Everyday workflows

Each workflow starts with the VS Code steps and gives the CLI equivalent. Connected generation supports Azure DevOps today; Mock Preview works offline.

Try Atomize Without Credentials

Use Mock Preview when you want to understand the product or test template logic before connecting to Azure DevOps.

In VS Code:

1. Open an .atomize.yaml file.
2. Run Atomize: Validate.
3. Run Atomize: Preview (Mock).
4. Enter mock story field values when prompted.

From the CLI:

atomize generate template:backend-api --platform mock

Mock preview does not connect to a platform and does not create tasks.

Author A Template

Use .atomize.yaml, .atomize.yml, or a first-line # atomize-yaml marker for the full VS Code authoring surface.

VS Code authoring includes:

• schema hovers and completions
• snippets for templates and mixins
• save-time diagnostics
• CodeLens actions for Validate, Preview, and Generate
• quick fixes for supported validation warnings

Minimal template:

formatVersion: "1.0"
name: "Feature Breakdown"

filter:
  workItemTypes: ["User Story"]
  states: ["New", "Active"]

tasks:
  - title: "Design: ${story.title}"
    estimationPercent: 20
  - title: "Build: ${story.title}"
    estimationPercent: 60
  - title: "Validate: ${story.title}"
    estimationPercent: 20

For field shapes, defaults and constraints, see the Schema Reference. For composition, conditions, custom fields and estimation behavior, see the Template Reference.

Validate A Template

Validation catches template errors before preview or generation.

In VS Code:

1. Run Atomize: Validate.
2. Choose Offline Validation for structure-only checks.
3. Choose Online Validation when you need Azure DevOps field and saved-query verification.

From the CLI:

atomize validate my-template.atomize.yaml
atomize validate my-template.atomize.yaml --strict
atomize validate my-template.atomize.yaml --profile work-ado

Use strict mode for team templates and CI because warnings become failures. See Validation Modes and Common Validation Errors.

Preview Generated Tasks

Preview lets you inspect the generated task plan before any task is created.

In VS Code:

• Atomize: Preview (Mock) uses entered story fields and does not need credentials.
• Atomize: Preview (Live) reads a real Azure DevOps story through a selected profile and renders a dry-run task breakdown.

From the CLI:

# Offline mock preview
atomize generate template:backend-api --platform mock

# Inspect which story fields the template references
atomize preview template:backend-api --inspect

# Live dry run against Azure DevOps
atomize generate template:backend-api --profile work-ado

# Dry run for explicit story IDs
atomize generate template:backend-api --profile work-ado --story 123 456

Dry runs do not create tasks.

Connect Azure DevOps

Connected validation, live preview, and generation use Azure DevOps Connection Profiles.

In VS Code:

1. Run Atomize: Manage Profiles.
2. Add an Azure DevOps profile.
3. Test the profile.
4. Set a workspace default profile if this repository should preselect it.

From the CLI:

atomize auth add work-ado
atomize auth test work-ado
atomize auth use work-ado

Your Azure DevOps PAT needs Work Items read/write access. See Auth Guide for storage, profile resolution, token rotation, and CI setup.

Generate In VS Code

1. Run Atomize: Generate.
2. Select a connection profile.
3. Tick Stories in the Story Browser, or press Enter with none ticked to use every Story the Template's filter matches.
4. Review the dry-run report in the Generate Panel.
5. Choose Create N Tasks only when the plan is correct.
6. Confirm the final VS Code prompt.

See Atomize: Generate for what each step shows and how failures are reported.

Generate from the CLI

Run a dry run against real Stories, then create Tasks after confirming: see Generate Tasks from the CLI.

Create Or Customize Templates

Choose the creation path based on what you already have.

Goal	Recommended path
Start from a known pattern	Browse the Catalog or run atomize template create --from <name>
Build manually	Use the template wizard or edit YAML directly
Capture team practice	Use AI-assisted creation with your written process as a Reference Document
Draft from prose	Use AI-assisted template creation
Reuse shared task groups	Create a mixin and include it from templates

See Template Creation for creation workflows.

Manage Profiles

Profiles keep credentials out of command flags and editor settings.

In VS Code, run Atomize: Manage Profiles to add, test, rotate, remove, and set defaults.

From the CLI:

atomize auth list
atomize auth add work-ado
atomize auth test work-ado
atomize auth rotate work-ado
atomize auth remove old-profile

Azure DevOps profiles have their own default, set with atomize auth use. AI-assisted template creation does not use a Connection Profile at all: it authenticates through a separate Copilot Session; see Auth Guide.

Automate and troubleshoot

Automate the CLI covers profiles in scripts, machine-readable output, and exit codes. When something goes wrong, start at Troubleshooting.