--- title: Azure DevOps backup for Nordic partners | ARJ Distribution description: "What GitProtect protects in Azure DevOps — and the restore limits that decide whether your customer is satisfied: secret variables, pipeline history and pull requests." --- [Skip to content](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup#main-content) - [English](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup) - [Svenska](https://www.arjdistribution.se/sv/backup-azure-devops) English Show submenu for translations [Contact us](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/contact-arj-distribution-ab?hsLang=en) [![](https://www.arjdistribution.se/hs-fs/hubfs/ARJ%20Teams%20Webinar%20Bild.png?width=920&height=230&name=ARJ%20Teams%20Webinar%20Bild.png)](https://www.arjdistribution.se/?hsLang=en) - [Home](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/arj-distribution-value-added-distributor-for-nordics) Show submenu for Home - [Read our Blog](https://www.arjdistribution.se/arjblog) - [Become Partner](https://www.arjdistribution.se/partner-registration) - 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[Xopero](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/xopero-backup-recovery) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Home](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/arj-distribution-value-added-distributor-for-nordics) Show submenu for Home - [Read our Blog](https://www.arjdistribution.se/arjblog) - [Become Partner](https://www.arjdistribution.se/partner-registration) - [Deal Registration](https://www.arjdistribution.se/deal-registration) - [Read our Code of Conduct](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/code-of-conduct) - Backup Show submenu for Backup - [Backup — overview](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/backup-overview) - [Xopero ONE — overview](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/xopero-backup-recovery) - Endpoint Backup Show submenu for Endpoint Backup - [Windows, macOS and Linux](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/xopero-backup-recovery) - [Servers and databases](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/server-and-database-backup) - [Hypervisor](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/hornetsecurity-vm-backup-for-hyper-v-and-vmware-former-altaro) Show submenu for Hypervisor - 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[Octiga](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/octiga-microsoft-365-security-management-and-monitoring) - [Recast Software](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/end-to-end-application-management-for-modern-hybrid-environments) - [Tricerat](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/tricerat-print-management-solutions) - [Xopero](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/xopero-backup-recovery) - - [English](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup) - [Svenska](https://www.arjdistribution.se/sv/backup-azure-devops) English Show submenu for translations - [Contact us](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/contact-arj-distribution-ab) # Azure DevOps backup Azure DevOps is rarely just a code repository at the customer. It is the boards that run the work, the pipelines that build and deploy, the test plans that prove something works, and the artifact feeds the rest of the organisation pulls packages from. That makes the platform worth protecting — and it also makes **which parts come back, and in what shape, a more important question here than anywhere else in our range**. The vendor is open about several limits that follow from Microsoft's API, and we go through them on this page. ARJ Distribution sells exclusively through resellers and MSPs in the Nordics — Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. We never sell directly to end customers. > Secret variables are not backed up at all. That is not a flaw in the product but a limit in Microsoft's API — but the customer is the one who notices, which is why you should know it first. On this page - [What is protected](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup#skyddas) - [What comes back — and in what shape](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup#skick) - [Pipelines: read this before you promise anything](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup#pipelines) - [Azure DevOps Server self-hosted](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup#server) - [Five questions to ask the customer](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup#fraga) - [Why through a distributor](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup#distributor) - [Getting started](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/azure-devops-backup#kom-igang) ## What is protected GitProtect's own list covers every part that makes Azure DevOps more than a code repository: | Area | What it covers | | --- | --- | | **Repositories** | Branches, commits with history, messages and creators, default branch, Git objects, LFS and tags. | | **Pull requests** | Open, closed and merged, with comments, reviewers, tags, description, creator and creation date. | | **Boards** | Work items with attachments, comments and related work. | | **Board processes** | Work item types with their layout — fields, groups, pages and picklists — and their states. *This is the customer's own way of working, and it takes the longest to rebuild.* | | **Pipelines** | Pipelines, environments and variable groups. **With important exceptions — see below.** | | **Test plans** | Test plans, suites, test cases, configurations with variables, points, results and runs. | | **Artifacts** | Feeds with name, packages, settings, deleted package options and sharing options. | | **Project** | The project wiki. | ## What comes back — and in what shape This is the most important section on the page. A coverage list answers *is it backed up?* — but the customer notices something else: **whether it looks the same afterwards.