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Last updated: 2026-03-13
List of References (Click to expand)
- Visual Studio subscriptions pricing
- GitHub Enterprise Pricing
- GitHub Advanced Security license billing
- GitHub Actions billing
- GitHub Code Quality billing
- Pricing for Azure DevOps
- GitHub pricing options
- What is GitHub Advanced Security integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud (preview)?
- Setup GitHub Advanced Security native integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud
- Overview of Microsoft Defender for Cloud DevOps security
Table of Content (Click to expand)
Note
- Visual Studio
Dev Platform - Azure DevOps
Boards + Pipelines - GitHub areas:
Code Platform- GitHub Enterprise Cloud
- GitHub Enterprise Server
- GitHub Advanced Security (Code Scanning, Secret Scanning)
- GitHub Copilot For Business
- GitHub Copilot for Enterprise
- GitHub Actions
- GitHub Code Quality (coming soon)
GitHub isn’t just a place to store code, it’s a social network for developers, a productivity engine, and a secure ecosystem that powers everything from hobby projects to the world’s largest enterprises.
Over 150 million developers use GitHub, making it the largest coding community in the world.Click here to see real time insights The developers metric represents the number of developer accounts on GitHub in a given economy. This count excludes users that are bots or otherwise flagged as “spammy” within internal systems. See our documentation for personal accounts for more information
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Community & Collaboration | - Largest developer hub with 100M+ users, making it the default platform for open-source and enterprise projects. - Built-in collaboration tools: issues for bug tracking, pull requests for code review, and discussions for knowledge sharing. - Hosts the world’s most influential open-source projects (React, TensorFlow, Kubernetes), ensuring developers can contribute to or learn from cutting-edge codebases. - Social coding features (stars, forks, followers) encourage discovery and networking among developers. |
| Version Control | - Powered by Git, the industry-standard version control system trusted by developers worldwide. - Transparent history of every commit, enabling accountability and easy debugging. - Branching and merging workflows support agile development, experimentation, and safe rollbacks. - Advanced features like protected branches and required reviews enforce quality standards in teams. |
| Integration & Ecosystem | - GitHub Copilot: AI-powered coding assistant integrated directly into GitHub and IDEs like VS Code and JetBrains. - GitHub Actions: Automates CI/CD pipelines, testing, deployments, and workflows without leaving the repository. - GitHub Codespaces: Cloud-based development environments that spin up instantly, reducing setup time. - Rich ecosystem of integrations with tools like Slack, Jira, AWS, Azure, VS Code, Docker, and more, making GitHub the central hub of modern software development. |
| Security & Compliance | - Dependabot: Automatically scans and updates vulnerable dependencies to keep projects secure. - Code scanning & secret detection: Identifies flaws and exposed credentials before they reach production. - Enterprise-grade compliance features (SOC 2, ISO certifications) make GitHub suitable for regulated industries. - Security advisories and vulnerability databases help teams stay ahead of risks. |
| Developer Experience | - Beginner-friendly interface with intuitive repo management, making GitHub accessible to new developers. - Built-in documentation tools (README files, wikis) and knowledge sharing features streamline onboarding. - Project boards and task management tools support agile workflows directly inside GitHub. - GitHub Pages: Free static site hosting from repositories, ideal for documentation, portfolios, or project websites. - Rich search and code navigation features (code search, blame view) improve productivity and understanding of large codebases. |
example-GH-how-it-looks.mp4
GitHub Copilot stands out because it’s deeply integrated into the developer workflow, trained on massive open-source codebases, and optimized for real-time coding assistance inside IDEs like VS Code and JetBrains. Unlike many competitors, it’s designed as a
pair programmerthat not only autocompletes but also explains, suggests, and adapts to your coding style.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Integration & Ecosystem | - Native integration with GitHub & VS Code (embedded directly into IDEs) - Seamless GitHub workflow (repositories, pull requests, GitHub Actions) |
| Training Data & Accuracy | - Trained on billions of lines of open-source code - Provides contextually relevant suggestions across languages/frameworks - Adaptive learning that improves with your coding style & project context |
| Productivity Gains | - Developers report 30–40% faster coding compared to manual coding - Reduces boilerplate and repetitive tasks - Frees time for higher-level problem solving |
| Unique Features | - Copilot Chat: natural language queries, debugging, explanations - Context awareness: reads surrounding code for accurate completions - Multi-language support: strong across Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, C#, and more |
example-of-how-GHC-works-agent-mode.mp4
Use GitHub to optimize developer productivity and Azure DevOps to enforce enterprise governance and delivery controls, together they give us speed and safety.
