the linked Zendesk ticket. For the settings that all platforms share, see Ticket Comments and Zendesk Tags.

Incoming Comments: Azure DevOps to Zendesk

Find Create Zendesk Ticket Comments at the top of the settings. Each option has an Internal / Public switch.

Option	Default	When Git-Zen adds a ticket comment
Upon work item creation	On, internal	A work item with a reference tag to the ticket is created.
Upon work item comment	On, internal	Someone comments on a linked work item.
Upon change to work item property	Off, internal	A linked work item changes, and the change matches the property list. If the list is empty, Git-Zen uses State, Assigned To, and Severity.
Upon commit push	On, internal	A commit message references the ticket.

Choose the properties

When you turn on Upon change to work item property, choose items in Comment on change to which properties?. If you choose none, Git-Zen comments on changes to State, Assigned To, and Severity. You can choose from:

Any: every change.
State: any change of state.
State:Closed, State:Completed, State:Removed, State:Rejected, State:Done: a change to that state only.
Severity, AssignedTo, WorkItemType: a change to that field.
Any of your Custom. fields.

The comment lists each changed field with its old and new value. For Description and Repro Steps, it only says that the field changed.

Keywords in Azure DevOps comments

Put these keywords anywhere in an Azure DevOps comment:

gz#skip: Git-Zen does not send this comment to Zendesk.
gz#force: Git-Zen sends this comment even when Upon work item comment is off. Git-Zen removes the keyword from the ticket comment.
gz#public: Git-Zen adds this comment to the ticket as a public comment, whatever your setting is.
gz#private: Git-Zen adds this comment to the ticket as an internal comment, whatever your setting is.

Git-Zen ignores comments that it posted itself, such as “Agent comment from” comments that came from Zendesk. Comment filters also apply to work item comments.

Who the comment is from

Git-Zen reads the email address of the Azure DevOps user who made the change. If a Zendesk user has the same email address, the ticket comment shows that user as the author. If the addresses differ, add the Azure DevOps address as a secondary email on the Zendesk user.

Outgoing Comments: Zendesk to Azure DevOps

When an agent adds a comment to a work item, Git-Zen posts it as the OAuth user. The comment starts with “Agent comment from agent name in Zendesk ticket #number”. The ticket number links back to the ticket.

To mention an Azure DevOps user, type @ followed by the user’s email address, for example @ana@contoso.com. Git-Zen turns it into an Azure DevOps mention, so the user gets a notification. This also works for a group, with @ followed by the group’s principal name. It works in work item comments and in the description of a new work item.

When a Work Item Closes

Git-Zen treats a work item as closed when its state changes to Closed, Completed, or Done. The match ignores case. Other states, such as Resolved or Removed, do not count.

When a linked work item closes, Git-Zen can:

Add the tags in Zendesk Ticket Tags when Work Item Closed to the ticket.
Solve the ticket, if you turn on Solve Zendesk ticket when work item is closed.

Git-Zen does not solve a ticket that is already solved or closed.

Some Zendesk accounts require an assignee to solve a ticket. If the ticket has no assignee, enter a Zendesk user ID in Fallback Zendesk Assignee ID. Git-Zen then assigns the ticket to that user before it solves it. It never replaces an existing assignee. Without a fallback ID, Git-Zen does not solve an unassigned ticket. It still adds the comment and the tags.

To find a user ID, open the user in Zendesk. The ID is the number in the address, for example /agent/users/12345.

Tags for Linked Zendesk Ticket

Git-Zen adds the tags in Tags for Linked Zendesk Ticket each time it updates a ticket from an Azure DevOps event.