WIQL Query Reference (Verified)

CRITICAL LIMITATIONS - READ FIRST

1. NO TOP CLAUSE - WIQL does NOT support SELECT TOP N like SQL Server. Limit results with shell:

   az boards query --wiql "..." -o table | head -10
   

2. Use explicit project name - The @project macro is unreliable in CLI:

   -- UNRELIABLE:
   WHERE [System.TeamProject] = @project
   
   -- RELIABLE:
   WHERE [System.TeamProject] = 'YourProjectName'
   

3. Only flat queries supported - The CLI only supports flat queries, not tree/hierarchical queries.

4. NO LIKE OPERATOR - WIQL does NOT support SQL-style LIKE patterns. Use CONTAINS instead:

   -- DOES NOT WORK:
   WHERE [System.Title] LIKE '%keyword%'
   
   -- USE THIS INSTEAD:
   WHERE [System.Title] CONTAINS 'keyword'
   

5. CANNOT ORDER BY System.Parent - Sorting by parent ID is not supported:

   -- DOES NOT WORK:
   ORDER BY [System.Parent]
   
   -- WORKAROUND: Filter by parent IDs with IN clause, sort client-side
   WHERE [System.Parent] IN (1234, 1235, 1236) ORDER BY [System.Id]
   

Basic Query Syntax

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [fields] FROM workitems WHERE [conditions]" -o table

Verified Working Examples

Query all work items in project

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.State] FROM workitems WHERE [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName'" -o table

Query by state

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title] FROM workitems WHERE [System.State] = 'In Progress' AND [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName'" -o table

Query by work item type

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.State] FROM workitems WHERE [System.WorkItemType] = 'Bug' AND [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName'" -o table

Query by assignee

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title] FROM workitems WHERE [System.AssignedTo] = 'user@domain.com' AND [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName'" -o table

Query with ORDER BY (most recent first)

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.ChangedDate] FROM workitems WHERE [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName' ORDER BY [System.ChangedDate] DESC" -o table

Query by iteration (sprint)

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title] FROM workitems WHERE [System.IterationPath] = 'ProjectName\\Sprint 1' AND [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName'" -o table

Query by area path

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title] FROM workitems WHERE [System.AreaPath] UNDER 'ProjectName\\TeamArea'" -o table

Query with multiple conditions

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.State] FROM workitems WHERE [System.WorkItemType] = 'Task' AND [System.State] <> 'Done' AND [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName' ORDER BY [Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority]" -o table

Query with tags

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title] FROM workitems WHERE [System.Tags] CONTAINS 'urgent' AND [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName'" -o table

Unassigned items

az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title] FROM workitems WHERE [System.AssignedTo] = '' AND [System.State] = 'New' AND [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName'" -o table

Common Field Names for SELECT/WHERE

Field	Reference Name
ID	System.Id
Title	System.Title
State	System.State
Type	System.WorkItemType
Assigned To	System.AssignedTo
Created By	System.CreatedBy
Area	System.AreaPath
Iteration	System.IterationPath
Created	System.CreatedDate
Changed	System.ChangedDate
Priority	Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority
Severity	Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Severity
Tags	System.Tags
Story Points	Microsoft.VSTS.Scheduling.StoryPoints

WIQL Operators

Operator	Description	Example
=	Equals	[System.State] = 'Active'
<>	Not equals	[System.State] <> 'Closed'
>, <, >=, <=	Comparison	[Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority] <= 2
CONTAINS	Contains text	[System.Tags] CONTAINS 'urgent'
NOT CONTAINS	Does not contain	[System.Title] NOT CONTAINS 'test'
IN	In list	[System.State] IN ('Active', 'New')
NOT IN	Not in list	[System.State] NOT IN ('Closed', 'Removed')
UNDER	Under path	[System.AreaPath] UNDER 'Project\Team'
AND, OR	Logical operators	[A] = 'x' AND [B] = 'y'

Macros (Use With Caution)

Macro	Description	Reliability
@Me	Current user	Usually works
@Today	Today's date	Works
@Today - N	N days ago	Works
@project	Current project	UNRELIABLE - use explicit name
@CurrentIteration	Current sprint	May not work in CLI

Output Formats

• -o table - Human readable table
• -o json - Full JSON output
• -o tsv - Tab-separated values

Tips

1. Always quote string values: 'Active' not Active
2. Use brackets around field names: [System.State] not System.State
3. Escape single quotes by doubling: 'It''s working'
4. Path separators use backslash: 'Project\Team\SubArea' (double in bash: 'Project\\Team')
5. Always include project filter: Add [System.TeamProject] = 'Name' for reliable results

Parent Filtering Pattern

Since ORDER BY [System.Parent] is not supported, use the IN clause to filter by parent:

# Find all children of specific parents
az boards query --wiql "SELECT [System.Id], [System.Title], [System.Parent] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.Parent] IN (1234, 1235, 1236) AND [System.TeamProject] = 'ProjectName'" -o table

This works well for:

• Finding all tasks under specific features
• Listing child items for a set of parent work items
• Building hierarchies by querying children of known parents