They’re better together because each platform is strongest where the other is "complex".
- Azure DevOps = operations, governance, and planning
- GitHub = developer experience and collaboration
How they complement each other:
| Focus Area | Azure DevOps Strength | GitHub Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Governance & Control | ✅ Enterprise policies, approvals, RBAC, audits | |
| Planning & Tracking | ✅ Structured Boards (Epics → Features → Stories) | |
| Compliance & Traceability | ✅ End‑to‑end traceability | |
| Developer Experience | ✅ Best‑in‑class UX | |
| Code Collaboration | ✅ Industry‑leading PRs & reviews | |
| Ecosystem | ✅ Massive global ecosystem | |
| Security in Code | ✅ Native GHAS (CodeQL, Dependabot, secrets) |
Why they’re better together (the “division of labor”)
Azure DevOps handles:
- Portfolio planning and roadmaps
- Enterprise governance and compliance
- Release management and approvals
- Cross‑team visibility and reporting
GitHub handles:
- Day‑to‑day developer workflows
- Pull requests and code reviews
- InnerSource / Open Source collaboration
- Modern CI with GitHub Actions
- Shift‑left security (GHAS)
A very common enterprise pattern:
- Developers a fast, familiar, low‑friction experience
- Platform / Ops / Security teams the controls they need
- Leadership visibility, traceability, and compliance
The main difference is that
GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS) is natively integrated into GitHub repositories, while inAzure DevOps it is available only through an extensionand with limited functionality in some aspects (Azure DevOps repos require setup and don’t support all GitHub-native workflows). Click here Key differences between Azure DevOps and GitHub to read more about it.
Tip
Azure DevOps is stronger in project management and pipelines, but GitHub is stronger in developer-centric workflows and security integration. GitHub repos give you the complete GHAS package with minimal friction, while Azure DevOps repos provide only a subset of GHAS features and require more setup effort.
- GitHub repos → Full GHAS experience: seamless integration, developer-first workflows, dependency review, Dependabot, and inline alerts.
- Azure DevOps repos → Limited GHAS: code scanning and secret scanning are available, but dependency review and Dependabot are missing. Setup is required, and alerts aren’t as tightly integrated into developer workflows.
| Dimension | GitHub Repos (Native GHAS) | Azure DevOps Repos (GHAS Extension) |
|---|---|---|
| Integration Model | Fully native, built into GitHub platform | Delivered via Azure DevOps extension; requires installation and configuration |
| Code Scanning | Native integration with GitHub Actions; alerts appear directly in PRs/issues | Supported via Azure Pipelines; requires pipeline setup; alerts less seamlessly integrated |
| Secret Scanning | Automatic detection of secrets in commits, PRs, and historical code; alerts in repo UI | Supported, but requires configuration; alerts surfaced differently, not as tightly bound to PR workflow |
| Dependency Review | Built-in; shows dependency changes in PRs with risk insights | Not available in Azure DevOps |
| Dependency Scanning (Dependabot) | Native Dependabot alerts and updates | Not supported; requires external tooling |
| UI/Developer Experience | Security alerts visible directly in GitHub repo interface and PRs | Alerts managed via Azure DevOps project dashboards; less developer-centric |
| Remediation Workflow | Inline in PRs; developers can fix issues before merging | Issues raised in pipelines; remediation requires manual tracking |
| Setup Effort | Minimal; enable features in repo settings | Higher; requires extension installation and pipeline configuration |
| Ecosystem Fit | Best for teams already using GitHub for collaboration and CI/CD | Best for enterprises tied to Azure DevOps boards/pipelines |
| Feature Coverage | Full GHAS suite: code scanning, secret scanning, dependency review, Dependabot | Partial GHAS suite: code scanning + secret scanning; dependency review and Dependabot missing |
| Policy & Governance | GitHub org-level policies; security alerts aggregated across repos | Azure DevOps org/project-level management; less granular integration |
| Cost Model | GHAS is a paid add-on for GitHub Enterprise | GHAS extension is licensed separately for Azure DevOps |
Click here to read more about What is GitHub Advanced Security integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud (preview)?, Setup GitHub Advanced Security native integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and Overview of Microsoft Defender for Cloud DevOps security
Note
- If you already have GHAS enabled and producing findings, Defender doesn’t replace GHAS scanning. It aggregates and operationalizes those results across repos/orgs, and adds DevOps posture signals and optional PR annotations.
