Azure DevOps PAT Token Expiration and Renewal Process

Azure DevOps PAT tokens have a limited lifespan, and it's essential to understand the expiration and renewal process to avoid disruptions in your workflow.

PAT tokens expire after 90 days, as stated in the Azure DevOps documentation. This means you'll need to renew them periodically to maintain access to your repositories.

Renewal can be done manually by generating a new token, but this can be time-consuming if you have multiple projects or users. Fortunately, Azure DevOps also offers an automatic renewal feature that can save you time and effort.

Creating a PAT is a straightforward process that can be done in a few steps. You'll need to sign in to your organization, open user settings, and select Personal access tokens.

To create a PAT, you'll need to name your token, select the organization where you want to use the token, and set your token to automatically expire after a set number of days. You'll also need to select the scopes for this token to authorize for your specific tasks.

You can use a PAT anywhere your user credentials are required for authentication in Azure DevOps. It's essential to treat a PAT with the same caution as your password and keep it confidential.

Here are the steps to modify a PAT:

You can renew a PAT in two ways: by renewing the PAT without changing the token value or by creating a new PAT and updating the token value. The second method is recommended for use with Azure Key Vault.

To create a PAT, start by signing in to your organization at https://dev.azure.com/{Your_Organization}. From your home page, open user settings and select Personal access tokens.

You'll then select + New Token and name your token, choosing the organization where you want to use the token. Set your token to automatically expire after a set number of days.

Next, select the scopes for this token to authorize for your specific tasks. For example, to create a token for a build and release agent to authenticate to Azure DevOps, set the token's scope to Agent Pools (Read & manage).

You might be restricted from creating full-scoped PATs, in which case your Azure DevOps Administrator in Microsoft Entra ID has enabled a policy that limits you to a specific custom-defined set of scopes.

To complete the process, copy the token and store it in a secure location, as it won't display again after creation.

Here's a quick rundown of the required steps:

Remember to treat a PAT with the same caution as your password and keep it confidential.

Modifying a PAT is a straightforward process that allows you to update its settings and permissions. You can regenerate a PAT to create a new token, which invalidates the previous one.

To modify a PAT, start by navigating to your user settings and selecting Personal access tokens. You can then select the token you want to modify and click Edit.

You can edit the token name, token expiration, or the scope of access associated with the token. This is useful if you need to update the permissions or expiration date of your PAT.

Here are the steps to modify a PAT:

Creating a Personal Access Token (PAT) in Azure DevOps is a straightforward process. You can create a PAT by signing in to your organization, opening user settings, and selecting Personal access tokens.

To create a PAT, you need to name your token, select the organization where you want to use it, and set your token to automatically expire after a set number of days. You can also select the scopes for this token to authorize for your specific tasks.

Treat a PAT with the same caution as your password and keep it confidential. Sign in with your new PAT within 90 days for organizations backed by Microsoft Entra ID; otherwise, the PAT becomes inactive.

You can modify a PAT by regenerating it to create a new token, extending its validity period, or altering the scope of access associated with the token.

To modify a PAT, you need to open your user settings, select Personal access tokens, and select the token you want to modify. You can then edit the token name, token expiration, or the scope of access associated with the token.

Azure DevOps Personal Access Token security best practices include avoiding embedding the secret directly in your code, securing storage, regular rotation, restricting permissions, monitoring usage, implementing access controls, and using a secrets manager.

Here are the best practices in a concise list:

Automatic PAT renewal for Azure DevOps is a feature that allows you to renew a PAT periodically. This is useful if you want to minimize the risk of long-term exposure of your PAT.

To renew a PAT, you can use the simple method, which only renews the PAT, or the advanced method, which creates a new PAT and changes the token value.

To obtain and generate Personal Access Tokens (PATs) in Azure DevOps, you need to sign in to your organization and follow the steps outlined in the Azure DevOps documentation.

You can create a PAT by signing in to your organization at https://dev.azure.com/{Your_Organization}, navigating to user settings, and selecting Personal access tokens. From there, you can select + New Token and follow the prompts to create a new token.

The token name, organization, and expiration date are all customizable when creating a PAT. You can also select the scopes for this token to authorize for your specific tasks.

If you're restricted from creating full-scoped PATs, your Azure DevOps Administrator may have enabled a policy that limits you to a specific custom-defined set of scopes.

To use your PAT anywhere your user credentials are required for authentication in Azure DevOps, simply copy the token and store it in a secure location.

You should treat a PAT with the same caution as your password and keep it confidential, as it's only displayed once after creation.

After you create a PAT, you'll receive a notification that it was successfully added to your organization.

You can renew your PAT by creating a new one, but be aware that this will change the token value. Alternatively, you can use a script or application to retrieve the token from a secure location.

To generate a PAT in Azure DevOps, you can follow the steps outlined in the Azure DevOps documentation, which include signing in to your account, clicking on your profile icon, and selecting "Security" to create a new token.

Once you have generated your PAT, you can use it for authentication when accessing Azure DevOps services via REST API or other tools that require authentication.

Here's a summary of the steps to create a PAT:

Users receive two notifications during the lifespan of a PAT: the first at the time of creation and the second seven days before its expiration.

This seven-day notification is a crucial reminder that your PAT is about to expire, giving you time to renew or replace it before it's too late.

Notifications are an essential part of the PAT process. Users receive two notifications during the lifespan of a PAT.

The first notification is sent at the time of creation, which is a great way to get started with your PAT.

The second notification is sent seven days before the PAT expires, giving you ample time to take action. This notification is also a reminder to review your PAT and make any necessary changes.

As of July 2024, Azure DevOps significantly changed the format of PATs to provide more security benefits and improve secret detection tooling.

The new PAT format follows the recommended format across all Microsoft products and includes more identifiable bits to improve false positive detection rates.

The new tokens are 84 characters long, with 52 characters being randomized data, which increases overall entropy and makes the tokens more resistant to potential brute force attacks.

A fixed AZDO signature is included at positions 76-80 in tokens issued by Azure DevOps.

We strongly recommend regenerating all PATs currently in use to take advantage of these security enhancements.

Integrators should update their systems to accommodate both the new and existing token lengths.

Here are the key changes to the PAT format:

In advanced methods, deleting a Personal Access Token (PAT) is a crucial step before creating a new one. The API is first called to delete/revoke the PAT.

To create a new token, a new body is created without the authorizationid value, as a new token will generate a new id. This is a key difference from the initial token creation process.

The API is then called to create the new token, and the output provides the new token value. This value is typically stored in a secure location, such as an Azure Key Vault, for safekeeping.