microsoft-docs

# Microsoft Docs Research skill for the Microsoft technology ecosystem. Covers learn.microsoft.com and documentation that lives outside it (VS Code, GitHub, Aspire, Agent Framework repos). --- ## Default: Microsoft Learn MCP Use these tools for **everything on learn.microsoft.com** — Azure, .NET, M365, Power Platform, Agent Framework, Semantic Kernel, Windows, and more. This is the primary tool for the vast majority of Microsoft documentation queries. | Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | `microsoft_docs_search` | Search learn.microsoft.com — concepts, guides, tutorials, configuration | | `microsoft_code_sample_search` | Find working code snippets from Learn docs. Pass `language` (`python`, `csharp`, etc.) for best results | | `microsoft_docs_fetch` | Get full page content from a specific URL (when search excerpts aren't enough) | Use `microsoft_docs_fetch` after search when you need complete tutorials, all config options, or when search excerpts are truncated. ### CLI Alternative If the Learn MCP server is not available, use the `mslearn` CLI from your terminal or shell (for example, Bash, PowerShell, or cmd) instead: ```bash # Run directly (no install needed) npx @microsoft/learn-cli search "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs" # Or install globally, then run npm install -g @microsoft/learn-cli mslearn search "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs" ``` | MCP Tool | CLI Command | |----------|-------------| | `microsoft_docs_search(query: "...")` | `mslearn search "..."` | | `microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "...", language: "...")` | `mslearn code-search "..." --language ...` | | `microsoft_docs_fetch(url: "...")` | `mslearn fetch "..."` | Pass `--json` to `search` or `code-search` to get raw JSON output for further processing. --- ## Exceptions: When to Use Other Tools The following categories live **outside** learn.microsoft.com. Use the specified tool instead. ### .NET Aspire — Use Aspire MCP Server (preferred) or Context7 Aspire docs live on **aspire.dev**, not Learn. The best tool depends on your Aspire CLI version: **CLI 13.2+** (recommended) — The Aspire MCP server includes built-in docs search tools: | MCP Tool | Description | |----------|-------------| | `list_docs` | Lists all available documentation from aspire.dev | | `search_docs` | Weighted lexical search across aspire.dev content | | `get_doc` | Retrieves a specific document by slug | These ship in Aspire CLI 13.2 ([PR #14028](https://github.com/dotnet/aspire/pull/14028)). To update: `aspire update --self --channel daily`. Ref: https://davidpine.dev/posts/aspire-docs-mcp-tools/ **CLI 13.1** — The MCP server provides integration lookup (`list_integrations`, `get_integration_docs`) but **not** docs search. Fall back to Context7: | Library ID | Use for | |---|---| | `/microsoft/aspire.dev` | Primary — guides, integrations, CLI reference, deployment | | `/dotnet/aspire` | Runtime source — API internals, implementation details | | `/communitytoolkit/aspire` | Community integrations — Go, Java, Node.js, Ollama | ### VS Code — Use Context7 VS Code docs live on **code.visualstudio.com**, not Learn. | Library ID | Use for | |---|---| | `/websites/code_visualstudio` | User docs — settings, features, debugging, remote dev | | `/websites/code_visualstudio_api` | Extension API — webviews, TreeViews, commands, contribution points | ### GitHub — Use Context7 GitHub docs live on **docs.github.com** and **cli.github.com**. | Library ID | Use for | |---|---| | `/websites/github_en` | Actions, API, repos, security, admin, Copilot | | `/websites/cli_github` | GitHub CLI (`gh`) commands and flags | ### Agent Framework — Use Learn MCP + Context7 Agent Framework tutorials are on learn.microsoft.com (use `microsoft_docs_search`), but the **GitHub repo** has API-level detail that is often ahead of published docs — particularly DevUI REST API reference, CLI options, and .NET integration. | Library ID | Use for | |---|---| | `/websites/learn_microsoft_en-us_agent-framework` | Tutorials — DevUI guides, tracing, workflow orchestration | | `/microsoft/agent-framework` | API detail — DevUI REST endpoints, CLI flags, auth, .NET `AddDevUI`/`MapDevUI` | **DevUI tip:** Query the Learn website source for how-to guides, then the repo source for API-level specifics (endpoint schemas, proxy config, auth tokens). --- ## Context7 Setup For any Context7 query, resolve the library ID first (one-time per session): 1. Call `mcp_context7_resolve-library-id` with the technology name 2. Call `mcp_context7_query-docs` with the returned library ID and a specific query --- ## Writing Effective Queries Be specific — include version, intent, and language: ``` # ❌ Too broad "Azure Functions" "agent framework" # ✅ Specific "Azure Functions Python v2 programming model" "Cosmos DB partition key design best practices" "GitHub Actions workflow_dispatch inputs matrix strategy" "Aspire AddUvicornApp Python FastAPI integration" "DevUI serve agents tracing OpenTelemetry directory discovery" "Agent Framework workflow conditional edges branching handoff" ``` Include context: - **Version** when relevant (`.NET 8`, `Aspire 13`, `VS Code 1.96`) - **Task intent** (`quickstart`, `tutorial`, `overview`, `limits`, `API reference`) - **Language** for polyglot docs (`Python`, `TypeScript`, `C#`)