- The “central dashboard for GHAS findings” you heard about is not a GitHub UI feature. It’s the DevOps security experience inside Microsoft Defender for Cloud (Azure portal).
- In practice, this means your repo-level GHAS signals (CodeQL/code scanning, secret scanning, dependency scanning/Dependabot) can be aggregated and reported at an org/project level in Defender for Cloud (across many repos), alongside DevOps posture/security recommendations.
- To make that work, Defender for Cloud must be able to “see” those results, which requires you to onboard (connect) your GitHub organization and/or Azure DevOps organization to Defender for Cloud using a DevOps security connector. That connector is an Azure-side configuration that establishes authorization between Azure and GitHub/ADO so Defender can inventory repos/projects and pull in security findings for centralized visibility (and, if you later choose to enable it, optional features like PR annotations).
Coverage areas across SAST, dependency scanning, and code security signals:
| Coverage area | Typical signals included | GHAS (GitHub Advanced Security) coverage | Microsoft Defender for Cloud – DevOps security coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAST (Code scanning / CodeQL) | Static code vulnerabilities, insecure patterns, taint-flow issues, CWEs (language dependent) | Runs CodeQL/code scanning and creates repo-level code scanning alerts | Surfaces/rolls up code scanning findings across connected GitHub orgs / ADO orgs for centralized reporting. Please check here to understand more about it What does Defender for DevOps actually scan? |
| Dependency scanning (SCA) | Vulnerable OSS packages + transitive deps (CVEs/advisories), dependency risk signals | Dependabot/dependency alerts (and optionally update PRs if configured) | Surfaces/rolls up dependency vulnerability scanning findings across onboarded repos/projects |
| Secret scanning | Detected secrets in commits/history; optional push protection signals | Secret scanning alerts + push protection (if enabled) | Aggregated visibility of secret-related findings across connected DevOps environments |
| Code security “signals” (coverage/status) | Whether scanning is enabled, gaps (code scanning off, secret scanning off, dependency scanning off), counts by severity/type | Strong at per-repo enablement and alert detail | Strong at org/project-level inventory + “advanced security status” and findings counts across many repos |
Developer experience and operational workflow (alerts, triage, remediation):
You can start **visibility-first**: connect for aggregation/reporting, keep write-back features (like PR annotations) off until you choose to enable them.
- Where alerts show up
- GHAS: Alerts live in the repo (Security tab) and in PR checks/code scanning results; devs see issues in the same place they code/review.
- Defender (DevOps security): Alerts/findings are surfaced in the Azure portal as a centralized view across many repos/orgs/projects.
- How triage typically happens
- Developers triage primarily in GHAS (closest to code owners, PR context, blame/history, and fix workflow).
- Security/DevSecOps triage at scale in Defender to spot hotspots (which orgs/projects/repos have most high severity, which repos have scanning disabled, trends).
- How remediation gets driven
- GHAS: Remediation is PR-centric (fix code, update dependencies, rotate/revoke secrets). This is where the “do the work” loop happens.
- Defender: Typically drives governance + prioritization (visibility, reporting, assignment follow-up) rather than directly fixing code.
- Optional “feedback into PRs”
- Defender can be configured to add PR annotations (comments/annotations) so devs see security findings directly in PR diffs.
- This is explicitly enabled/configured (not something Defender does automatically just by being connected), and it’s a key reason connectors may request broader permissions.
Visibility and reporting at an organization or project level (vs. individual repositories):
Important
E.g: Assuming your setup is
- GHAS enabled on at least one GitHub org/repo
- GHAzDO (GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps) enabled on at least one Azure DevOps repo
- You’re evaluating Defender for Cloud → DevOps security as the cross-org dashboard
- The central dashboard effect only happens after onboarding connectors (GitHub and/or ADO) to Defender for Cloud.
- You can onboard GitHub first to validate the “dashboard value” with lower operational concern, then onboard ADO later.
