Agent Skills

azure-cost-optimization

Official agent plugin providing skills and MCP server configurations for Azure scenarios.

Installation
CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skills --skill azure-cost-optimization

Install this skill with the CLI and start using the SKILL.md workflow in your workspace.

Last updated 4/22/2026

Azure Skills Plugin

Azure work is not just a code problem. It is a decision problem: which service fits this app, what needs to be validated before deployment, which tools should run, and what guardrails matter. The Azure Skills Plugin packages Azure expertise and MCP-backed execution together so compatible coding agents can do real Azure work instead of giving generic cloud advice.

Install the plugin

One install, three layers of capability

Azure skills: the brain

This plugin ships 20 curated Azure skills that teach an agent how Azure work gets done. They provide workflows, decision trees, and guardrails for scenarios such as:

  • Build and deploy with azure-prepare, azure-validate, and azure-deploy
  • Troubleshoot and operate with azure-diagnostics, azure-observability, and azure-compliance
  • Optimize and design with azure-cost-optimization, azure-compute, and azure-resource-visualizer
  • Work across data, AI, and platform services with azure-ai, azure-aigateway, azure-storage, azure-kusto, azure-rbac, azure-cloud-migrate, entra-app-registration, and microsoft-foundry

Azure MCP Server: the hands

The plugin wires in the Azure MCP Server, which gives your agent 200+ structured tools across 40+ Azure services. That is the execution layer for listing resources, checking prices, querying logs, diagnosing issues, and driving real Azure workflows.

Foundry MCP: the AI specialist

The plugin also includes Foundry MCP for Microsoft Foundry scenarios such as model discovery, model deployment, and agent workflows.

Why this plugin is different

This is not a prompt pack. It is a packaged Azure capability layer:

  • Skills teach the agent when to use Azure workflows and what to avoid.
  • MCP tools let the agent act on live Azure and Foundry resources.
  • The plugin keeps the guidance layer and execution layer aligned in one install.
  • Multi-host support lets you use the same Azure capability across environments such as GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Copilot CLI, Claude Code, and other compatible hosts.

What you get

Component What it adds Examples
Azure skills Azure expertise, workflows, and guardrails Prepare, validate, deploy, diagnostics, cost, AI, RBAC
Azure MCP Server Live Azure tooling Resource inventory, monitoring, pricing, storage, databases, messaging
Foundry MCP Microsoft Foundry workflows Model catalog, deployments, agents, evaluations

The plugin payload lives in .github/plugins/azure-skills/, and the included MCP configuration shows how Azure and Foundry connectivity are wired for compatible hosts.

Install in 60 seconds

Prerequisites

Before you install, make sure you have:

  • An Azure account or subscription
  • Node.js 18+ available on your PATH (npx is used to start the MCP servers)
  • Azure CLI installed and authenticated with az login
  • Azure Developer CLI installed and authenticated with azd auth login if you plan to use deployment workflows

GitHub Copilot CLI

Add the marketplace (first time only):

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/azure-skills

Install the plugin:

/plugin install azure@azure-skills

Update the plugin:

/plugin update azure@azure-skills

VS Code

Install the Azure MCP extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace:

šŸ‘‰ Azure MCP Extension

The Azure MCP extension will also install a companion extension that brings the Azure skills into VS Code. Together they configure the Azure MCP Server, Foundry MCP, and the full skills layer automatically.

Note: The skills extension requires Git CLI to be installed on your machine. If you don't have it, ask Copilot to help you install Git for your OS.

Claude Code

Add the marketplace (first time only):

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/azure-skills

Install the plugin:

/plugin install azure@azure-skills

Update:

/plugin marketplace update azure-skills

Gemini CLI

Install the extension:

gemini extensions install https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skills

Cursor

You can install the Azure plugin from the Cursor Marketplace or directly from Cursor settings by navigating to Settings > Plugins and searching for "Azure":

Cursor Plugins

IntelliJ IDEA

Prerequisites

Before installing Azure skills in IntelliJ IDEA, ensure you have:

  • Node.js 18+ installed on your system with npx available on your PATH
  • Git installed and accessible from the command line

You can verify these prerequisites by running:

npx --version
git --version

Step 1: Install GitHub Copilot Plugin

  1. Open IntelliJ IDEA
  2. Go to File > Settings (on Windows/Linux) or IntelliJ IDEA > Preferences (on macOS)
  3. Navigate to Plugins in the left sidebar
  4. Search for "GitHub Copilot" in the Marketplace tab
  5. Install the GitHub Copilot plugin (requires version 1.5.64-242 or higher)
  6. Restart IntelliJ IDEA when prompted

