Qdk Programming Agent Skill

QDK programming guide for Q#, OpenQASM, and the qsharp/qdk Python API. Use when: writing or editing Q# or OpenQASM code, running quantum programs, resource estimation, circuit generation, noisy simulation, Azure Quantum submission, Qiskit/Cirq/PennyLane interop, or Q# testing and standard library usage.

9k tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

instructions only

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

980

stars on the repo

on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository

npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/qdk --skill qdk-programming

What comes with it

33 921 bytes besides the instruction

openqasm.md

python.md

qsharp.md

The instruction itself

5 sections, as written by the author

QDK Programming

Quantum programming with the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit (QDK).

Two Modes

Most QDK features work in two modes:

Tool mode — use provided tools to work with standalone .qs / .qasm files directly. No Python required.
Python mode — the user writes Python scripts or Jupyter notebooks, using the qsharp/qdk Python packages as a driver for Q#/OpenQASM programs.

Default to tool mode unless the user is already working in Python or the feature is Python-only.

Reference Files

| File | Content |

| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

| qsharp.md | Q# language syntax, types, quantum operations, standard library, project structure |

| openqasm.md | OpenQASM 2.0/3.0 syntax, standard gates, version differences |

| python.md | qsharp/qdk Python API for execution, estimation, circuits, noise, Azure, Qiskit/Cirq, setup |

Features

| Feature | Tool mode | Python mode |

| ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |

| Writing Q# code | Read qsharp.md | Read qsharp.md |

| Writing OpenQASM code | Read openqasm.md | Read openqasm.md |

| Running a program | qdkRunProgram | python.md — Running Q# Code |

| Resource estimation | qdkRunResourceEstimator | python.md — Resource Estimation |

| Circuit diagrams | qdkGenerateCircuit | python.md — Circuit Generation |

| Azure Quantum | Use the azureQuantum* tools | python.md — Azure Quantum |

| Noisy simulation | — (Python only) | python.md — Noisy Simulation |

| Q#/OpenQASM in Python and/or Jupyter | — (inherently Python) | python.md |

| Qiskit / Cirq / PennyLane interop | — (inherently Python) | python.md — Framework Interop |

Quantum Katas

Quantum Katas are a collection of self-paced tutorials built into the QDK that teach quantum computing from the ground up. If the user wants to learn through the Quantum Katas, encourage them to use the /qdk-learning prompt to chat with the QDK Learning agent, which provides a guided, chat-embedded experience.

Deprecations

The QDK was rewritten in 2024. It no longer uses the IQ# Jupyter kernel or dotnet CLI tools.

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How to use it

Copy the folder

Take microsoft/qdk-programming from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.