- “Write-back” style behavior (example: PR annotations) is an optional feature you explicitly enable, not the default requirement for basic aggregation/reporting.
| Scenario | What shows up for GitHub repos | What shows up for Azure DevOps repos (GHAzDO) | “Org / project level” reporting outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHAS only (GitHub) | Full repo-level GHAS views (code scanning, secrets, dependency alerts) in GitHub | Nothing (unless you also enabled GHAzDO separately in ADO) | Mostly per-repo; org-wide visibility depends on GitHub’s own org reporting and exports |
| GHAzDO only (Azure DevOps) | Nothing | Repo-level Advanced Security views in ADO (CodeQL/code scanning, dependency, secrets depending on what’s enabled) | Mostly per-project/per-repo inside ADO; not a unified view across GitHub + ADO |
| Defender DevOps security + GitHub connector (GitHub onboarded) | Defender shows centralized inventory + rollups for onboarded GitHub repos (findings counts, status) | Nothing for ADO until you also onboard ADO | Org-level for GitHub (good “single pane” across GitHub repos) but not across ADO |
| Defender DevOps security + ADO connector (ADO onboarded) | Nothing for GitHub until you also onboard GitHub | Defender shows centralized inventory + rollups for ADO repos/projects (including GHAzDO-derived signals where applicable) | Project/org-level for ADO (good rollup across ADO projects/repos) but not across GitHub |
| Defender DevOps security + both connectors (GitHub + ADO onboarded) | Centralized rollups for GitHub GHAS results | Centralized rollups for ADO (including GHAzDO) | This is the “central dashboard” outcome: one Azure place to view posture/findings across both platforms, filter by org/project/repo, severity, finding type |
- Is there any way to preview/understand Defender’s GHAS-related dashboards before granting ADO write permissions?
- You can preview the UX conceptually via Microsoft Learn pages/screenshots (DevOps security blade + workbook), but there isn’t a true “your data” preview without onboarding a connector.
- A practical low-risk preview approach is GitHub-first onboarding: connect only your GitHub org to Defender for Cloud DevOps security first (no ADO connector yet). That lets you see the actual Defender DevOps security inventory/rollups and how GHAS findings appear in Defender, without granting any permissions to Azure DevOps.
- Microsoft references a DevOps Security workbook and the DevOps security “Manage your DevOps environments” experience in Defender for Cloud (these show the layout: inventory, advanced security status, findings rollups, filters).
- Once Defender is enabled with the required permissions, does it automatically take action in ADO (write-back / issues / config changes)?
- Defender for Cloud DevOps security will perform discovery and scanning/assessment activities after connection (it calls DevOps APIs and can run recurring posture scans). That’s “activity,” but not the same as “writing back.”
- Write-back behaviors are feature-driven and require explicit enablement/configuration. The clearest example is Pull Request annotations: Microsoft documents that PR annotations are something you turn on in Defender for Cloud (and optionally scope by category/severity). Those annotations are effectively a “write” action into PRs.
- Microsoft also explicitly explains that the reason ADO connector asks for write permissions (work items/build/code/service hooks/advanced security) is because those permissions are needed for certain features such as PR annotations, not because Defender will automatically start changing your ADO configuration the moment it’s connected.
- Can Defender be configured “read-only” / visibility-first (aggregation + reporting only) at the start? `
- Yes in practice, with two layers of control:
- Azure-side access: you can grant your security viewers Security Reader scoped to the connector/resource group so they can view findings without broad subscription write privileges.
- Feature enablement: connect the DevOps environment for visibility, but do not enable PR annotations (and avoid installing/enabling any optional pipeline/action components until you’re ready). In this mode, Defender functions as an aggregation and reporting console.
- Caveat: the connector authorization itself may still request broader ADO scopes than you’d like, even if you intend to run visibility-only. That’s a governance decision about what the connector could do vs what you actually enable.
- Yes in practice, with two layers of control:
Tip
A safe “visibility-first” pilot is:
- (1) onboard the GitHub connector only
- (2) validate Defender for Cloud DevOps security dashboards/workbooks
- (3) onboard the Azure DevOps connector in a sandbox org/project
- (4) keep PR annotations OFF (no write-back)
- (5) only then decide whether to enable any write-back features (like PR annotations) based on governance comfort.
flowchart LR
A["1. Onboard GitHub connector only
Defender for Cloud DevOps security"] --> B["2. Validate dashboards and workbooks
Central rollups and reporting"]
B --> C["3. Onboard Azure DevOps connector
Use a sandbox org or project"]
C --> D["4. Keep PR annotations OFF
No write back to PRs"]
D --> E{"5. Enable write back features?"}
E -->|No| F["Stay visibility only
Aggregation and reporting"]
E -->|Yes| G["Enable PR annotations or other features
Explicit opt in"]
Refresh Date: 2026-03-26