Microsoft Development

Use this skill when the answer should come from Microsoft documentation rather than memory or third-party summaries.

Current MCP Reality

Microsoft's Learn Docs MCP server is publicly documented and currently exposes these core tools:

• microsoft_docs_search
• microsoft_docs_fetch
• microsoft_docs_extract_code_examples
• microsoft_docs_search_by_product

Microsoft's getting-started docs also describe installation through npx -y @microsoft/learn-docs-mcp.

Activation Conditions

• Verifying Azure SDK usage, limits, or configuration
• Looking up .NET, Graph, Windows, or Microsoft 365 APIs
• Pulling official code examples before implementation
• Checking product-specific guidance for Azure, Power BI, or Power Platform

Recommended Workflow

1. Search first with microsoft_docs_search.
2. Narrow by product with microsoft_docs_search_by_product when results are broad.
3. Fetch the relevant page with microsoft_docs_fetch for details.
4. Extract code examples with microsoft_docs_extract_code_examples if the user needs working snippets.
5. Prefer official code and limits over recollection.

Query Patterns

• "Azure Container Apps scale rules"
• "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"
• product="power-bi" query="row level security dax"
• product="microsoft-graph" query="send mail application permissions"

Guardrails

• Use Microsoft Learn MCP for Microsoft-specific answers before browsing elsewhere.
• Treat package versions, quotas, and service capabilities as time-sensitive.
• If Learn MCP is unavailable in the current client, use the included scripts and references as local fallbacks, then browse official docs.

References & Resources

Documentation

• Azure Services Quick Reference - Common Azure services, SDK packages, and decision points
• .NET Patterns - Practical .NET design and dependency-injection patterns
• Microsoft Learn MCP - Current tool names, install command, and query workflow

Scripts

• Azure Health Check - Validate Azure login and inspect common resource health in a resource group

Examples

• Azure Function API Example - Example serverless API workflow tied back to official Microsoft docs

Cross-Client Portability

This skill is written to stay usable across GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

• GitHub Copilot: keep the folder in a Copilot-visible skill or plugin path, or wrap the workflow as project instructions if the host does not support portable skill folders directly.
• Claude Code: keep the folder in a local skills directory or a compatible plugin or marketplace source.
• Codex: install or sync the folder into $CODEX_HOME/skills/<skill-name> and restart Codex after major changes.
• Gemini CLI: this repository generates a project command named /skills:microsoft-development from this skill. Rebuild commands with python scripts/export-gemini-skill.py microsoft-development and then run /commands reload inside Gemini CLI.

MCP Availability And Fallback

Preferred MCP servers for this skill:

• Microsoft Learn Docs MCP (primary)

If MCP is unavailable in the current host:

• Use Microsoft Learn in a browser and local SDK or CLI documentation when the docs MCP server is unavailable.
• Verify generated commands or samples with the native toolchain (dotnet, az, PowerShell, etc.) before shipping them.

Related Skills

Skill	Relationship
azure-integrations	Deploy and configure Azure resources after researching them
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excel-sheet	Spreadsheet workflows in Microsoft-oriented environments
word-document	Word automation workflows in Microsoft-oriented environments
powerpoint-ppt	PowerPoint automation workflows in Microsoft-oriented environments