Azure Repos - Sprint 158 Update
Features
- Use service account based authentication to connect to AKS
- Preview Markdown files in pull request Side-by-side diff
- Build policy expiration for manual builds
- Add a policy to block commits based on the commit author email
Use service account-based authentication to connect to AKS
Previously, when configuring Azure Pipelines from the AKS Deployment Center, we used an Azure Resource Manager Connection. This connection had access to the entire cluster and not just the namespace for which the pipeline was configured. With this update, our pipelines will use service account-based authentication to connect to the cluster so that it will only have access to the namespace associated with the pipeline.
Preview Markdown files in pull request Side-by-side diff
You can now see a preview of how a Markdown file will look by using the new Preview button. In addition, you can see the full content of a file from the Side-by-side diff by selecting the View button.

Build policy expiration for manual builds
Policies enforce your team's code quality and change management standards. Previously, you could set build expiration polices for automated builds. Now you can set build expiration policies to your manual builds as well.

Add a policy to block commits based on the commit author email
Administrators can now set a push policy to prevent commits from being pushed to a repository for which the commit author email does not match the provided pattern.

This feature was prioritized based on a suggestion from the Developer Community to deliver a similar experience. We will continue to keep the ticket open and encourage users to tell us what other types of push policies you'd like to see.
Next steps
Note
These features will roll out over the next two to three weeks.
Head over to Azure DevOps and take a look.
How to provide feedback
We would love to hear what you think about these features. Use the help menu to report a problem or provide a suggestion.

You can also get advice and your questions answered by the community on Stack Overflow.
Thanks,
Ravi Shanker