How to permanently delete an abandoned pull request in Azure DevOps?

Question

We have an abandoned pull request which we would like to permanently remove. How can this be done? There doesn't seem to be a 'delete' or 'remove' option. Thanks.

Answer 1

How to permanently delete an abandoned pull request in Azure DevOps?

Sorry for any inconvenience.

I'm afraid there is no such way to permanently delete an abandoned pull request in Azure DevOps at this moment.

Microsoft thinks that data retention and traceability is important to a lot of our customers - it's not as simple as always providing CRUD operations for every artifact. But more and more customers are requesting delete pull requests, or at least the ability to delete abandoned pull requests.

Just like Spevacus comment, this feature is under Review, and Microsoft replied:

Your suggestion has been queued up for prioritization. Feature suggestions are prioritized based on the value to our broader developer community and the product roadmap. We may not be able to pursue this one immediately, but we will continue to monitor it up to 90 days for community input

You could vote and add your comments for this feedback. When there are enough community votes and comments with reliable feedback, the product team members will take this feature request seriously.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

While an abandoned pull request cannot currently be permanently deleted in Azure DevOps, it can be closed. The comment/update history will remain, but the pull request will not show up in the "Abandoned" list.

1. Delete the pull request's source branch if it still exists.
2. Create a new branch based on the main branch with the same name as the original source branch.
3. Reactivate the pull request
4. Close the pull request

The new status will be "Completed"