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https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skills

Official agent plugin providing skills and MCP server configurations for Azure scenarios.
https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skills

agent-skills

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Official agent plugin providing skills and MCP server configurations for Azure scenarios.

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README 

          
# Azure Skills Plugin



Azure work is not just a code problem. It is a decision problem: which service fits this app, what needs to be validated before deployment, which tools should run, and what guardrails matter. The Azure Skills Plugin packages Azure expertise and MCP-backed execution together so compatible coding agents can do real Azure work instead of giving generic cloud advice.



**[Install the plugin](#install-in-60-seconds)**



## One install, three layers of capability



### Azure skills: the brain



This plugin ships **25 curated Azure skills** that teach an agent how Azure work gets done. They provide workflows, decision trees, and guardrails for scenarios such as:



- **Build, deploy, and evolve** with `azure-prepare`, `azure-validate`, `azure-deploy`, `azure-upgrade`, `azure-enterprise-infra-planner`, `azure-hosted-copilot-sdk`, `azure-kubernetes`, and `airunway-aks-setup`

- **Troubleshoot, monitor, and govern** with `azure-diagnostics`, `appinsights-instrumentation`, `azure-compliance`, `azure-resource-lookup`, and `azure-quotas`

- **Optimize architecture and cost** with `azure-cost`, `azure-compute`, `azure-resource-visualizer`, and `azure-cloud-migrate`

- **Work across data, AI, identity, and platform services** with `azure-ai`, `azure-aigateway`, `azure-storage`, `azure-kusto`, `azure-messaging`, `azure-rbac`, `entra-app-registration`, and `microsoft-foundry`



### Azure MCP Server: the hands



The plugin wires in the **Azure MCP Server**, which gives your agent **200+ structured tools across 40+ Azure services**. That is the execution layer for listing resources, checking prices, querying logs, diagnosing issues, and driving real Azure workflows.



### Foundry MCP: the AI specialist



The plugin also includes **Foundry MCP** for Microsoft Foundry scenarios such as model discovery, model deployment, and agent workflows.



## Why this plugin is different



This is not a prompt pack. It is a packaged Azure capability layer:



- **Skills** teach the agent when to use Azure workflows and what to avoid.

- **MCP tools** let the agent act on live Azure and Foundry resources.

- **The plugin** keeps the guidance layer and execution layer aligned in one install.

- **Multi-host support** lets you use the same Azure capability across environments such as GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Copilot CLI, Claude Code, and other compatible hosts.



## What you get



| Component | What it adds | Examples |

| --- | --- | --- |

| **Azure skills** | Azure expertise, workflows, and guardrails | Prepare, validate, deploy, diagnostics, cost, AI, RBAC |

| **Azure MCP Server** | Live Azure tooling | Resource inventory, monitoring, pricing, storage, databases, messaging |

| **Foundry MCP** | Microsoft Foundry workflows | Model catalog, deployments, agents, evaluations |



The plugin payload lives in `.github/plugins/azure-skills/`, and the included MCP configuration shows how Azure and Foundry connectivity are wired for compatible hosts.



## Install in 60 seconds



### Prerequisites



Before you install, make sure you have:



- An Azure account or subscription

- **Node.js 18+** available on your PATH (`npx` is used to start the MCP servers)

- **Azure CLI** installed and authenticated with `az login`

- **Azure Developer CLI** installed and authenticated with `azd auth login` if you plan to use deployment workflows



### APM (one install, multiple harnesses)



The Azure Skills Plugin is multi-harness. If you use [APM](https://github.com/microsoft/apm), one command installs it across GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, OpenCode, Codex, and Gemini from a single `apm.yml`:



```bash

apm install microsoft/azure-skills

```



### GitHub Copilot CLI



**Add the marketplace** (first time only):



```

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/azure-skills

```



**Install the plugin**:



```

/plugin install azure@azure-skills

```



**Update the plugin**:



```

/plugin update azure@azure-skills

```



### VS Code



Install the **Azure MCP** extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace:



👉 [Azure MCP Extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-azuretools.vscode-azure-mcp-server)



The Azure MCP extension will also install a companion extension that brings the Azure skills into VS Code. Together they configure the Azure MCP Server, Foundry MCP, and the full skills layer automatically.



