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title Follow work items and pull requests
titleSuffix Azure Boards & Azure Repos
description Track updates to work items and pull requests by following them to receive targeted notifications in Azure DevOps.
ms.custom work-items, cross-project
ms.service azure-devops-boards
ms.assetid 77CAEE8E-BF1A-47DA-9818-A0C52BAC813C
ai-usage ai-assisted
ms.author chcomley
author chcomley
ms.topic how-to
monikerRange <= azure-devops
ms.date 10/27/2025

Follow work items and pull requests

[!INCLUDE version-lt-eq-azure-devops]

Stay informed about changes to specific work items or pull requests by using the Follow feature. This feature provides targeted notifications on a case-by-case basis, helping you track items that matter most to your work without information overload.

Tip

Quick start: Select the :::image type="icon" source="../media/icons/follow-icon.png" border="false"::: Follow icon on any work item or pull request to start receiving notifications when it changes.

What you can do with the Follow feature

  • Track specific items: Get notifications only for work items and pull requests you choose to follow
  • Customize notifications: Choose when to receive alerts (all changes, mentions only, or specific field updates)
  • Query followed items: Use the @Follows macro to create custom queries and dashboards
  • Stay focused: Avoid notification overload by following only what matters to your work

How following differs from subscriptions

Feature Following Notification Subscriptions
Scope Individual items you select Broad criteria across projects
Setup One-click on specific items Configure rules and filters
Best for Tracking specific work items/PRs Automated team workflows
Examples Following a bug you reported All items assigned to you

For automated notifications based on broader criteria, see Manage personal notifications.

Prerequisites

[!INCLUDE prerequisites-work-items]

Follow a work item

Quick steps: Select the :::image type="icon" source="../media/icons/follow-icon.png" border="false"::: Follow icon on any work item to start receiving notifications.

[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
Screenshot showing the Work item form with Follow icon control.

Customize your notification preferences

Select the :::image type="icon" source="../media/icons/gear_icon.png" border="false"::: Settings icon next to Follow to choose when you get notified:

[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
Screenshot showing the Work item form notification settings dialog for follow.

Option When you receive notifications Best for
Subscribed (default) Any change to the work item Items you actively work on
Not Subscribed Only when someone @mentions you Items you want to watch passively
Custom When specific fields change Critical updates only

Custom notification triggers:

  • State changes: When status updates, for example, New → Active → Resolved
  • Assignment changes: When someone new gets assigned
  • Iteration changes: When the system moves items to different sprints

What triggers notifications

You receive email notifications when team members perform the following actions:

Action Example
Comment or discuss Add comments, @mention you, start discussions
Update fields Change title, description, priority, tags
Modify attachments Add screenshots, documents, or remove files
Change relationships Link/unlink work items, update parent/child

Note

You don't receive notifications for changes you make yourself.

Quick tip: Change your email preferences at Change your preferred email address.

To stop following: Select the :::image type="icon" source="../media/icons/following-icon.png" border="false"::: Following icon.

Follow a pull request

Quick steps: Go to any pull request → :::image type="icon" source="../media/icons/actions-icon.png" border="false"::: More actions → :::image type="icon" source="../media/icons/follow-icon.png" border="false"::: Follow.

[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
Screenshot showing the Pull Request context menu with Follow icon option.

Pull request notifications

When What happened Why it matters
Comments added Someone reviews or discusses code Stay informed about feedback
Review status changes Approved, changes requested, or new reviewers added Track review progress
Code updates New commits pushed to the branch See latest changes
Status changes PR completed, abandoned, or reopened Know the final outcome

Note

Like work items, you don't get notified about changes you make yourself.

To stop following: Open More actions → select :::image type="icon" source="../media/icons/following-icon.png" border="false"::: Following.

View and manage items you follow

Option 1: Quick access via Queries

Path: Boards → Queries → All → My Queries → Followed work items

[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
Screenshot showing Boards>Queries>All>Followed work items navigation.

