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TFVC Obsolete Policy Management

14 posts · Feb 2007 – Feb 2026

What this trail covers

This thread tracks the evolution of TFVC check-in policies and their management. Initially, it focused on updating policies to a new storage format, with phased rollouts for user opt-in and eventual disabling of obsolete policies. This post details the final phase of deprecation where remaining obsolete policies will block check-ins and are no longer manageable through Team Explorer. It provides a C# code snippet using the ExtendedClient library to programmatically remove these policies for administrators. Phase I (User opt-in) and Phase II (Disable saving) are complete. Phase III (Full disabling) is planned for February 2026, where reading of obsolete policies will also be blocked.

All Microsoft trails
  1. TFVC Remove Existing Obsolete Policies ASAPThis post announces the final phase of TFVC check-in policy deprecation, where remaining obsolete policies will block check-ins. It provides a C# code snippet using `Microsoft.TeamFoundationServer.ExtendedClient` to programmatically remove these policies for Project Administrators who are blocked, detailing the necessary NuGet package, collection URI, and project name variables.
  2. What's new with Azure Repos?This post announces the disabling of remaining obsolete TFVC check-in policies, requiring migration to the new storage format. It also details improvements to pull request comment navigation, simplified pull request email notifications, and support for nested folder structures in pull request templates for multi-level branches. The Azure DevOps MCP Server is highlighted as a tool for interacting with Azure Repos. Upcoming features include improved Git policy configuration APIs and further pull request enhancements.
  3. November Patches for Azure DevOps ServerUpdated the hash algorithm used in the authorization process for TFVC Proxy from SHA-1 to SHA-256. This change requires customers to update their proxy along with the server to ensure compatibility and prevent disruptions.
  4. TFVC Policies Storage UpdatesThis post announces the completion of Phase I (User opt-in) and Phase II (Disable saving) of the TFVC check-in policy storage update. It provides updated Visual Studio version requirements for supporting new policies and reiterates the migration guide for custom policy implementations using Microsoft.TeamFoundationServer.ExtendedClient. It also confirms the timeline for Phase III (Full disabling) in February 2026, when obsolete policies will be fully disabled and unreadable.
  5. Azure Repos default branch nameIntroduced the ability to choose the initial branch name for new repositories in Azure DevOps projects, allowing project owners with 'Edit policies' permission to set a default branch name other than 'master'. If no choice is made, Azure DevOps will use a fallback default, which is planned to switch from 'master' to 'main' in early September 2020. The post also provides advice for existing repositories on how to change their default branch name, considering downstream impacts like pipelines, pull requests, and clones.
  7. How to recreate the TFVC team project folderThis post provides a PowerShell script to recreate a deleted TFVC team project folder using the TFS client OM. It addresses the limitation of `tf.exe` which can destroy but not recreate these folders. The script requires Visual Studio installation and administrator permissions, and it recreates the folder structure but not associated build/lab templates.
  8. Receive an error when resolving a bug created by your build?Addresses an issue where resolving bugs created by the Azure DevOps build service account fails due to a recent change in Work Item Tracking (WIT) that disallows assigning work items to groups. The post explains the root cause (service account being a group) and provides a workaround: specifying an explicit value for the System.CreatedBy field in the build definition.
  9. Practical guidance for TFVC and TFS on Azure IaaSThis post highlights new and updated practical guidance from the Visual Studio ALM Rangers. It specifically calls out new guidance for implementing Team Foundation Server (TFS) on Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), based on a real-world proof-of-concept. It also announces the third version of the Version Control guidance, which has been split into separate topics and updated with a crisper style, aligning with the latest Visual Studio technologies and reader feedback. The new guidance uses friendlier strategy names, such as 'Release Isolation' instead of 'Basic – Single Branch'.
  10. Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012 Power Tools ShipsReleased Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012 Power Tools, including a Best Practices Analyzer, Process Template Editor, Team Explorer Enhancements, Team Foundation Power Tool Command Line (tfpt.exe), Team Foundation Server Backups, Test Attachment Cleaner, Windows PowerShell Cmdlets, Windows Shell Extensions, and Work Item Templates.
  11. VSALM Library Updates on MSDN for September 2010This post announces updates to the VSALM Library on MSDN for September 2010. Key additions include the complete guide to the Best Practices Analyzer Tool for Team Foundation Server (BPA), which diagnoses configuration and state issues, and VB samples for over 150 Code Analysis for Managed Code Warnings reference topics. It also details improvements to the Visualization and Modeling Feature Pack, including bidirectional linking between model elements and work items, and customization options for Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs). Updates to build system binary placement and Coded UI test creation/maintenance are also highlighted, along with guidance for creating test plans and test suites. Lab Management content has been integrated into TFS backup and restore topics, and information on configuring the service account for testing and workflow integration has been added. The post also covers expanding or changing virtual labs and provides updated information on SharePoint Products for Team Foundation Server and Team Foundation Server Architecture. Finally, it details the Best Practices Analyzer Tool for Team Foundation Server, installation requirements, and administration updates for backup and restore, including Lab Management integration.
  12. Announcing Team Foundation Power Tools (September 2007)Introduced the September 2007 release of Team Foundation Power Tools, featuring a Best Practices Analyzer Tool for Team Foundation Server and Work Item Templates. The Best Practices Analyzer tool scans Team Foundation Server deployments (health scan and preinstall scan) to identify configuration issues, verify prerequisites, and report findings with resolution links. It gathers information from WMI, system settings, registry, IIS metabase, and SQL Server databases, analyzing it against rules defined in XML files. Work Item Templates allow users to pre-populate fields in work items, streamlining creation and updates.
  13. Now available: Power Tools for Team Edition for Database Professionals with Service Release 1Introduced database refactoring capabilities for Team Edition for Database Professionals, allowing automatic updates for moving objects, disambiguating references, and expanding wildcard references. Also added schema and data comparison at the command prompt, easier specification of regular expressions and data bound columns, a sequential data bound generator for populating tables with reference data, schema-based organization of database projects, the ability to view object references, static code analysis for T-SQL, and development of Visual Studio add-ins integrating with Schema View.
  14. Announcing Team Foundation Power Tools v1.2Introduced the Workspace command (tfpt.exe) for extended workspace operations, the Treeclean command to remove unversioned files, the Process Template Editor for authoring work item types, the Check-in Policy Pack for custom policies, and the Build Test Tools Task for running unit tests via MSBuild. Added support for Vista and bug fixes.