.NET Aspire for cloud-native orchestration. An agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.

MITAuto-check passedDevOps & Cloud

Install Aspire

skills CLI
$ npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill aspire -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit aspire --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/aspire .claude/skills/aspire && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
aspire
GitHub stars
751
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~1.5k tokens
SKILL.md length
219 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
47
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

.NET Aspire for cloud-native orchestration. An agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.

  • Works in 4 steps: AppHost orchestrates; it is never… → Service defaults are your baseline — The… → Use Aspire integrations — Aspire has… → …
  • Mentions Aspire
  • SKILL.md covers Core Principles, Patterns, Anti-patterns and Decision Guide
  • Calls dotnet

What it does

Aspire is an agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit. .NET Aspire for cloud-native orchestration. Covers AppHost configuration, service defaults, resource configuration, service discovery, and the Aspire dashboard. Load this skill when setting up local development orchestration, service discovery, or Aspire-managed infrastructure, or when the user mentions "Aspire", "AppHost", "service defaults", "service discovery", "orchestration", "Aspire dashboard", "AddProject", "WithReference", or "cloud-native .NET".

Its SKILL.md is about 1.5k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in DevOps & Cloud. It works with .NET. The repository describes itself as: Make Claude Code a .NET 10 Expert. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Mentions Aspire
  • Service defaults
  • Service discovery
  • Aspire dashboard

Example prompts

  • “Aspire”
  • “AppHost”
  • “service defaults”
  • “/aspire”

Requirements

  • Docker

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. AppHost orchestrates; it is never deployed itself — Aspire's core job is the local development experience: starting services, databases…
  2. Service defaults are your baseline — The ServiceDefaults project configures OpenTelemetry, health checks, and resilience for all services…
  3. Use Aspire integrations — Aspire has built-in integrations for PostgreSQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, SQL Server, and more. They handle connection…
  4. The dashboard is your observability tool — Use the Aspire dashboard for local development tracing, logging, and metrics instead of setting…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 2330089. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • dotnet

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Aspire loads about 1.5k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 116 tokens; SKILL.md has 219 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~116
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.5k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit at commit 2330089, republished under its MIT licence (© codewithmukesh). 219 words, ~1,489 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/aspire/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
aspire
description
.NET Aspire for cloud-native orchestration. Covers AppHost configuration, service defaults, resource configuration, service discovery, and the Aspire dashboard. Load this skill when setting up local development orchestration, service discovery, or Aspire-managed infrastructure, or when the user mentions "Aspire", "AppHost", "service defaults", "service discovery", "orchestration", "Aspire dashboard", "AddProject", "WithReference", or "cloud-native .NET".

.NET Aspire

Core Principles

  1. AppHost orchestrates; it is never deployed itself — Aspire's core job is the local development experience: starting services, databases, and message brokers together. Modern Aspire also generates deployment assets (aspire publish for docker-compose/Kubernetes manifests, aspire deploy for Azure Container Apps) — but the AppHost process itself stays a dev/build-time tool, not a production runtime.
  2. Service defaults are your baseline — The ServiceDefaults project configures OpenTelemetry, health checks, and resilience for all services in one place.
  3. Use Aspire integrations — Aspire has built-in integrations for PostgreSQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, SQL Server, and more. They handle connection strings, health checks, and tracing automatically.
  4. The dashboard is your observability tool — Use the Aspire dashboard for local development tracing, logging, and metrics instead of setting up Seq/Grafana locally.

