Azure DevOps PAT scopes for DevOps

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Azure DevOps PAT Scopes for DevOps

    When using a personal access token (PAT) to interact with Azure DevOps, specific scope access levels are essential for functionality. These settings ensure seamless integration with ServiceNow and eliminate the need for manual configuration of webhooks and service connections by Azure DevOps administrators.

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    Key Features

    • Scope Access Levels: Different capabilities require specific permissions to enable functionality, including reading work items, repositories, build and release pipelines.
    • Project and Organization Permissions: For onboarding, the PAT owner must be a member of the relevant Project Administrators or Project Collection Administrators groups.
    • Service Connection Management: The PAT must allow for reading, querying, and managing service connections to automate ServiceNow task configurations.
    • Update Build Information: Ensure you have permission to update build information for all pipeline features to function correctly.

    Key Outcomes

    By configuring the correct access levels with your PAT, you can effectively connect ServiceNow to Azure DevOps, manage pipeline executions, and enhance task automation without manual intervention. Proper setup prevents issues like duplication of service hooks when reconfiguring integration settings.

    Scope access levels are required when using a personal access token (PAT) to access Azure DevOps during setup.

    Scope access level settings are based on the capability you have configured. Set the corresponding access level for seamless functionality. For information on creating a PAT, see Personal access token (PAT).

    Important:
    With the access level permissions specified in the following table in Azure DevOps, and the ServiceNow DevOps extension, you can connect to Azure DevOps from ServiceNow. Your Azure DevOps admin does not have to manually configure webhooks and service connections in Azure DevOps.
    Important:
    • When onboarding a Project, the Project Administrators privilege requires the owner of the PAT to be a member of the project's Project Administrators group.
    • When onboarding an Organization, the Project Administrators privilege requires the owner of the PAT to be a member of the organization's Project Collection Administrators group.
    Table 1. Scope access level settings per capability and their impact
    Capability Scope Access level Impact
    Boards Work item Read Required to discover the boards and receive the work items either through import/polling or real time with a configured webhook.
    Repos Code Read Required to discover repositories and receive branches, commits, and tags either through import/polling or real time with a configured webhook.
    Build pipelines Build Read & Execute
    • Read: Required to discover the build pipelines and receive pipeline execution details like stages, artifacts, test results, code security results, etc., either through import/polling or real time with a configured webhook.
    • Execute: Required to pause/resume the pipelines based on the change control step.
    Release pipelines and gates Release Read, write and execute
    • Read: Required to discover the release pipelines and receive pipeline execution details like stages, artifacts, test results, code security results, etc, either through import/polling or real time with a configured webhook.
    • Write and Execute: Required to pause/resume the pipelines based on change control step.
    Test build and release pipelines Test management Read Required to receive test results for pipeline execution.
    Service Connections Service connection Read, query, and manage Required to create Service connection automatically which is used to configure ServiceNow tasks like change acceleration, artifact and package registration, etc.
    Packaging Packaging Read Required to discover the artifact repositories and receive the feeds and packages either through import/polling or real-time with a configured webhook.
    Note:
    You must have the Update build information permission on your pipeline for all pipeline features to work seamlessly. Contact your ADO Project Administrator if you don't have this permission.

    Limitation of Azure DevOps

    If you create an Azure tool with custom defined access level, and you reconfigure such a tool because of change in your Integration user credentials, then the existing service hooks for release created and release deployment are not updated. Instead, two new service hooks are created with new configuration details. To avoid the duplication of these service hooks, you must create the tool with full access level.