# <no value>
Updatecli supports Personal Access Token (PAT) authentication for interacting with Azure DevOps. You can authenticate using environment variables or directly in your manifest.

'''

**1. Personal Access Token via Environment Variables**

Set the following environment variables to enable PAT authentication:

- `UPDATECLI_AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN`: Your Azure DevOps Personal Access Token
- `UPDATECLI_AZURE_DEVOPS_USERNAME`: Your Azure DevOps username

Example:

[source,shell]
----
export UPDATECLI_AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN="your-pat-token"
export UPDATECLI_AZURE_DEVOPS_USERNAME="your-username"
----

[NOTE]
====
When these variables are set, Updatecli will use them for all Azure DevOps operations.
====

'''

**2. Personal Access Token via Manifest**

You can specify your Personal Access Token directly in your Updatecli manifest under the `spec.token` and `spec.username` fields:

[source,yaml]
----
scms:
  default:
    kind: azuredevops
    spec:
      organization: myorg
      project: myproject
      repository: myrepo
      token: "{{ requiredEnv `UPDATECLI_AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN` }}"
      username: "{{ requiredEnv `UPDATECLI_AZURE_DEVOPS_USERNAME` }}"
----

[WARNING]
====
For security reasons, it is recommended to use environment variables or secret management tools (like SOPS) instead of hardcoding tokens in your manifest.
====

'''

**Precedence and Fallback**

Updatecli will use the first valid authentication method it finds, in the following order:

. Personal Access Token via environment variables
. Personal Access Token via manifest

If no valid authentication is found, Updatecli will fail with an error.

'''

**Further Reading**

- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/organizations/accounts/use-personal-access-tokens-to-authenticate[Azure DevOps: Use personal access tokens]
- https://www.updatecli.io/docs/plugins/scm/azuredevops/[Updatecli Azure DevOps SCM Plugin Documentation]

'''

*Tip:* For best security and maintainability, prefer using environment variables for authentication, and avoid hardcoding secrets in your manifests.