Patterns

AppHost Configuration
csharp
// AppHost/Program.cs
var builder = DistributedApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Infrastructure resources
var postgres = builder.AddPostgres("postgres")
    .WithPgAdmin()
    .AddDatabase("myappdb");

var redis = builder.AddRedis("redis")
    .WithRedisInsight();

var rabbitmq = builder.AddRabbitMQ("messaging")
    .WithManagementPlugin();

// Application projects
var api = builder.AddProject<Projects.MyApp_Api>("api")
    .WithReference(postgres)
    .WithReference(redis)
    .WithReference(rabbitmq)
    .WithExternalHttpEndpoints();

var worker = builder.AddProject<Projects.MyApp_Worker>("worker")
    .WithReference(postgres)
    .WithReference(rabbitmq);

builder.Build().Run();
Service Defaults
csharp
// ServiceDefaults/Extensions.cs — Standard Aspire service defaults
// Configures OpenTelemetry (metrics + tracing), health checks, service discovery, and resilience
public static class Extensions
{
    public static IHostApplicationBuilder AddServiceDefaults(this IHostApplicationBuilder builder)
    {
        builder.ConfigureOpenTelemetry();
        builder.AddDefaultHealthChecks();
        builder.Services.AddServiceDiscovery();

        builder.Services.ConfigureHttpClientDefaults(http =>
        {
            http.AddStandardResilienceHandler();
            http.AddServiceDiscovery();
        });

        return builder;
    }

    // ConfigureOpenTelemetry: adds logging, metrics (ASP.NET, HttpClient, Runtime),
    //   tracing (ASP.NET, HttpClient, EF Core), and OTLP exporter if configured
    // AddDefaultHealthChecks: adds a "self" liveness check tagged ["live"]
}
Using Service Defaults in a Project
csharp
// MyApp.Api/Program.cs
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.AddServiceDefaults();

// Add Aspire integrations
builder.AddNpgsqlDbContext<AppDbContext>("myappdb");
builder.AddRedisDistributedCache("redis");

var app = builder.Build();
app.MapDefaultEndpoints(); // health check endpoints
app.Run();
Service-to-Service Communication
csharp
// AppHost — configure service references
var orderApi = builder.AddProject<Projects.OrderApi>("order-api");
var paymentApi = builder.AddProject<Projects.PaymentApi>("payment-api")
    .WithReference(orderApi); // paymentApi can discover orderApi

// In PaymentApi — use service discovery
builder.Services.AddHttpClient<OrderClient>(client =>
{
    client.BaseAddress = new Uri("https+http://order-api");
});
Solution Structure with Aspire
MyApp.slnx
├── MyApp.AppHost/               # Aspire orchestrator
│   └── Program.cs
├── MyApp.ServiceDefaults/       # Shared service configuration
│   └── Extensions.cs
├── src/
│   ├── MyApp.Api/               # Web API project
│   └── MyApp.Worker/            # Background worker
└── tests/
    └── MyApp.Api.Tests/

Anti-patterns

Don't Deploy the AppHost Process
csharp
// BAD — running the AppHost executable in production as an orchestrator
// The AppHost is a dev/build-time tool, not a production runtime

// GOOD — deploy the generated assets, not the AppHost:
//   aspire publish  → docker-compose / Kubernetes manifests from the app model
//   aspire deploy   → direct deployment (e.g., Azure Container Apps)
Don't Hardcode Connection Strings with Aspire
csharp
// BAD — hardcoding connection strings defeats Aspire's purpose
builder.Services.AddDbContext<AppDbContext>(o =>
    o.UseNpgsql("Host=localhost;Database=myapp;..."));

// GOOD — use Aspire integration (connection string injected automatically)
builder.AddNpgsqlDbContext<AppDbContext>("myappdb");
Don't Skip Service Defaults
csharp
// BAD — manually configuring each service
builder.Services.AddOpenTelemetry()...
builder.Services.AddHealthChecks()...

// GOOD — use shared service defaults
builder.AddServiceDefaults();

Decision Guide

ScenarioRecommendation
Local dev with multiple servicesAspire AppHost
Single-project local devdotnet run is fine, Aspire optional
Shared service configurationServiceDefaults project
Database for local devAspire AddPostgres() / AddSqlServer()
Service discoveryAspire's built-in service discovery
Production deploymentaspire publish (compose/K8s manifests) or aspire deploy (ACA); never the AppHost itself
Observability in local devAspire dashboard (auto-configured)

© codewithmukesh, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/aspire of codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 2330089

