Official agent skill

Declarative Agent Developer

Create, build, deploy, and localize declarative agents for M365 Copilot and Teams.

OfficialCustom licenceAuto-check passedBackend & APIs

Install Declarative Agent Developer

skills CLI

$ npx skills add microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install microsoft/work-iq declarative-agent-developer --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/microsoft/work-iq.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer .claude/skills/declarative-agent-developer && 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/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "declarative-agent-developer" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq/tree/main/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer into .claude/skills/declarative-agent-developer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "declarative-agent-developer", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq/tree/main/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install microsoft/work-iq declarative-agent-developer --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer .agents/skills/declarative-agent-developer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "declarative-agent-developer" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq/tree/main/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer into .agents/skills/declarative-agent-developer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "declarative-agent-developer", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install microsoft/work-iq declarative-agent-developer --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer .cursor/skills/declarative-agent-developer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "declarative-agent-developer" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq/tree/main/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer into .cursor/skills/declarative-agent-developer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "declarative-agent-developer", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq.git --path plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install microsoft/work-iq declarative-agent-developer --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer .gemini/skills/declarative-agent-developer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "declarative-agent-developer" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq/tree/main/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer into .gemini/skills/declarative-agent-developer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "declarative-agent-developer", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install microsoft/work-iq declarative-agent-developer

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer .github/skills/declarative-agent-developer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "declarative-agent-developer" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq/tree/main/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer into .github/skills/declarative-agent-developer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "declarative-agent-developer", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install microsoft/work-iq declarative-agent-developer --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer .opencode/skills/declarative-agent-developer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "declarative-agent-developer" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/work-iq/tree/main/plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer into .opencode/skills/declarative-agent-developer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "declarative-agent-developer", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: declarative-agent-developer
GitHub stars: 1k
Token cost: ~3.2k tokens
SKILL.md length: 1,337 words
Files: 14 (incl. references)
Skills in repo: 18
Repo updated: Oct 7, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Custom licence

At a glance

Create, build, deploy, and localize declarative agents for M365 Copilot and Teams.

Works in 7 steps: Validate After Edits; Provision Only on… → Never Invent Content or Create Missing… → Schema Version Compatibility → …
ANY task involving a declarative agent — including localization
SKILL.md covers wiqd CLI, ⛔ Workspace Check — MANDATORY…, Phase Routing and Critical Rules, plus 1 more section
Reaches m365.cloud.microsoft

What it does

Declarative Agent Developer is an agent skill from microsoft/work-iq, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Create, build, deploy, and localize declarative agents for M365 Copilot and Teams. Use the wiqd CLI for all declarative-agent lifecycle operations; never invoke the ATK CLI directly. USE THIS SKILL for ANY task involving a declarative agent — including localization, scaffolding, editing manifests, adding capabilities, and deploying. Localization requires tokenized manifests and language files that only this skill knows how to produce. Triggers: "create agent", "create a declarative agent", "new declarative…

Its SKILL.md is about 3.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 14 other files, including reference files (for example `references/api-plugins.md`, `references/authentication.md` and `references/best-practices.md`).

It sits in Backend & APIs, covering Internationalization, Project scaffolding and Building AI agents. It works with Microsoft 365 and Model Context Protocol. The repository describes itself as: MCP Server and CLI for accessing Work IQ.

When your agent uses it

ANY task involving a declarative agent — including localization
Editing manifests
Adding capabilities

Example prompts

“create agent”
“create a declarative agent”
“new declarative agent”
“/declarative-agent-developer”

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Validate After Edits; Provision Only on Request
Never Invent Content or Create Missing Files
Schema Version Compatibility
Use wiqd agent add action for API Plugins — NEVER Create Plugin Files Manually
MCP Server Integration
Always Update Instructions & Starters After Changes
App Name Requirement

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 1060873. 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
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are bash).
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- m365.cloud.microsoft
Also links to:
- microsoft.github.io
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

Declarative Agent Developer loads about 3.2k tokens when it runs, and up to ~65k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 233 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,337 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~233
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~3.2k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them: ~65k

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

Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,337 words (~3,169 tokens).

