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.

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). 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):

• Call mcp_context7_resolve-library-id with the technology name
• 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#)