Does Azure Boards GitHub App consume Github Actions minutes or create runners?

Question

We are evaluating Azure Boards GitHub App integration. Documentation describes it as a GitHub App integration using repository access and development links.

Can Microsoft confirm:

1. Does the Azure Boards GitHub App trigger GitHub Actions workflows?
2. Does it consume GitHub Actions minutes?
3. Does it create/use GitHub-hosted or self-hosted runners?
4. Are there any GitHub-billed resources caused by enabling this integration?

We are only asking about customer-visible billing impact.

Answer 1

Well, no, installing and using the Azure Boards GitHub App does not by itself consume GitHub Actions minutes or provision GitHub Actions runners.

The Azure Boards app is a GitHub App used for repository integration and traceability between GitHub artifacts and Azure Boards work items.

But if an action performed through the integration generates a GitHub event such as a commit or pull request, and your repository contains a GitHub Actions workflow configured to trigger on that event, that workflow can run normally. Aa any Actions usage would then be caused and billed as a GitHub Actions workflow run, not by the Azure Boards integration itself.

And so to assess the impact on Actions usage, is better to check the repository's .github/workflows/*.yml trigger definitions (on:), rather than your Azure Boards App installation itself.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/?view=azure-devops
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/install-github-app?view=azure-devops

Answer 2

Hi @Diogo Silva

Short answer: no. The Azure Boards app is a GitHub App, not a GitHub Actions workflow. It works through its repository permissions to link commits and pull requests to work items. It doesn't run jobs, so it doesn't use GitHub-hosted or self-hosted runners and doesn't consume Actions minutes. GitHub bills Actions minutes only for workflow jobs that run on GitHub-hosted runners. The Boards app on GitHub Marketplace is listed with a Free plan.

There's one indirect effect worth knowing about for your evaluation:

1. Microsoft's doc says that when a pull request is linked to a work item, Azure Boards can add a status badge to the README of the first connected repository. To do that, it creates a commit and a pull request in that repository.
2. If you have your own workflows that trigger on push or pull_request for that repository, that commit or PR can start them. Those runs would use minutes like any other run of your workflows.
3. To avoid this, add a path filter to those workflows (for example, ignore README.md changes), so a README-only change doesn't start a run.

Do you already have workflows on the repositories you plan to connect?

If this answers your billing question, please consider accepting it as the answer. If you see unexpected Actions usage after connecting, let me know and I'll be happy to keep helping.

Reference:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/install-github-app
• https://docs.github.com/en/billing/managing-billing-for-your-products/managing-billing-for-github-actions/about-billing-for-github-actions