Navigate the Azure DevOps web portal
Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server 2022 - Azure DevOps Server 2019
The Azure DevOps web portal is organized into various services, administrative pages, and task-specific features like the search box. Service labels vary depending on whether you’re using Azure DevOps Services or an on-premises version.
Important
Select the version of this article that corresponds to your platform and version. The version selector is above the table of contents. Look up your Azure DevOps platform and version.
Each service offers multiple pages with numerous features and functional tasks. Within each page, you can choose options to select or add specific artifacts.
The Azure DevOps Server web portal is organized into several services, including Overview, Boards, Repos, Pipelines, Test Plans, and Artifacts. It also includes administrative pages and task-specific features like the search box. Each service offers multiple pages with various features and functional tasks. Within each page, you can choose options to select or add specific artifacts.
Key features and navigation
Here's what you need to know to start using the web portal effectively.
- Open a service, page, or settings: Use to switch to a different service or functional area
- Add an artifact or team: Use to quickly add a work item, Git repo, build or release pipelines, or a new team
- Open another project or repo: Use to switch to a different project or access work items and pull requests defined in different projects, or your favorite items
- Open team artifacts, use breadcrumbs, selectors and directories: Use to navigate within a service, open other artifacts, or return to a root function
- Work with favorites: Mark your favorite artifacts for quick navigation
- Search box: Use to find code, work items, or wiki content
- Your profile menu: Use to set personal preferences, notifications, and enable preview features
- Settings: Use to add teams, manage security, and configure other project and organization level resources.
Note
Only enabled services are visible in the user interface. For example, if Boards is disabled, then Boards or Work and all pages associated with that service don't appear. To enable or disable a service, see Turn an Azure DevOps service on or off.
Select services—such as Boards, Repos, and Pipelines—from the sidebar and pages within those services.
Now that you understand the user interface structure, it’s time to start using it. You can find a wide range of features and functionalities to explore.
If all you need is a code repository and bug tracking solution, then start with Get started with Git and Manage bugs.
To start planning and tracking work, see About Agile tools.
Connect to the web portal, user accounts, and licensing
You connect to the web portal through a supported web browser—such as the latest versions of Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. Only users added to a project can connect, which is typically done by the organization owner.
Five account users are free as are Visual Studio subscribers and stakeholders. After that, you need to pay for more users. Find out more about licensing from Azure DevOps pricing.
Limited access is available to an unlimited number of stakeholders for free. For details, see Work as a Stakeholder.
You connect to the web portal through a supported web browser—such as the latest versions of Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. Only users who added to a project can connect, which is typically done by a member of the Project Administrators group.
Limited access is available to an unlimited number of stakeholders for free. For details, see Work as a Stakeholder. Most regular contributors must have a TFS client access license (CAL). All Visual Studio subscriptions include a TFS CAL.
Refresh the web portal
If data doesn't appear as expected, the first thing to try is to refresh your web browser. Refreshing your client updates the local cache with changes that were made in another client or the server. To refresh the page or object you're currently viewing, refresh the page or choose the 
Refresh icon if available.
To avoid potential errors, you should refresh your client application under the following circumstances:
- Process changes are made
- Work item type definitions are added, removed, renamed, or updated
- Area or iteration paths are added, removed, renamed, or updated
- Users are added to or removed from security groups or permissions are updated
- A team member adds a new shared query or changes the name of a shared query
- A build definition is added or deleted
- A team or project is added or deleted
Differences between the web portal and Visual Studio
Although you can access source code, work items, and builds from both clients, some task specific tools are only supported in the web browser or an IDE but not in both. Supported tasks differ depending on whether you connect to a Git or TFVC repository from Team Explorer.
Web portal
Visual Studio
- Git: Changes, Branches, Pull Requests, Sync, Work Items, Builds
- TFVC: My Work, Pending Changes | Source Control Explorer, Work Items | Builds
- Greater integration with work items and Office integration clients. You can open a work item or query result in an office supported client.
Note
Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 and later versions provide a new Git menu for managing the Git workflow with less context switching than Team Explorer. Procedures provided in this article under the Visual Studio tab provide information for using the Git experience as well as Team Explorer. For more information, see Side-by-side comparison of Git and Team Explorer.