“Use wiqd as the execution layer for every declarative-agent lifecycle operation. Keep using this skill's references for manifest schemas, capability rules, plugins, authentication, localization, and instruction design.”

— opening of SKILL.md by microsoft, Custom licence

name: declarative-agent-developer

Outline of SKILL.md

M365 Agent Developer
wiqd CLI
⛔ Workspace Check — MANDATORY FIRST STEP FOR PROJECT OPERATIONS
🚫 HARD REJECTION RULES — No Exceptions
🔍 Detect → Inform → Ask (Error-Handling Protocol)
Phase Routing
Critical Rules
1. Validate After Edits; Provision Only on Request
2. Never Invent Content or Create Missing Files
3. Schema Version Compatibility
4. Use wiqd agent add action for API Plugins — NEVER Create Plugin Files Manually
5. MCP Server Integration
6. Always Update Instructions & Starters After Changes
7. App Name Requirement
References
Shared
Scaffolding
JSON Development

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

SKILL.md and 13 other files (references) in plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer of microsoft/work-iq.

SKILL.md
references/api-plugins.md
references/authentication.md
references/best-practices.md
references/conversation-design.md
references/deployment.md
references/editing-workflow.md
references/examples.md
references/instruction-review.md
references/localization.md
references/mcp-plugin.md
references/scaffolding-workflow.md
references/schema.md
references/workspace-gates.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 1060873

Compare with similar skills

Declarative Agent Developer 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.

Declarative Agent Developer compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Declarative Agent Developer this skillmicrosoft/work-iq	1k	—	~3.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	today
Declarative Agent Developermicrosoft/skills	3.1k	—	~3.2k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	yesterday
Entra Agent Idmicrosoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure	255	3 repos	~4k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday
Build Dashclawucsandman/DashClaw	310	—	~1.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday
Agents Get Startedaws/agent-toolkit-for-aws	2.8k	—	~4.3k	Automated safety check: Notes	Apache-2.0	today
Frontmcp Auth UIagentfront/frontmcp	146	—	~3.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today

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Questions about Declarative Agent Developer

What does Declarative Agent Developer do?

Create, build, deploy, and localize declarative agents for M365 Copilot and Teams. Declarative Agent Developer is an agent skill from microsoft/work-iq, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Create, build, deploy, and localize declarative agents for M365 Copilot and Teams.

When should I use Declarative Agent Developer?

Declarative Agent Developer fits situations like: ANY task involving a declarative agent — including localization; editing manifests; adding capabilities.

How do I install Declarative Agent Developer in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer in microsoft/work-iq) into .claude/skills/declarative-agent-developer in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Declarative Agent Developer in Codex?

Run `npx skills add microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/microsoft-365-agents-toolkit/skills/declarative-agent-developer in microsoft/work-iq) into .agents/skills/declarative-agent-developer in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Declarative Agent Developer 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 microsoft/work-iq --skill declarative-agent-developer -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/declarative-agent-developer, .gemini/skills/declarative-agent-developer, .github/skills/declarative-agent-developer and .opencode/skills/declarative-agent-developer in your project.

What does Declarative Agent Developer need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Declarative Agent Developer is instructions for the agent only.

Does Declarative Agent Developer access the network?

SKILL.md names 2 domains. In commands or code: m365.cloud.microsoft; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: microsoft.github.io. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Declarative Agent Developer 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 Declarative Agent Developer use?

Declarative Agent Developer has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.

How many tokens does Declarative Agent Developer use?

About 3.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 13k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 62k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Declarative Agent Developer?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Declarative Agent Developer: Declarative Agent Developer (microsoft/skills, 3.1k stars), Entra Agent Id (microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure, 255 stars), Build Dashclaw (ucsandman/DashClaw, 310 stars) and Agents Get Started (aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws, 2.8k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Declarative Agent Developer?

microsoft (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in microsoft/work-iq, which has 1,027 GitHub stars. The repository holds 18 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: microsoft/work-iq on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Declarative Agent Developer

Install Declarative Agent Developer

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills