Can't see Code on Visual Studio Team Services visualstudio.com

Question

When I am adding a user to a project I get a yellow note:

NOTE: The user [email protected] has access to limited functionality as a Stakeholder. Basic access level is required for access to version control and Agile tools.

Also the user sees a message

As a stakeholder, you can access the backlog, task and Kanban boards, and work items. Learn more.

And the user doesn't have Code and Build tabs

I can add the same user to another project and it works fine.

I had impression that Microsoft was offering 5 free user for Visual Studio Team Services/visualstudio.com.

Answer 1

On the Users screen (https://{account}.visualstudio.com/_admin/_users), what's the assigned license for the specific user. The user must have a "Basic" license assigned. Even with 5 free users, it's possible to set someone to the Stakeholder category.

If your VSTS account is linked to Active Directory it is possible you may have added the user both as an Azure Active Directory (School/Work Account) as well as a Microsoft Account (formerly LiveID). These count as two separate users and each require their own license.

And finally by adding someone to the [Project]Stakeholders security group, you basically limit their access as well. If you want to assign more creative security permissions, you may need to setup your own security group and assign the exact permissions you want for those users to that group.

Answer 2

You should give basic access and then a contributor role to be able to access repos and pipelines. Stakeholder access is for PMO type people who need to see only the work items and tasks.