Azure DevOps REST API Broken Importing Private Git Repository

Question

Trying to import a private GitHub repository into Azure DevOps using the REST API:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/azure/devops/git/import%20requests/create?view=azure-devops-rest-6.0

Unsurprisingly, the documentation doesn't work.

I have a PAT based service endpoint in the DevOps project that has access to the GitHub repository I'm trying to import.

I have the following PowerShell snippet that reproduces the problem

$headers = @{
    Authorization = "Bearer ****"
}
$org = '***'
$project = '***'
$targetRepositoryId = '***'
$sourceRepositoryUrl = '***'
$gitHubServiceEndpointId = '***'
irm https://dev.azure.com/$org/$project/_apis/git/repositories/$targetRepositoryId/importRequests?api-version=6.0-preview.1 -Method Post -Headers $headers -ContentType application/json -Body @"
{
  "parameters":  {
    "gitSource": {
      "overwrite":  false,
      "url":  "$sourceRepositoryUrl"
    },
    "serviceEndpointId":  "$gitHubServiceEndpointId",
    "deleteServiceEndpointAfterImportIsDone": false
  }
}
"@

Throws a 400 error (Bad Request) with no additional information.

If I make the GitHub repository public, the exact same API request and the exact same code above works fine.

I am also 100% certain that the service endpoint has access to the repository in question because I have pipelines in Azure DevOps that use this service endpoint to clone said repository from GitHub.

Lenci Lenci · Accepted Answer · 2021-02-18T06:05:17

I was able to get the import to work using a GitHub service connection ONLY if you create the service connection using UsernamePassword authorization scheme -- which you can't do from DevOps itself you have to do from the API:

irm "https://dev.azure.com/org/project/_apis/serviceendpoint/endpoints?api-version=6.0-preview.1" -Method Post -Headers $headers -ContentType application/json -Body @"
{
    "authorization": {
        "scheme": "UsernamePassword",
        "parameters": {
            "username": "foo",
            "password": "github access token"
        }
    },
    "name": "Test-5",
    "serviceEndpointProjectReferences": [
        {
            "description": "",
            "name": "Test-5",
            "projectReference": {
                "id": "project id",
                "name": "projectName"
            }
        }
    ],
    "type": "github",
    "url": "https://github.com",
    "isShared": false,
    "owner": "library"
}
"@

Azure DevOps REST API Broken Importing Private Git Repository

2 Answers