How to get Total lines added and lines removed in Pull requests ADO REST API response

Anonymous

Hi, I’m trying to retrieve the total number of lines added and removed in a Pull Request (PR) using the Azure DevOps REST API.

I’ve tried using the following endpoints:

GET /_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/pullRequests/{pullRequestId}/iterations/{iterationId}/changes

GET /_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/pullRequests/{pullRequestId}/commits

GET /_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/diffs

However, in most cases, the API responses either show 0 for changeCounts or don’t include line-level stats at all. Even though the PR UI in Azure DevOps correctly displays the number of lines added and removed, the REST API seems not to include those counts directly.

I’m looking for a reliable REST API (or combination of endpoints) to:

Get total lines added and removed across all changed files in a PR.

Optionally get per-file line additions/removals.

Here’s an example of what I’ve tried so far:

GET https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/pullRequests/{pullRequestId}/iterations/{iterationId}/changes?api-version=7.1-preview.1

and

GET https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/diffs?baseVersionType=PullRequest&baseVersion={pullRequestId}&targetVersionType=Commit&targetVersion=HEAD&api-version=7.1-preview.1

Both return metadata about changed files, but the line additions/deletions are always 0.Hi,

I’m trying to retrieve the total number of lines added and removed in a Pull Request (PR) using the Azure DevOps REST API.

I’ve tried using the following endpoints:

GET /_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/pullRequests/{pullRequestId}/iterations/{iterationId}/changes

GET /_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/pullRequests/{pullRequestId}/commits

GET /_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/diffs

However, in most cases, the API responses either show 0 for changeCounts or don’t include line-level stats at all.
Even though the PR UI in Azure DevOps correctly displays the number of lines added and removed, the REST API seems not to include those counts directly.

I’m looking for a reliable REST API (or combination of endpoints) to:

Get total lines added and removed across all changed files in a PR.

Optionally get per-file line additions/removals.

Here’s an example of what I’ve tried so far:

GET https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/pullRequests/{pullRequestId}/iterations/{iterationId}/changes?api-version=7.1-preview.1

and

GET https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_apis/git/repositories/{repositoryId}/diffs?baseVersionType=PullRequest&baseVersion={pullRequestId}&targetVersionType=Commit&targetVersion=HEAD&api-version=7.1-preview.1

Both return metadata about changed files, but the line additions/deletions are always 0.

Anurag Rohikar 3,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-06T01:07:09.5+00:00
Hello bhukya bhanuteja (INFOSYS LIMITED),

Thanks for reaching out. To better understand why the REST API is returning zero or missing line change counts, could you please help us with the following details?

Troubleshooting Checklist for Pull Request Line Change Counts in Azure DevOps REST API

Q1: Are you using Azure Repos Git or GitHub-hosted repositories within Azure DevOps?

The available endpoints and data structures can differ between these systems. Confirming this helps determine the correct API approach.

Q2: Are you using the latest iterationId associated with the pull request?

Line change counts may be zero if you're referencing an outdated iteration. To verify, retrieve the latest iteration ID before making diff API calls.

Q3: Are you calling the Diffs API with the correct baseVersion and targetVersion parameters?

For accurate comparison, baseVersion should typically be the PR’s base branch or commit, and targetVersion should be the latest commit or branch tip.

Q4: Are you authenticating with a Personal Access Token (PAT) that has the "Code" scope?

Insufficient permissions can cause incomplete or empty responses. Please confirm your PAT includes all required scopes.

Q5: In your API response, are you seeing any file-level changes, or do the changeCount fields remain zero or empty?

If the response fields are empty, this often indicates a mismatch in parameters or an issue with the diff comparison.

Q6: Are you noticing any rate limit or authentication errors in your API responses?

Check response headers for rate limit info or errors, as throttling can cause incomplete data.

Q7: Are you trying to get aggregated totals across all files or per-file line change counts?

Note that aggregated totals may need to be computed client-side by parsing multiple file diffs.

Once you confirm these details, we can pinpoint whether this is a parameter issue, an API limitation, or something specific to your repository setup.

Thank you for your time and for helping us narrow this down.
Anurag Rohikar 3,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-10T08:13:17.77+00:00

Hello bhukya bhanuteja (INFOSYS LIMITED), Following up to see if you have a chance to check my previous response and help us with requested information to check and assist you further on this. Thank-you!
Anurag Rohikar 3,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-11T07:40:13.2066667+00:00

Hello bhukya bhanuteja (INFOSYS LIMITED), Just checking to see if you have a chance to check my previous response and help us with requested information to check and assist you further on this. Thank-you!

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