Step 2: Enable Skills for GitHub Copilot

  1. Open IntelliJ IDEA settings/preferences again
  2. Navigate to Tools > GitHub Copilot > Chat
  3. Check the "Enable Skills" checkbox
  4. Click Apply and OK

alt text

Step 3: Install Azure Skills

Option 1: Install Azure Toolkit For IntelliJ Plugin

  1. Install the Azure Toolkit plugin from the JetBrains Marketplace:
    šŸ‘‰ Azure Toolkit for IntelliJ

  2. Restart IntelliJ IDEA to complete the plugin installation

  3. Install Azure Skills when prompted:

    • After restarting, you'll see a notification offering to install Azure Skills
    • Click Install to add the Azure skills to your environment
    • See screenshot below for reference

    alt text

  4. Verify installation by opening the GitHub Copilot chat window and typing:

    /skill:azure

    This will display all available Azure skills you can now use in your projects.

    alt text

Option 2: Install Azure Skills manually

  1. Open a terminal or command prompt

  2. Run the following command to install Azure skills globally for GitHub Copilot:

    npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skills/tree/main/.github/plugins/azure-skills/skills -a github-copilot -g -y

    Command explanation:

    • npx skills add - Uses the skills CLI to add a new skills package
    • The GitHub URL points to the Azure skills directory in this repository
    • -a github-copilot - Specifies the skills are for GitHub Copilot
    • -g - Installs the skills globally (available across all projects)
    • -y - Automatically accepts prompts during installation

  3. Wait for the installation to complete. You should see confirmation that the Azure skills have been successfully added.

Sovereign Cloud Configuration

By default, the Azure MCP server connects to the Azure Public Cloud. If you use a sovereign cloud (Azure China Cloud or Azure US Government), you need to configure the MCP server to use the appropriate cloud environment.

Copilot CLI

After installing the plugin, Azure MCP server should be configured for copilot as well. You can list the configured MCP servers by running /mcp show

MCP Servers

Edit the Azure MCP server named azure from plugin:azure to add the --cloud argument. Execute /mcp edit azure. Navigate to the Command section to add the --cloud argument, use AzureChinaCloud to access Azure China Cloud, and use AzureUSGovernment to access Azure US Government Cloud.

Edit MCP Server

Before starting the MCP server, ensure your local CLI tools are authenticated against the correct cloud:

Cloud Azure CLI Azure PowerShell Azure Developer CLI
China az cloud set --name AzureChinaCloud && az login Connect-AzAccount -Environment AzureChinaCloud azd config set cloud.name AzureChinaCloud && azd auth login
US Government az cloud set --name AzureUSGovernment && az login Connect-AzAccount -Environment AzureUSGovernment azd config set cloud.name AzureUSGovernment && azd auth login

For more details, see Connect to sovereign clouds in the Azure MCP Server documentation.

Verify the installation

After install, try three quick checks.

1. Verify the skills layer

Ask:

What Azure services would I need to deploy this project?

You should get structured Azure guidance, not just a generic cloud answer.

2. Verify Azure MCP

Ask:

List my Azure resource groups.

You should see a real tool-backed response from your Azure account.

3. Verify Foundry MCP

Ask:

What AI models are available in Microsoft Foundry?

You should get a Foundry-backed response rather than a generic summary.

Authentication

The recommended authentication path is Azure CLI:

az login

If you plan to deploy with azd, also run:

azd auth login

You can also authenticate with service principal credentials:

Bash/Zsh

export AZURE_TENANT_ID="your-tenant-id"
export AZURE_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

PowerShell

$env:AZURE_TENANT_ID = "your-tenant-id"
$env:AZURE_CLIENT_ID = "your-client-id"
$env:AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET = "your-client-secret"

When the agent runs inside Azure, the Azure MCP Server can also use managed identity.

Prompts to try

Once the plugin is installed, try prompts like these:

  • Prepare this app for Azure.
  • Validate my Azure deployment files before I run azd up.
  • Deploy this project to Azure Container Apps.
  • List my Azure storage accounts.
  • Find cost savings across my Azure subscription.
  • Troubleshoot why my container app is failing health probes.
  • What role should I assign to let this managed identity read blobs?
  • What AI models are available in Microsoft Foundry?

Repository layout

If you are exploring or customizing the plugin source, the key pieces are:

  • .github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/ - the Azure skill definitions
  • .github/plugins/azure-skills/.mcp.json - included MCP configuration for Azure and Foundry
  • README.md - high-level overview and install guide for the plugin

Troubleshooting

The agent is not using Azure skills

  • Make sure the plugin installed successfully in your host
  • Confirm the Azure skills directory is present
  • Reload or restart your host so it re-indexes plugins and MCP configuration

MCP tools are not showing up

  • Verify Node.js is installed and npx works
  • Check that the Azure and Foundry MCP entries were added for your host
  • Restart MCP servers or reload the host after configuration changes

Azure commands fail with auth errors

  • Re-run az login
  • Re-run azd auth login for deployment scenarios
  • Make sure the correct Azure subscription is selected

Learn more

Telemetry

To disable Azure MCP telemetry collection, set:

export AZURE_MCP_COLLECT_TELEMETRY=false

Contribution

This repository is automatically sync'ed from https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure. If you would like to contribute to Azure skills, please open PR's there. Thank you!