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Komal Vardhan Lolugu
4e8726dd50
* azure-devops-cli: handle long comments on Windows (#2061) On Windows 'az' is a cmd.exe batch wrapper capped at ~8191 characters, so a long --discussion / --description value silently truncates or fails. Document three verified ways out so the coding agent doesn't waste 3-5 turns falling back to raw token retrieval and REST: 1. azps.ps1 in PowerShell on Windows. Same Azure CLI, invoked through the Python entry point with no cmd.exe length cap. Pair with 'Get-Content -Raw' so the body lives in a variable, not on the command line. 2. Native --file-path flags where Azure CLI offers them. Applies to 'az devops wiki page create' and 'az devops wiki page update', both documented with --encoding. 3. 'az devops invoke --in-file' as the universal escape hatch for commands with no --file-path (work-item --discussion, PR --description). Documented example posts to the work item comments REST endpoint with api-version 7.0-preview.3. The earlier draft suggested the Azure CLI '@<file>' convention as a generic substitute for inline string args. The official docs only document it for JSON parameters and the CLI source uses 'get_file_json' specifically, so the claim is removed and replaced with an explicit warning not to rely on it for plain string args. Files touched: - skills/azure-devops-cli/SKILL.md: new 'Posting long comments on Windows' section with shell-detection table and three verified options. - skills/azure-devops-cli/references/boards-and-iterations.md: short pointer at each --discussion example back to SKILL.md, plus an inline PowerShell snippet. Closes #2061. * azure-devops-cli: move long-comments guidance to reference file (#2061 review) aaronpowell asked for the Windows long-comments section to live as a reference file rather than inline in SKILL.md, so the token weight isn't always loaded into the agent's context. - Move the "Posting long comments on Windows" section to a new references/long-comments-on-windows.md verbatim. - Strip the section from SKILL.md (56 fewer lines in the always-loaded surface). - Add the new file to the Reference Files table in SKILL.md with a one-line "when to read" hint covering --discussion, --description, and --content failures on Windows. - Update the two pointer comments in references/boards-and-iterations.md to point at the new reference file instead of the SKILL.md section. docs/README.skills.md regenerated by 'npm run build' to pick up the new reference file in the skill's bundled assets column.
55 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
55 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Posting Long Comments and Bodies on Windows
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On Windows the `az` command resolves to `az.cmd`, a batch wrapper invoked by `cmd.exe`. The whole command line is capped at ~8191 characters, so a long `--discussion`, `--description`, or `--content` value can be silently truncated or fail. Detect the shell before composing a long argument and route accordingly. Skipping this is the most common reason the agent burns 3-5 turns falling back to raw token retrieval and REST calls.
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## Detect the shell first
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| Environment | Signal | Action |
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|---|---|---|
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| PowerShell on Windows | `$IsWindows -eq $true` and `$PSVersionTable.PSVersion` is set | Use `azps.ps1` (see below) |
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| PowerShell on macOS / Linux | `$IsWindows -eq $false` | Plain `az` is fine, no cmd.exe wrapper |
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| bash / zsh / sh | `$BASH_VERSION` or `$ZSH_VERSION` set, or `uname` works | Plain `az` is fine, no cmd.exe wrapper |
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| Windows `cmd.exe` | `%ComSpec%` ends in `cmd.exe`, no `$PSVersionTable` | Use `azps.ps1` if PowerShell is installed, otherwise see `az devops invoke` fallback below |
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## Option 1: `azps.ps1` (PowerShell on Windows)
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`azps.ps1` ships with the Azure CLI installer and invokes the Python entry point directly. No `cmd.exe` length cap.
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```powershell
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# Read the long body into a variable and pass it through. No quoting headaches.
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$body = Get-Content -Raw .\comment.md
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azps.ps1 boards work-item update --id 1234 --discussion $body
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```
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## Option 2: dedicated `--file-path` flag where Azure CLI offers one
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Some commands have a native file flag and you should prefer it over any inline body:
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- `az devops wiki page create` and `az devops wiki page update` take `--file-path` (with optional `--encoding`).
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- Use it on any shell, including Windows.
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```bash
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az devops wiki page create --path 'My page' --wiki myproject --file-path ./page.md --encoding utf-8
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```
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## Option 3: `az devops invoke` fallback
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When no `--file-path` exists (work-item `--discussion`, PR `--description`) and you're not in PowerShell, post the body via the underlying REST API. `az devops invoke` runs inside the Python entry point, so it isn't subject to the `cmd.exe` cap either, and it takes the request body from a file with `--in-file`:
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```bash
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# Post a long discussion comment to work item 1234.
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# REST: POST /{project}/_apis/wit/workItems/{id}/comments?api-version=7.0-preview.3
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az devops invoke \
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--area wit --resource comments \
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--route-parameters project={project} workItemId=1234 \
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--api-version 7.0-preview.3 \
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--http-method POST \
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--in-file ./comment.json
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```
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Where `comment.json` is `{ "text": "<long markdown body>" }`. This is the universal escape hatch when neither `azps.ps1` nor `--file-path` is available. `az devops invoke` itself accepts `--in-file` natively.
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## Don't rely on `@<file>` for plain string args
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The Azure CLI `@<file>` convention is documented for JSON parameters (see [the official quoting guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/use-azure-cli-successfully-quoting)). It is not guaranteed to expand plain string args like `--discussion` or `--description`, so don't reach for it as a substitute for the three options above.
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