ALI Dev MCP Server

Easily install the ALI Dev MCP Server and Azure DevOps MCP Server for VS Code:

This TypeScript project provides a local MCP server for Azure DevOps, enabling you to perform Azure DevOps pull request analysis, code review tasks, and posting inline comments directly from your code editor.

📋 Overview

The ALI Dev MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides Azure DevOps pull request utilities for AI-powered code reviews. It integrates with GitHub Copilot to enable automated PR analysis and inline code review comments directly in Azure DevOps.

Key Capabilities:

• PR File Analysis - Inspect and analyze file changes in Azure DevOps pull requests
• Inline PR Comments - Post automated review comments directly to PR files
• AI-Powered Reviews - Leverage GitHub Copilot for intelligent code analysis
• Iteration Tracking - Track and review changes across PR iterations

⚡ Prerequisites

Before using the ALI Dev MCP Server, ensure you have:

• Node.js version 18.0.0 or higher installed

  • Download from nodejs.org
  • Verify installation:

    node --version
    npm --version

• Azure CLI installed and configured (recommended for Azure DevOps authentication):

  • Download from Microsoft Azure CLI
  • For Windows: Download and run the MSI installer
  • Verify installation:

    az --version

  • Login to Azure:

    az login

• PowerShell (for running the installation script on Windows)

🚀 Installation

For detailed installation instructions, see INSTALLATION.md.

Quick Install

1. Download or clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/NSriram27/ali-dev-mcp.git
   cd Ali_Dev_Mcp_Server

2. Run the installer:

   installer.bat

3. Authenticate with Azure DevOps:

   az login

4. Restart VS Code to load the new MCP configuration

The installer will:

• ✅ Install the server to %USERPROFILE%\.mcp\servers\ALI_DEV_MCP_Server
• ✅ Configure VS Code MCP settings
• ✅ Install the PR Code Review chatmode
• ✅ Set up all dependencies

💻 VS Code GitHub Copilot Configuration

The installer automatically configures the MCP server in VS Code. The configuration is added to:

Configuration file location: %APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json

If you already have an existing mcp.json file, the installer will prompt you to manually add the configuration. Add the following servers to your existing configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "ado": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@azure-devops/mcp", "${input:ado_org}"]
    },
    "ali-dev-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tsx", "%USERPROFILE%\\.mcp\\servers\\ALI_DEV_MCP_Server\\src\\index.ts"],
      "env": { "NODE_ENV": "production" }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "ado_org",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "Azure DevOps organization name (e.g. 'contoso')"
    }
  ]
}

Note:

• If you already have other MCP servers configured, merge the ali-dev-mcp and ado entries into your existing servers section
• Add the ado_org input to your existing inputs array if you don't already have it
• The ado server configuration is included by default for convenience. This is the official Azure DevOps MCP server from Microsoft. For more information, visit: https://github.com/microsoft/azure-devops-mcp

🛠️ Available Tools and Prompts

The ALI Dev MCP Server provides two main MCP providers for Azure DevOps pull request workflows:

PR Files MCP

Tools:

• get_pr_file_changes: Get file changes from a pull request in Azure DevOps

Prompts:

• analyze-pr-changes: Analyze file changes in a pull request and provide insights (types, patterns, impact)
• review-pr-files: Review specific files changed in a pull request with optional filtering by pattern

PR Comments MCP

Tools:

• add_pr_inline_comment: Add an inline review comment to a specific file and line in a pull request

Prompts:

• add-review-comment: Helper prompt to craft and add a single inline review comment
• review-pr-with-comments: Comprehensive review prompt that can analyze PR changes and add multiple inline comments

💬 GitHub Copilot Chat Integration

The installer sets up a custom chatmode for PR code reviews:

• File: %APPDATA%\Code\User\prompts\PR Code Review.chatmode.md
• Usage: Select this chatmode in GitHub Copilot Chat to perform automated PR reviews with inline comments

Example Chat Commands:

@copilot Use get_pr_file_changes tool for PR 12345 in project MyProject, repository MyRepo
@copilot Use analyze-pr-changes prompt for PR 12345 in project MyProject, repository MyRepo  
@copilot Use review-pr-with-comments prompt for PR 12345 in project MyProject, repository MyRepo

🔧 Troubleshooting

Installation Issues

"Node.js not found"

• Install Node.js 18.0.0+ from nodejs.org
• Restart your terminal/command prompt after installation
• Verify installation: node --version

"PowerShell execution error"

• The batch installer runs PowerShell with -ExecutionPolicy Bypass
• If you encounter issues, run as Administrator
• Alternatively, run PowerShell script directly:

  Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process
  .\install.ps1

"Failed to install dependencies"

• Check your internet connection
• Verify npm is working: npm --version
• Try manual installation:

  cd %USERPROFILE%\.mcp\servers\ALI_DEV_MCP_Server
  npm install

VS Code Integration Issues

"VS Code doesn't recognize MCP server"

• Verify mcp.json exists at %APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json
• Check the file content matches the expected configuration
• Restart VS Code completely (close all windows)
• Check VS Code Output panel for MCP-related errors

"GitHub Copilot Chat doesn't show chatmode"

• Verify chatmode file exists at %APPDATA%\Code\User\prompts\PR Code Review.chatmode.md
• Restart VS Code
• Check that GitHub Copilot extension is installed and enabled

Azure DevOps Authentication Issues

"Authentication failed"

• Run az login to authenticate with Azure DevOps
• Ensure you have access to the target Azure DevOps organization
• Verify your Azure DevOps permissions for the target project/repository
• Check that @azure/identity can access Azure credentials

"Cannot access pull request"

• Verify the project, repository, and PR ID are correct
• Ensure you have read permissions for the repository
• Check that the PR exists and is not deleted

Testing the Server

To verify the server is working correctly:

cd %USERPROFILE%\.mcp\servers\ALI_DEV_MCP_Server
npx tsx src\index.ts

The server should start without errors. Press Ctrl+C to stop it.

📚 Additional Resources

• Installation Guide: INSTALLATION.md - Detailed installation instructions
• Development Guide: README-DEV.md - For contributors and developers
• Model Context Protocol: MCP Documentation
• Azure DevOps API: REST API Reference
• Azure DevOps MCP Server: Official Microsoft Server

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see README-DEV.md for development setup and guidelines.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
3. Make your changes and add tests
4. Run tests: npm test
5. Commit your changes: git commit -m "Add your feature"
6. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/your-feature-name
7. Create a Pull Request

©️ Copyright

© 2025, Hexagon AB and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All rights reserved.