Connect a source code service

Give your agent access to repository, issue, and pull request context for investigations. It can read recent changes, find related issues, and open an issue or pull request in the right repository or project when the credential you provide allows it.

This tutorial covers GitHub, Azure DevOps, and GitLab. Source code connections use the Code Access page (Builder > Code Access), not the managed connector wizard. This article focuses on source code details: how each service authenticates and how to validate the connection.

Prerequisites

• A running SRE Agent and access to sre.azure.com.
• Permission to configure the agent.
• An account on the service with access to the repositories or projects the agent should read.

For notification services, see Connect a notification service.

Source code connectors

Connector	Service	Authentication	Typical use
GitHub	GitHub and GitHub Enterprise Cloud	Bring-your-own GitHub App (OAuth and PAT also supported for github.com)	Read repositories, issues, and pull requests across projects and organizations; create issues or pull requests with approval
Azure DevOps	Azure DevOps	Managed identity (OAuth and PAT also supported)	Read repositories and pull requests across projects; create pull requests or work items with approval
GitLab	GitLab	Personal access token (PAT)	Read repositories, issues, and merge requests; create issues and comments with approval

GitHub and Azure DevOps present authentication choices as radio buttons. GitLab uses a personal access token.

Step 1: Open Code Access

1. Go to sre.azure.com and select your agent.
2. In the left sidebar, expand Builder, and then select Code Access.
3. Select the tab for your service (GitHub, Azure DevOps, or GitLab).
4. Select Add repository.

Step 2: Authenticate

The Add repositories dialog opens with a three-step wizard: Choose a platform → Authenticate → Add repositories. Select Next after each step. The final step has a Save button.

GitHub

Use Bring your own GitHub App for GitHub Enterprise Cloud or to scope access by organization or installation.

1. Under Sign In Methods, choose Bring your own GitHub App.
2. Complete the app setup fields shown by the wizard.
3. Select Next.

GitHub Enterprise Cloud (.ghe.com) requires a GitHub App connection. For github.com, Your account (OAuth, if configured for your environment) or a Personal access token are also supported, though the GitHub App option is preferred for production scenarios to enable more granular permissions and audit visibility.

After connecting, the agent can search repositories, issues, and pull requests across projects and organizations your app or account has access to.

Azure DevOps

Use Managed Identity for production use, which avoids long-lived credentials.

1. Under Sign In Methods, choose Managed Identity.
2. Complete the fields shown by the wizard, and ensure the agent's managed identity has access to the Azure DevOps projects and repositories the agent needs.
3. Select Next.

Your account (OAuth) and Personal access token authentication are also supported, but they're best suited for development, testing, or scenarios where managed identity can't be used. Use the narrowest identity or token that can read the projects and repositories the agent needs.

After connecting, the agent can search repositories, read pull requests, and inspect work items across your projects.

GitLab

1. Enter a GitLab personal access token (PAT).
2. Select Next.

Grant the PAT only the scopes the agent needs for repository, issue, and merge request access.

After connecting, the agent can read repositories, issues, and merge requests within projects the token has access to.

The service sees the identity that authorized the connection. Issues, comments, and pull request activity the agent creates appear under that account.

Step 3: Add repositories

The Add repositories step shows a table where you specify which repositories the agent indexes. Each row is one repository.

1. If your service is Azure DevOps, first select a project from the Azure DevOps Project dropdown. The Repository URL column populates with repositories in that project.

2. In the Repository URL column, select a repository from the dropdown or type a URL directly. For GitHub and GitLab, the dropdown lists repositories your credentials can access. For Azure DevOps, it lists repositories in the selected project.

3. In the Display name column, enter a short name the agent uses to refer to the repository.

4. Optionally fill the Description column to give the agent more context about what the repository contains.

5. If your service is Azure DevOps and the repository is very large, enable the Remote checkbox. The agent uses AI-powered search on the remote copy instead of cloning it locally. Repositories are cloned with a 100 GB disk limit; enabling Remote avoids that constraint.

6. To add another repository, select Add and fill in the next row.

7. When the table is complete, select Save.

Step 4: Validate with a scenario

1. Open a chat with your agent.

2. Ask a read question, such as:

   List the open issues in the payments repository from the last week.
   

3. Check the tool card to see the agent search the service and return results grounded in your data.

When results appear that reference your repository, the connection works end to end.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
Search returns no results	The account lacks access to the project or repository	Confirm the connection account can see the project or repository, then retry.
Create fails with a permission error	The token or account lacks write scope	Grant the required scope to the token or account, or use credentials that have write access.
GitHub Enterprise Cloud rejects the connection	GitHub Enterprise Cloud requires a GitHub App connection	On the Code Access page, disconnect the GitHub connection, select Add repository, choose GitHub, enter your .ghe.com host, and select Bring your own GitHub App as the authentication method.

Related content

• Connect a notification service
• Connect a telemetry source
• Set up a managed connector