> **Note:** The skills extension requires **Git CLI** to be installed on your machine. If you don't have it, ask Copilot to help you install Git for your OS.



### Claude Code



**Install the plugin** — either run:



```bash

/plugin install azure@claude-plugins-official

```



Or run `/plugin` and search for "azure" in the marketplace:



![Claude Code plugin discovery showing the Azure plugin](assets/azure-plugin-in-claude.png)



**Update the plugin**:



```bash

/plugin update azure@claude-plugins-official

```



### Gemini CLI



**Install the extension**:



```bash

gemini extensions install https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skills

```



### Cursor



You can install the Azure plugin from the [Cursor Marketplace](https://cursor.com/marketplace/azure) or directly from Cursor settings by navigating to **Settings** > **Plugins** and searching for "Azure":



![Cursor Plugins](assets/cursor-plugins.png)



### Codex CLI



**Add the marketplace** (first time only):



```bash

codex plugin marketplace add microsoft/azure-skills

```



**Install the plugin**:



Browse plugins using `/plugins` and install `azure`:



![Codex Plugins](assets/codex-plugins.png)



![Codex Install Plugin](assets/codex-install-plugin.png)



**Enable or disable skills**:



You can choose to enable or disable specific skills by running `/skills` in Codex and selecting the appropriate option:



![Codex Enable Disable Skills](assets/codex-enable-disable-skills.png)



> **Note:** A plugin installed from Codex CLI is also available in the Codex app.



### IntelliJ IDEA



#### Prerequisites



Before installing Azure skills in IntelliJ IDEA, ensure you have:

- **Node.js 18+** installed on your system with `npx` available on your PATH

- **Git** installed and accessible from the command line



You can verify these prerequisites by running:

```bash

npx --version

git --version

```



#### Step 1: Install GitHub Copilot Plugin



1. Open IntelliJ IDEA

2. Go to **File** > **Settings** (on Windows/Linux) or **IntelliJ IDEA** > **Preferences** (on macOS)

3. Navigate to **Plugins** in the left sidebar

4. Search for "GitHub Copilot" in the Marketplace tab

5. Install the [GitHub Copilot plugin](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/17718-github-copilot--your-ai-pair-programmer) (requires version 1.5.64-242 or higher)

6. Restart IntelliJ IDEA when prompted



#### Step 2: Enable Skills for GitHub Copilot



1. Open IntelliJ IDEA settings/preferences again

2. Navigate to **Tools** > **GitHub Copilot** > **Chat**

3. Check the **"Enable Skills"** checkbox

4. Click **Apply** and **OK**



![alt text](assets/intellij-enable-azure-skills.png)



#### Step 3: Install Azure Skills



**Option 1: Install Azure Toolkit For IntelliJ Plugin**



1. **Install the Azure Toolkit plugin** from the JetBrains Marketplace:

   👉 [Azure Toolkit for IntelliJ](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/8053-azure-toolkit-for-intellij)

   

2. **Restart IntelliJ IDEA** to complete the plugin installation



3. **Install Azure Skills** when prompted:

   - After restarting, you'll see a notification offering to install Azure Skills

   - Click **Install** to add the Azure skills to your environment

   - See screenshot below for reference



   ![alt text](assets/intellij-install-skills-notification.png)



4. **Verify installation** by opening the GitHub Copilot chat window and typing:

   ```

   /skill:azure

   ```

   This will display all available Azure skills you can now use in your projects.



   ![alt text](assets/intellij-verify-azure-skills.png)



**Option 2:** Install Azure Skills manually



1. Open a terminal or command prompt

2. Run the following command to install Azure skills globally for GitHub Copilot:



   ```bash

   npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skills/tree/main/.github/plugins/azure-skills/skills -a github-copilot -g -y

   ```



   **Command explanation:**

   - `npx skills add` - Uses the skills CLI to add a new skills package

   - The GitHub URL points to the Azure skills directory in this repository

   - `-a github-copilot` - Specifies the skills are for GitHub Copilot

   - `-g` - Installs the skills globally (available across all projects)

   - `-y` - Automatically accepts prompts during installation



3. Wait for the installation to complete. You should see confirmation that the Azure skills have been successfully added.



## Sovereign Cloud Configuration



By default, the Azure MCP server connects to the Azure Public Cloud. If you use a sovereign cloud (Azure China Cloud or Azure US Government), you need to configure the MCP server to use the appropriate cloud environment.