** On Azure DevOps there is a clear line between three groups. Three groups when restoring Azure DevOps Comes back as it was: repositories, boards, board processes, test plans, artifact feeds, the project wiki and open pull requests. Comes back but changed: closed and merged pull requests can only be restored to GitHub or GitLab, the assignee on work items ends up in a comment, restored comments are attributed to the restore account, and the state of a test run is set in a separate step. Does not come back at all: secret variables, pipeline run history, logs and artifacts, and associated pipelines for automated test settings. Three groups when restoring Comes back as it was Repositories · Boards and work items · Board processes with fields and states Test plans and test cases · Artifact feeds and packages · Project wiki Open pull requests Comes back — but not as it was Closed and merged pull requests — only to GitHub or GitLab Assignee on work items — ends up in a comment instead Comments — attributed to the restore account Test runs — the state is set in a separate step Does not come back at all Secret variables Pipeline run history, logs and artifacts — only the configuration is restored Associated pipelines for automated test settings Every point here is the vendor's own statement, and according to them the limits come from Microsoft's API — not from the product. **The middle group is the one that surprises people.** A customer who restores a project gets their work items back — but the assignment sits in a comment, and every restored comment carries the restore account's name instead of the original author's. The vendor states that the comment text contains the original author and the original date, so the information is not lost — but for a customer under audit, or one who needs to show who approved what, that is an important difference to raise *before* the contract is signed. **And the bottom group is an operational decision, not a backup question.** Secret variables have to exist somewhere else — in a key manager or in the customer's own documented routine. It is worth raising whether or not they buy backup, because it is true without it too. ## Pipelines: read this before you promise anything Pipelines are where expectation and reality differ the most. Three facts need to be in place before a customer meeting. - **Only YAML pipelines that use Azure Repos are supported.** If the customer has classic pipelines built in the interface, or pipelines that pull code from somewhere else, those fall outside. Check it first in the customer's environment — not last. - **The configuration is restored, not the history.** The definition itself comes back, but run history, logs and build artifacts do not. For a customer who needs to show *that* a given version was built and tested at a given time, that is a gap, and something else is needed alongside. - **Secret variables are not included.** Variable groups are backed up, but the secret values in them are not. A restored pipeline will not run until someone has filled them in again — and if you know that in advance, it is a fifteen-minute task instead of a crisis. None of these make the product worse than the alternatives — they come from what Microsoft's API gives out. **But they decide what a restore routine has to look like**, and that is the kind of detail a partner would rather find at the planning table. ## Azure DevOps Server self-hosted The vendor's resource page opens by saying it describes resources in **Azure DevOps and Azure DevOps Server**, and then gives **one shared list** without separating the two anywhere. So both being mentioned is what the documentation says — but **it does not state that every single limit above applies equally to the self-hosted version**, and it is the limits that decide whether a customer is satisfied. If the customer runs Server themselves, we confirm that with the vendor before you quote — it is a short question for us, and an unpleasant surprise for you if nobody asks it. ## Five questions to ask the customer 1. **YAML or classic pipelines, and where does the code they build live?** Only YAML against Azure Repos is covered. This question decides more than any other on the page. 2. **Where are the secrets kept today?** If they only exist in Azure DevOps variable groups, they exist nowhere else — and then the customer has a problem before anything has even happened. 3. **Do you need to show who approved what?** Audit requirements turn the authorship of restored comments into a real question rather than a detail. 4. **How much of the way you work sits in custom work item types and fields?** The more customised, the more value in board processes being covered — that is weeks of configuration. 5. **Cloud or Server self-hosted?** The list is shared, but we confirm the limits for Server before you promise anything. ## Why through a distributor > We do not sell to end customers. That is not a courtesy — it is the business model: everything goes through you, and we never compete with you at your customer. What you get besides the licences: technical pre-sales help, support during a proof of concept, support in English and Swedish, and a named contact who knows your business instead of a ticket number. Azure DevOps is also the platform where we most often need an answer from the vendor before anything is promised — we take that on for you. ## Getting started Tell us whether the customer runs YAML pipelines against Azure Repos, how many projects are involved, and whether it is cloud or Server self-hosted. Then we will tell you what can be promised, and what it costs. ### Read more - [GitHub backup](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/github-backup?hsLang=en) - [GitLab backup](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/gitlab-backup?hsLang=en) - [Bitbucket backup](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/bitbucket-backup?hsLang=en) - [GitProtect — DevOps backup](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/gitprotect.io-enterprise-grade-backup-disaster-recovery?hsLang=en) ### Tell us about your project *[or book a short technical call](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/contact-arj-distribution-ab?hsLang=en)* **About the content on this page.** This is a sales-oriented overview — not complete product documentation. The information is taken from **GitProtect's own documentation in October 2026** and we review it regularly, but features and support change — and a change can get past us. **So always check against the vendor's current documentation before anything is promised to a customer:** [GitProtect's knowledge base](https://helpcenter.gitprotect.io/). If you are unsure, it is faster to [ask us](https://www.arjdistribution.se/en/contact-arj-distribution-ab?hsLang=en) — we take the question to the vendor and come back with an answer you can put in a quote. **And if something does not work the way it is described — here or in the vendor's documentation — tell us.** We report it to the vendor and correct the page. 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