Map the Metadata folder for the branch in source control to the Packages Local Directory folder of the AOS drive: Mapping Metadata to the Packages Local Directory folder lets the locally hosted finance and operations apps environment run code that is built locally in Visual Studio.
Check the Output window in Visual Studio for logs of which files are auto-merged: The Output window logs which files are affected by auto-merging, so you can use it to help determine if an auto-merge overwrote your local changes.
Creating a new Azure DevOps project: You can connect to a new project from Visual Studio, but you must go to Azure DevOps to create one.