Used in 1 other repository

We found 4 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Aspire next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Aspire compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Aspire this skillcodewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit7511 repos~1.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Dockerfile And Readme Templatingdotnet/dotnet-docker4.9k—~563Automated safety check: PassMIT
Aspiremicrosoft/aspire.dev1964 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Porting Changesdotnet/dotnet-docker4.9k—~781Automated safety check: PassMIT
.NET Crash Dump Collectiondotnet/skills5.6k2 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Image Managementdotnet/dotnet-docker4.9k—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Official

    Modify Cottle templates that generate Dockerfiles and READMEs in dotnet/dotnet-docker.

    4.9k GitHub stars~563 tokensUpdated today
    DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
  • Aspire

    microsoft/aspire.dev

    Official

    Orchestrates Aspire distributed applications using the Aspire CLI for running, debugging, and managing distributed apps.

    196 GitHub starsUsed in 4 repos~1.1k tokens
    DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
  • Porting Changes

    dotnet/dotnet-docker

    Official

    Plan and move changes between branches in dotnet/dotnet-docker.

    4.9k GitHub stars~781 tokensUpdated today
    DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
  • Official

    Configures automatic crash dumps or captures dumps from running processes for modern .NET apps on Linux, macOS and Windows, including Docker and Kubernetes.

    5.6k GitHub starsUsed in 2 repos~1.1k tokens
    DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
  • Image Management

    dotnet/dotnet-docker

    Official

    Manages .NET Docker images including adding images for new .NET versions, new Linux distros (Alpine, Ubuntu, Azure Linux), and new Windows versions.

    4.9k GitHub stars~1.1k tokensUpdated today
    DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
  • Official

    Migrate a .NET 9 project or solution to .NET 10 and resolve all breaking changes.

    5.6k GitHub starsUsed in 2 repos~4.8k tokens
    DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed

More from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit

All 47 skills in this repo
  • API Versioning

    codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit

    API versioning strategies for ASP.NET Core. An agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.

    751 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.2k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Scaffold

    codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit

    Architecture-aware feature scaffolding for .NET 10 projects.

    751 GitHub stars~1.7k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Auto-check passed
  • Architecture Advisor

    codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit

    Architecture selection advisor for .NET applications. An agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.

    751 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~2.9k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Authentication

    codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit

    Authentication and authorization for ASP.NET Core. An agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.

    751 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.9k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Caching

    codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit

    Caching strategies for .NET 10 applications. An agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.

    751 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.4k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • CI CD

    codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit

    CI/CD pipelines for .NET applications. An agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.

    751 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.4k tokens
    Auto-check passed

Works with

Categories

Questions about Aspire

What does Aspire do?

.NET Aspire for cloud-native orchestration. An agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit. Aspire is an agent skill from codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit.NET Aspire for cloud-native orchestration.

When should I use Aspire?

Aspire fits situations like: mentions Aspire; service defaults; service discovery; aspire dashboard.

How do I install Aspire in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill aspire -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/aspire in codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit) into .claude/skills/aspire in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Aspire in Codex?

Run `npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill aspire -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/aspire in codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit) into .agents/skills/aspire in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Aspire in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill aspire -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/aspire, .gemini/skills/aspire, .github/skills/aspire and .opencode/skills/aspire in your project.

What does Aspire need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Aspire needs the command-line tools its instructions call (dotnet). Our summary lists: Docker.

Does Aspire access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Aspire safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Aspire use?

Aspire is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Aspire use?

About 1.5k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Aspire?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Aspire: Dockerfile And Readme Templating (dotnet/dotnet-docker, 4.9k stars), Aspire (microsoft/aspire.dev, 196 stars), Porting Changes (dotnet/dotnet-docker, 4.9k stars) and .NET Crash Dump Collection (dotnet/skills, 5.6k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Aspire?

codewithmukesh (a GitHub organization) maintains it in codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit, which has 751 GitHub stars. The repository holds 47 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 7, 2026.

Source: codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.