awesome-copilot/skills/microsoft-code-reference/SKILL.md

name, description, compatibility

name	description	compatibility
microsoft-code-reference	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.	Requires Microsoft Learn MCP Server (https://learn.microsoft.com/api/mcp)

Microsoft Code Reference

Tools

Need	Tool	Example
API method/class lookup	microsoft_docs_search	"BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"
Working code sample	microsoft_code_sample_search	query: "upload blob managed identity", language: "python"
Full API reference	microsoft_docs_fetch	Fetch URL from search (for overloads, full signatures)

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")

Languages: python, csharp, javascript, typescript, java, go, powershell, cli

When to use:

• 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 context

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

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

Check before using 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)
• First time using this API

Quick Validation

Before generating Microsoft SDK code:

1. Package exists — microsoft_docs_search(query: "[PackageName] NuGet")
2. Method is real — microsoft_docs_search(query: "[ClassName] [MethodName] [Namespace]")
3. Get working sample — microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "[what you're doing]", language: "[lang]")