What you can do here:

  • See all followed items across projects
  • Sort and filter by any field
  • Add custom columns
  • Open items for quick review

Option 2: Work Items hub

Path: Boards → Work Items → Following tab

[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
Screenshot showing Boards>Work Items and pivot to Following.

Best for: Streamlined view focused only on items you follow.

Create custom queries with @Follows

Use the @Follows macro to build powerful queries that combine items you follow with other criteria.

Basic @Follows query

:::image type="content" source="media/follow-work/query-follows.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing Query Editor with ID In @Follows query clause.":::

Steps:

  1. Create new query: Boards → Queries → New query
  2. Add clause: ID In @Follows
  3. Save and run

Advanced query examples

Most useful queries:

Query purpose Query clauses Why it's helpful
High-priority items I follow ID In @Follows
AND Priority = 1		 Focus on critical items
My team's followed items ID In @Follows
AND Assigned To In Group [Team]		 Team collaboration
Recently updated ID In @Follows
AND Changed Date >= @Today - 7		 See recent activity
Blocked items I follow ID In @Follows
AND State = Blocked		 Track impediments

Tip

Share query structures: While @Follows is personal to you, you can share query templates with teammates to create consistent follow-up workflows.

Best practices for following items

Consider these strategies to make the most of the Follow feature:

When to follow work items

  • Items you create: Automatically follow bugs you report or features you request
  • Cross-team dependencies: Follow items that impact your work but aren't assigned to you
  • Critical bugs: Follow high-priority issues that affect your area
  • Learning opportunities: Follow items to understand how your team resolves similar problems

Managing notification volume

  • Use custom settings: Set specific field triggers instead of following all changes
  • Review regularly: Unfollow completed items that no longer need monitoring
  • Batch review: Check the Following tab weekly instead of responding to every email
  • Team coordination: Agree on following strategies to avoid duplicate monitoring

Query strategies

  • Create personal dashboards: Build widgets using @Follows queries for quick status checks
  • Set up alerts: Use queries with @Follows to create additional notification rules
  • Track patterns: Monitor followed items to identify common issues or bottlenecks

Troubleshooting common issues

Not receiving notifications

Check these settings:

  • Personal notifications: Verify your email address in notification settings
  • Follow status: Confirm the item shows the "Following" icon (not just "Follow")
  • Notification preferences: Check if you selected "Not Subscribed" by mistake
  • Email filters: Look for Azure DevOps emails in spam or filtered folders

Too many notifications

Reduce notification volume:

  • Switch high-volume items to "Custom" settings with specific field triggers
  • Use "Not Subscribed" for items you want to track but don't need immediate alerts
  • Create daily digest queries instead of real-time notifications
  • Unfollow completed or irrelevant items

Following not available

Possible causes:

  • Permissions: You need at least Stakeholder access to follow items
  • Project access: Verify you can view the work item or pull request
  • Feature availability: Following requires Azure DevOps Services or TFS 2017 or later

Frequently asked questions

Q: Can I add someone else to follow a work item or PR?

A: No, following is personal - each user must follow items themselves. However, you can:

  • Share the item link and ask them to follow it
  • Set up team notifications for broader automatic alerts
  • Create shared queries that include @Follows for team visibility

For team-wide notifications, see Manage team notifications.

Q: Will I get too many notifications if I follow many items?

A: You can control notification volume by:

  • Using Custom notification settings for specific field changes only
  • Setting items to Not Subscribed (mentions only) for passive monitoring
  • Creating queries to review followed items in batches instead of individual emails

Q: Can I follow items across different projects?

A: Yes! The Follow feature works across all projects in your organization. Use the Followed work items query to see everything in one place.

Q: Do I automatically follow items I create or get assigned?

A: No, following is always a manual action. You need to explicitly select the Follow icon on each item you want to track.

Q: Can I export a list of items I'm following?

A: Yes, use the "Followed work items" query and export the results to CSV, or create a custom query with @Follows and export that.

Next step

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Add and update work items

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