Add a deploy button to Azure Boards work items

Azure Boards tracks the ticket. Azure Repos tracks the branch. Azure Pipelines runs the deployment. BranchDeploy connects those pieces inside the work item — so your team can deploy the right branch from the ticket where the work is already tracked.

The problem

Azure DevOps gives you all the building blocks for a feature-branch deployment workflow: work items in Boards, branches in Repos, and pipelines in Pipelines. But there is no native button to go from a work item to a deployment of the branch linked to that ticket.

The result is a manual handoff that looks like this:

• Developer finishes work on feature/checkout-flow, linked to ticket #1234.
• Developer tells QA the branch is ready.
• QA opens the pipeline UI, tries to remember the branch name, selects it, chooses the right environment, and queues the run.
• Something gets wrong. Wrong branch, wrong environment, or the QA engineer doesn't have access to the pipeline UI at all.

This friction multiplies across every feature, every sprint, and every person who needs to trigger a deployment.

How BranchDeploy works

BranchDeploy is a Visual Studio Marketplace extension for Azure DevOps. Once installed and configured, it adds a deploy action to the toolbar of any Azure Boards work item.

When a user clicks the action:

1. BranchDeploy reads the Development links on the work item.
2. It finds the linked Azure Repos branch or pull request.
3. If a PR is linked, it resolves the PR's source branch.
4. A confirmation step shows the branch name, target environment, and work item details.
5. The user confirms.
6. BranchDeploy queues the configured Azure Pipeline with the resolved branch and environment parameters.
7. The run ID and a direct link to the pipeline run appear immediately.

The branch never has to be typed, copied, or communicated outside the ticket.

Who uses it

BranchDeploy is useful for every role involved in getting a feature from development to testing.

Developers use BranchDeploy to push their feature branch to a staging or preview environment without leaving the work item context. The branch is already linked — one click queues the pipeline.

QA engineers use BranchDeploy to deploy the specific branch linked to the ticket they are about to test. They do not need to know the branch name or navigate the Azure Pipelines UI. They open the ticket, click deploy, confirm, and the right branch is in the environment.

Delivery managers use BranchDeploy to hand off features to UAT with a clear record of what was deployed, to which environment, and from which ticket. The confirmation step makes the deployment context explicit before anything runs.

DevOps admins use BranchDeploy to reduce ad-hoc "can you deploy this branch for me?" requests by giving QA and delivery teams a safe, controlled way to trigger deployments themselves. Branch allowlists and always-on confirmation prevent accidental deployments to the wrong environment.

Safety controls

BranchDeploy is designed to make existing Azure DevOps workflows easier to trigger — not to bypass them.

• Permission respecting. BranchDeploy queues the pipeline as the current Azure DevOps user. If a user cannot queue the pipeline manually, BranchDeploy cannot queue it for them.
• Always-on confirmation. Every deployment shows the resolved branch, environment, and work item before the pipeline is queued. There is no way to skip confirmation.
• Branch allowlists. Project admins configure which branch patterns are permitted to deploy to each environment. BranchDeploy blocks deployments that do not match before the pipeline is called.
• Admin configuration required. BranchDeploy will not queue any deployments for a project until a project admin has saved settings in Project Settings → BranchDeploy.

Free vs Pro

BranchDeploy is free for one project and one environment, with no time limit and no credit card required.

Free

• Deploy button on Azure Boards work items
• Automatic branch detection from linked Azure Repos branches and PRs
• Always-on confirmation before every deployment
• One project and one environment
• Unlimited deployments
• Branch allowlist (glob patterns)
• Custom pipeline parameter names
• No BranchDeploy account required

Pro — £9/month or £90/year per organisation

• Unlimited projects and environments
• Branch allowlist per environment
• Multi-candidate branch picker (for work items with multiple linked branches or PRs)
• 90-day deployment audit log
• Microsoft Teams bot (@BranchDeploy deploy #1234 to UAT)
• AI assistant integration — deploy from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client
• Priority email support with 2 business day SLA

See full pricing and feature comparison →

Setup in five minutes

1. Install BranchDeploy from the Visual Studio Marketplace.
2. Open your Azure DevOps project.
3. Go to Project Settings → BranchDeploy.
4. Enter your pipeline ID, environment name, and optional branch allowlist patterns.
5. Save settings.
6. Open a work item with a linked branch or PR and click the BranchDeploy action.

For the full walkthrough, see the setup documentation.