Emit and (with consent) install the Copilot CLI settings block for the public Microsoft ecosystem — Azure, Fabric (consumption/skills/operations/authoring), Power BI, and Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit. Defaults to **repo scope** (`.github/copilot/settings.json`) per constellation PLUGIN-INTEGRATION § 2 — these are project-specific tools; a Python data-analysis workspace does not need Azure skills loaded. `--user` opt-in for heirs who want the plugins available in every workspace. Use when a heir on any Microsoft-subscribed tenant wants the seven public plugins enabled for the current project, or when auditing / repairing the Microsoft ecosystem enablement in a workspace or user profile.
Emit and (with consent) install the Copilot CLI settings block for the public Microsoft ecosystem — Azure, Fabric (consumption/skills/operations/authoring), Power BI, and Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit. Defaults to **repo scope** (`.github/copilot/settings.json`) per constellation PLUGIN-INTEGRATION § 2 — these are project-specific tools; a Python data-analysis workspace does not need Azure skills loaded. `--user` opt-in for heirs who want the plugins available in every workspace. Use when a heir on any Microsoft-subscribed tenant wants the seven public plugins enabled for the current project, or when auditing / repairing the Microsoft ecosystem enablement in a workspace or user profile.
lastReviewed
2026-08-02T00:00:00.000Z
Setup Enterprise Stack
Emit the paste-ready enabledPlugins + extraKnownMarketplaces block for the seven public Microsoft ecosystem plugins any Microsoft-subscribed tenant can use, and optionally install them after explicit user consent. Defaults to repo scope — the seven plugins are project-specific per Steward's constellation PLUGIN-INTEGRATION.md § 2.
When to fire
Heir asks to enable the Microsoft ecosystem — "set up Azure + Fabric + Power BI + M365 for Copilot"
Power BI report design + authoring + planning + management
microsoft-365-agents-toolkit
copilot-plugins (default)
(built-in)
Declarative agent authoring, Teams app dev, UI widget dev
copilot-plugins is the built-in Copilot marketplace and does not need explicit registration. azure-skills and fabric-collection are additional marketplaces the heir must register in extraKnownMarketplaces before enabling their plugins.
Prerequisites
Before running any install command, verify the heir has:
Azure subscription: required to actually invoke azure@azure-skills skills against real resources. The plugin registers without a subscription, but skill invocations against az will fail without one.
Fabric workspace: required for fabric-* skills to reach a live capacity. Registration and skill loading do not require a workspace.
Power BI license: powerbi-authoring@fabric-collection requires either a Power BI Pro or Premium Per User license for authoring against real workspaces.
Microsoft 365 tenant: required for microsoft-365-agents-toolkit@copilot-plugins when publishing agents; not required for local scaffolding.
Missing prerequisites do not block registration; they surface at first skill invocation. Warn the heir but do not refuse to emit the block.
Emit block
Produce this block as an emitable, paste-ready JSON snippet. Do not modify the heir's ~/.copilot/settings.json without explicit consent (see Install flow below).
Emit-only safety boundary
When the user selects emit only, or does not select a mode and receives the
safe default, do not create or update todos, tasks, plan items, or any other
host planning state. Do not modify files, settings, plugins, or marketplace
registrations. Return the block and guidance directly.
The block enables all seven. Heirs edit their local enabledPlugins after paste to drop plugins they do not need — for example, a heir on Azure only can remove the six Fabric / Power BI / M365 entries.
Scope decision (do this first)
Before any of the three modes below, decide the target scope:
Scope
Target file
Use when
Repo (default)
.github/copilot/settings.json in the current workspace
The heir is set up on a project that touches Azure / Fabric / Power BI / M365. The seven plugins load only in this workspace; other projects stay lean. File gets committed — teammates inherit the setup on clone.
User (opt-in via --user)
~/.copilot/settings.json on the current machine
The heir uses the Microsoft ecosystem across most or all of their projects and wants the plugins loaded in every workspace.
Default is repo scope. The seven plugins are project-specific tools (Azure = Azure projects; Fabric = Fabric projects; etc.); loading them at user scope means every non-Microsoft workspace pays the context cost for skills the heir will never invoke there.
The rule per Steward's constellation/PLUGIN-INTEGRATION.md § 2: "Am I this? → user scope. Am I working on this? → repo scope." The seven target plugins answer the second question, not the first.
Ask the heir which scope, or accept an explicit --user flag. Default to repo when unspecified.
