microsoft / microsoft/azure-boards-split

Split operation breaks Markdown formatting in PBI Description

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bug
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
10
Forks
4
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Description

When using the Split action on a Product Backlog Item (PBI) that has its Description formatted as Markdown, the newly created PBI loses Markdown formatting and line structure.

Steps to Reproduce

Image
  1. Create or open a PBI.
  2. Set the Description field to use Markdown.
  3. Enter multi-line Markdown content, for example:
    Line 1
    
    Line 2
    
    - Bullet 1
    - Bullet 2
    
  4. Save the PBI.
  5. Use the Split action from the extension.
Image

Expected Behavior

  • The new PBI should retain:
    • Markdown format
    • Line breaks
    • Overall structure of the original description

Actual Behavior

  • The new PBI:
    • Is no longer set to Markdown format
    • Loses all line breaks
    • Shows content as a single continuous line
Image
  • After manually converting the field back to Markdown:
    • Line breaks are still missing
    • Content remains flattened into a single line
Image

Impact

  • Markdown descriptions become unreadable after splitting
  • Manual cleanup is required for every split operation
  • Affects usability when working with structured descriptions (lists, paragraphs, formatting)

Additional Notes

  • This appears to be related to how the extension copies or transforms the Description field during the split operation.
  • It may be stripping newline characters or not preserving Markdown rendering metadata.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

No source files or tests are named. Start by locating the Split action's code that copies the Description field, then reproduce the issue with multiline Markdown content. Done means the new PBI retains Markdown formatting, line breaks, and the original description structure.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
55/100

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