microsoft-docs

name	microsoft-docs
description	Query official Microsoft documentation to understand concepts, find tutorials, learn how services work, look up Microsoft API references, find working code samples, and verify SDK code is correct. Use when working with Azure SDKs, .NET libraries, or Microsoft APIs—to find the right method, check parameters, get working examples, or troubleshoot errors. Catches hallucinated methods, wrong signatures, and deprecated patterns by querying official docs. Get accurate, current information from `learn.microsoft.com` and other official Microsoft websites—architecture overviews, quickstarts, configuration guides, limits, and best practices.
compatibility	Requires Microsoft Learn MCP Server (https://learn.microsoft.com/api/mcp)

Microsoft Docs

Tools

Tool	Use For
microsoft_docs_search	Find documentation—concepts, guides, tutorials, configuration
microsoft_docs_fetch	Get full page content (when search excerpts aren't enough)
microsoft_code_sample_search	Find official Microsoft code samples that you could use as reference or inspiration

When to Use

• Understanding concepts: "How does Cosmos DB partitioning work?"
• Learning a service: "Azure Functions overview", "Container Apps architecture"
• Finding tutorials: "quickstart", "getting started", "step-by-step"
• Configuration options: "App Service configuration settings"
• Limits & quotas: "Azure OpenAI rate limits", "Service Bus quotas"
• Best practices: "Azure security best practices"
• Before writing code—find a working pattern to follow
• After errors—compare your code against a known-good sample
• Unsure of initialization/setup—samples show complete contex

Query Effectiveness

Good queries are specific:

# BAD - Too broad
"Azure Functions"

# GOOD - Specific
"Azure Functions Python v2 programming model"
"Cosmos DB partition key design best practices"
"Container Apps scaling rules KEDA"

Include context:

• Version when relevant (.NET 8, .NET 10, C# 14, EF Core 8)
• Task intent (quickstart, tutorial, overview, limits)
• Platform for multi-platform docs (Linux, Windows)

When to Fetch Full Page

Fetch after search when:

• Tutorials — need complete step-by-step instructions
• Configuration guides — need all options listed
• Deep dives — user wants comprehensive coverage
• Search excerpt is cut off — full context needed

Finding Code Samples

Use microsoft_code_sample_search to get official, working examples:

microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "upload file to blob storage", language: "csharp")
microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "authenticate with managed identity", language: "python")
microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "send message service bus", language: "javascript")

API Lookups

# Verify method exists (include namespace for precision)
"BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"
"GraphServiceClient Users Microsoft.Graph"

# Find class/interface
"DefaultAzureCredential class Azure.Identity"

# Find correct package
"Azure Blob Storage NuGet package"
"azure-storage-blob pip package"

Fetch full page when method has multiple overloads or you need complete parameter details.

Error Troubleshooting

• Use microsoft_code_sample_search to find working code samples and compare with your implementation.
• For specific errors, use microsoft_docs_search and microsoft_docs_fetch:

Error Type	Query
Method not found	"[ClassName] methods [Namespace]"
Type not found	"[TypeName] NuGet package namespace"
Wrong signature	"[ClassName] [MethodName] overloads" → fetch full page
Deprecated warning	"[OldType] migration v12"
Auth failure	"DefaultAzureCredential troubleshooting"
403 Forbidden	"[ServiceName] RBAC permissions"

When to Verify

Always verify when:

• Method name seems "too convenient" (UploadFile vs actual Upload)
• Mixing SDK versions (v11 CloudBlobClient vs v12 BlobServiceClient)
• Package name doesn't follow conventions (Azure.* for .NET, azure-* for Python)
• Using an API for the first time

Validation Workflow

Before generating code using Microsoft SDKs, verify it's correct:

1. Confirm method or package exists — microsoft_docs_search(query: "[ClassName] [MethodName] [Namespace]")
2. Fetch full details (for overloads/complex params) — microsoft_docs_fetch(url: "...")
3. Find working sample — microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "[task]", language: "[lang]")

For simple lookups, step 1 alone may suffice. For complex API usage, complete all three steps.

Why Use This

• Accuracy — live docs, not training data that may be outdated
• Completeness — tutorials have all steps, not fragments
• Authority — official Microsoft documentation