### Copilot CLI



After installing the plugin, Azure MCP server should be configured for copilot as well. You can list the configured MCP servers by running `/mcp show`



![MCP Servers](assets/mcp_servers.png)



Edit the Azure MCP server named `azure` from `plugin:azure` to add the `--cloud` argument. Execute `/mcp edit azure`. Navigate to the `Command` section to add the `--cloud` argument, use `AzureChinaCloud` to access Azure China Cloud, and use `AzureUSGovernment` to access Azure US Government Cloud.



![Edit MCP Server](assets/edit_mcp_server.png)



Before starting the MCP server, ensure your local CLI tools are authenticated against the correct cloud:



| Cloud | Azure CLI | Azure PowerShell | Azure Developer CLI |

|-------|-----------|-----------------|---------------------|

| China | `az cloud set --name AzureChinaCloud && az login` | `Connect-AzAccount -Environment AzureChinaCloud` | `azd config set cloud.name AzureChinaCloud && azd auth login` |

| US Government | `az cloud set --name AzureUSGovernment && az login` | `Connect-AzAccount -Environment AzureUSGovernment` | `azd config set cloud.name AzureUSGovernment && azd auth login` |



For more details, see [Connect to sovereign clouds](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/developer/azure-mcp-server/how-to/connect-sovereign-clouds) in the Azure MCP Server documentation.



## Verify the installation



After install, try three quick checks.



### 1. Verify the skills layer



Ask:



> What Azure services would I need to deploy this project?



You should get structured Azure guidance, not just a generic cloud answer.



### 2. Verify Azure MCP



Ask:



> List my Azure resource groups.



You should see a real tool-backed response from your Azure account.



### 3. Verify Foundry MCP



Ask:



> What AI models are available in Microsoft Foundry?



You should get a Foundry-backed response rather than a generic summary.



## Authentication



The recommended authentication path is Azure CLI:



```bash

az login

```



If you plan to deploy with `azd`, also run:



```bash

azd auth login

```



You can also authenticate with service principal credentials:



**Bash/Zsh**



```bash

export AZURE_TENANT_ID="your-tenant-id"

export AZURE_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"

export AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

```



**PowerShell**



```powershell

$env:AZURE_TENANT_ID = "your-tenant-id"

$env:AZURE_CLIENT_ID = "your-client-id"

$env:AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET = "your-client-secret"

```



When the agent runs inside Azure, the Azure MCP Server can also use managed identity.



## Prompts to try



Once the plugin is installed, try prompts like these:



- `Prepare this app for Azure.`

- `Validate my Azure deployment files before I run azd up.`

- `Deploy this project to Azure Container Apps.`

- `List my Azure storage accounts.`

- `Find cost savings across my Azure subscription.`

- `Troubleshoot why my container app is failing health probes.`

- `What role should I assign to let this managed identity read blobs?`

- `What AI models are available in Microsoft Foundry?`



## Repository layout



If you are exploring or customizing the plugin source, the key pieces are:



- `.github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/` - the Azure skill definitions

- `.github/plugins/azure-skills/.mcp.json` - included MCP configuration for Azure and Foundry

- `README.md` - high-level overview and install guide for the plugin



## Troubleshooting



### The agent is not using Azure skills



- Make sure the plugin installed successfully in your host

- Confirm the Azure skills directory is present

- Reload or restart your host so it re-indexes plugins and MCP configuration



### MCP tools are not showing up



- Verify Node.js is installed and `npx` works

- Check that the Azure and Foundry MCP entries were added for your host

- Restart MCP servers or reload the host after configuration changes



### Azure commands fail with auth errors



- Re-run `az login`

- Re-run `azd auth login` for deployment scenarios

- Make sure the correct Azure subscription is selected



## Learn more



- [Azure MCP Server documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/developer/azure-mcp-server/)

- [Azure documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure)

- [Azure CLI reference](https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/)



## Telemetry



To disable Azure MCP telemetry collection, set:



```bash

export AZURE_MCP_COLLECT_TELEMETRY=false

```



## Contribution



This repository is automatically sync'ed from https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure. If you would like to contribute to Azure skills, please open PR's there. Thank you!