/items

Backlog Work Items

Get work items in a specific backlog level.

Get Backlog Items

az devops invoke \
  --area work \
  --resource backlogs \
  --route-parameters project={PROJECT} team={TEAM} backlogId={BACKLOG_ID} \
  --resource workitems \
  --api-version 7.1 \
  -o json

Common backlog IDs:

• Microsoft.EpicCategory - Epics
• Microsoft.FeatureCategory - Features
• Microsoft.RequirementCategory - Stories/PBIs

Example: Get Stories Backlog

az devops invoke \
  --area work \
  --resource backlogs \
  --route-parameters project={PROJECT} team={TEAM} backlogId=Microsoft.RequirementCategory \
  --query-parameters "\$top=50" \
  --api-version 7.1 \
  -o json

Response Format

Returns work item references with:

• target.id - Work item ID
• target.url - API URL to get full item

To get full details, use the IDs with az boards work-item show or batch get.

Get Items with Order

The response includes rel field showing parent relationships if items are nested.

Pagination

Use query parameters:

• $top - Number of items to return
• $skip - Number to skip (for paging)

Alternative: WIQL Query

For more control, use WIQL:

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [Microsoft.VSTS.Common.BacklogPriority] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.WorkItemType] = 'User Story' AND [System.AreaPath] UNDER '{TEAM_AREA}' ORDER BY [Microsoft.VSTS.Common.BacklogPriority]"