Install flow
Three modes. Ask the heir which they want; default to (1). Every mode uses the scope decided above.
1. Emit only (default, safe)
Print the JSON block above with instructions targeted at the chosen scope:
Repo scope (default): Paste this block into .github/copilot/settings.json in the current workspace. Create the file if it does not exist. If the file already has extraKnownMarketplaces or enabledPlugins keys, merge — do not overwrite existing entries. Commit the file (it belongs in source control; teammates will inherit the setup on clone). Then run the seven individual copilot plugin install <name>@<marketplace> commands shown in consent-gated auto-install mode.
User scope (--user opt-in): Paste this block into ~/.copilot/settings.json on this machine. If the file already has keys, merge. The block will apply to every workspace you open on this machine.
No filesystem write. No CLI invocation. Heir owns the paste + install.
2. Consent-gated auto-install
Only after explicit "yes, install them" from the heir. Merge the block into the target file per the chosen scope:
# Repo scope (default): merge into <workspace>/.github/copilot/settings.json
# User scope (--user): merge into ~/.copilot/settings.json
# then run the marketplace + install commands:
copilot plugin marketplace add microsoft/azure-skills
copilot plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-fabric
copilot plugin install azure@azure-skills
copilot plugin install fabric-consumption@copilot-plugins
copilot plugin install fabric-skills@copilot-plugins
copilot plugin install fabric-operations@copilot-plugins
copilot plugin install fabric-authoring@copilot-plugins
copilot plugin install powerbi-authoring@fabric-collection
copilot plugin install microsoft-365-agents-toolkit@copilot-plugins
Additive settings merge: if the target file already has an enabledPlugins map with unrelated entries, preserve them. If it already has entries for one of the seven, warn but do not overwrite unless the heir also asked to reset.
Marketplaces register at user scope regardless of the enabledPlugins scope choice. The marketplace add commands write to ~/.copilot/settings.jsonextraKnownMarketplaces — that is where the CLI reads marketplace registration from. Only the enabledPlugins map moves between user and repo scope in this skill.
3. Audit only
Read the current settings file at the chosen scope. Under --user, read ~/.copilot/settings.json; otherwise read .github/copilot/settings.json in the workspace. Compare against the target block, produce a table:
Plugin
Currently enabled at chosen scope?
Currently enabled at other scope?
Marketplace registered?
Action
azure@azure-skills
yes/no
yes/no
yes/no
install / enable-only / move-scope / nothing
fabric-consumption@copilot-plugins
yes/no
yes/no
(built-in)
install / enable-only / move-scope / nothing
...
The "other scope" column surfaces heirs who accidentally enabled at user scope when repo scope was intended (or vice versa). Do not modify anything. Report only. Heir decides what to do with the audit.
Safety rules
Never overwrite a settings file (repo OR user) without explicit consent from the heir.
Never disable a plugin the heir did not ask to disable — merge, don't replace.
Never install plugins from marketplaces outside the two named (microsoft/azure-skills, microsoft/skills-for-fabric). Any expansion needs a separate proposal.
Never silently pick user scope. Default is repo. Only switch to user on explicit --user request from the heir.
Do warn if the heir already has enabledPlugins entries at either scope that conflict with the seven (for example, a pre-existing fabric-authoring@my-fork at repo scope with the target fabric-authoring@copilot-plugins at user scope would produce a plugin-name collision the CLI resolves via last-write-wins).
Do verify the CLI version before offering install mode; refuse to proceed if the CLI is too old (missing the marketplace-add subcommand).
Do remind the heir that the repo file gets committed — teammates will inherit the setup on next git pull.
Anti-patterns
Anti-pattern
Correction
Emit the block AND auto-install without asking
Emit is always safe; install requires explicit yes
Overwrite an existing settings file
Merge; preserve unrelated keys
Default to user scope silently
Default is repo scope per PLUGIN-INTEGRATION § 2; user scope requires explicit --user
Skip the scope-decision step
Every invocation must decide scope before offering modes
Install a subset without telling the heir which the block excluded
List every plugin the heir will get and every one the block does not enable
Skip prerequisite check
Missing subscriptions do not block registration but do block real skill use — always warn
Include Microsoft-internal plugins (WorkIQ, org-report, Agency framework)
Those live in the sibling alex-act-msft plugin — this skill is public-ecosystem only
Composes with
alex-act-core — the always-on discipline baseline every heir installs first
alex-act-illustrator-plugin — visual authoring; often paired with Fabric-driven data storytelling
