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 A...

Security Scan

This instruction-only skill is coherent with its stated purpose—it directs lookups against Microsoft Learn (MCP) and a documented CLI fallback and requests no unrelated credentials or installs.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description (Microsoft API reference, code samples, SDK verification) match the SKILL.md instructions which call the Microsoft Learn MCP endpoints and the mslearn CLI. No unrelated credentials, binaries, or config paths are required.

Instruction Scope

Runtime instructions stay focused on searching docs, fetching pages, and retrieving code samples via microsoft_docs_search / microsoft_code_sample_search / microsoft_docs_fetch or the mslearn CLI. There are no directives to read arbitrary local files, access unrelated env vars, or send data to endpoints outside the documented Microsoft Learn API / npm registry fallback. Note: using the CLI or service implies network requests and that queries (including short code snippets) will be sent to external services for search.

Install Mechanism

There is no install spec (instruction-only). The SKILL.md suggests using npx or optionally installing the official @microsoft/learn-cli from npm as a fallback; this is a reasonable, proportionate fallback but does involve downloading code from the npm registry if used.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables, credentials, or config paths. That matches the described functionality (public documentation lookups). No excessive secrets or unrelated service keys are requested.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and the skill does not request persistent/privileged presence or modify other skills or system-wide settings. It does not ask to store tokens or change agent config.

Assessment

This skill is instruction-only and appears to do what it says: query Microsoft Learn and return code samples. Before using it, note three practical points: (1) it requires network access to Microsoft Learn and (if you use the fallback) to npm; (2) running npx @microsoft/learn-cli will fetch and execute a package from the npm registry on-demand—verify the package name (@microsoft/learn-cli is the documented package) or avoid global installs if you prefer; and (3) queries you send (including code snippets you paste) will be transmitted to the remote documentation/search service, so avoid sending sensitive secrets. Otherwise, the skill makes no disproportionate demands and requests no credentials.

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 microsoft_docs_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")

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

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.

CLI Alternative

If the Learn MCP server is not available, use the mslearn CLI from the command line instead:

# Run directly (no install needed)
npx @microsoft/learn-cli search "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"

# Or install globally, then run
npm install -g @microsoft/learn-cli
mslearn search "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"

MCP Tool	CLI Command
microsoft_docs_search(query: "...")	mslearn search "..."
microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "...", language: "...")	mslearn code-search "..." --language ...
microsoft_docs_fetch(url: "...")	mslearn fetch "..."

Pass --json to search or code-search to get raw JSON output for further processing.