Official agent skill

Azure Cloud Services

by MicrosoftDocs in MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills

Expert knowledge for Azure Cloud Services development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and…

OfficialCC-BY-4.0Auto-check passedDevOps & Cloud

Install Azure Cloud Services

skills CLI
$ npx skills add MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills --skill azure-cloud-services -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills azure-cloud-services --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/MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/azure-cloud-services .claude/skills/azure-cloud-services && 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
azure-cloud-services
GitHub stars
775
Token cost
~2.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
628 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
149
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
CC-BY-4.0

At a glance

Expert knowledge for Azure Cloud Services development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and…

  • Managing Cloud Services guest OS versions
  • SKILL.md covers How to Use This Skill and Category Index
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Key Vault certs

What it does

Azure Cloud Services is an agent skill from MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Expert knowledge for Azure Cloud Services development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when managing Cloud Services guest OS versions, Key Vault certs, .csdef/.cscfg configs, autoscale, or PowerShell automation, and other Azure Cloud Services related development tasks. Not for Azure App Service (use azure-app-service), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines), Azure Kubernetes…

Its SKILL.md is about 2.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts. Compatibility notes: Requires network access. Uses mcpmicrosoftdocs:microsoftdocsfetch or fetchwebpage to retrieve documentation.

It sits in DevOps & Cloud, covering Secrets management and Deployment. It works with Microsoft Azure, Azure Functions, Azure Kubernetes Service and PowerShell. The repository describes itself as: Curated Agent Skills for Microsoft & Azure – giving AI coding assistants structured, real-time expertise from Microsoft Learn docs. The licence is CC-BY-4.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Managing Cloud Services guest OS versions
  • Key Vault certs
  • .csdef/.cscfg configs
  • PowerShell automation

Example prompts

  • “/azure-cloud-services”

Requirements

  • Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit ba74e8f. 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.

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

  • Network

    Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

    • learn.microsoft.com
    • github.com

    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.

  • Compatibility

    Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.

    From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Azure Cloud Services loads about 2.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 154 tokens; SKILL.md has 628 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~154
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.3k

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 MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills at commit ba74e8f, republished under its CC-BY-4.0 licence (© MicrosoftDocs). 628 words, ~2,262 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/azure-cloud-services/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
azure-cloud-services
description
Expert knowledge for Azure Cloud Services development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when managing Cloud Services guest OS versions, Key Vault certs, .csdef/.cscfg configs, autoscale, or PowerShell automation, and other Azure Cloud Services related development tasks. Not for Azure App Service (use azure-app-service), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines), Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) (use azure-kubernetes-service), Azure Functions (use azure-functions).
compatibility
Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata.generated_at
2026-09-27
metadata.generator
docs2skills/1.0.0

Azure Cloud Services Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Cloud Services. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

  • Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
  • Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

CategoryLinesDescription
TroubleshootingL36-L40Diagnosing and fixing common migration errors when moving classic Cloud Services to Cloud Services (extended support), including deployment, configuration, and compatibility issues.
Best PracticesL41-L45Guidance on designing and configuring autoscale rules for Cloud Services, including metrics, thresholds, and patterns to optimize performance, reliability, and cost.
Decision MakingL46-L53Guidance on planning Cloud Services guest OS upgrades, comparing Cloud Services vs VM Scale Sets, and migrating classic/non-VNet Cloud Services to extended support and VNets.
Limits & QuotasL54-L60Guest OS versions, retirement timelines, upgrade planning, and VM size/capacity options for Azure Cloud Services deployments
SecurityL61-L66Using Key Vault for certificates in Cloud Services and understanding Azure Guest OS security updates, support lifecycle, and retirement policies
ConfigurationL67-L85Configuring Cloud Services roles and deployments: .csdef/.cscfg schemas, networking, load balancers, diagnostics, RDP, Key Vault, extensions, alerts, and SKU/instance overrides
Integrations & Coding PatternsL86-L92Automating Azure Cloud Services (extended support) with PowerShell: creating deployments, retrieving service details, and resetting or redeploying cloud service instances.
DeploymentL93-L96Planning and managing Guest OS upgrades for Azure Cloud Services, including supported OS families, upgrade paths, scheduling, and minimizing downtime.
Troubleshooting
TopicURL
Resolve common errors when migrating to Cloud Services extended supporthttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/in-place-migration-common-errors
Best Practices
TopicURL
Configure autoscaling rules for Cloud Services deploymentshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/configure-scaling
Show full SKILL.md (269 more words)Show less
Decision Making
Limits & Quotas
Security
Configuration
TopicURL
Understand Cloud Services model, config, and package fileshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/cloud-services-model-and-package
Configure monitoring alerts for Cloud Services instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/enable-alerts
Enable Key Vault VM extension for Cloud Services roleshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/enable-key-vault-virtual-machine
Configure Remote Desktop extension for Cloud Serviceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/enable-rdp
Configure Azure diagnostics extension for Cloud Serviceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/enable-wad
Configure extensions for Azure Cloud Services (extended support)https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/extensions
Override Cloud Services SKU and instance count via allowModelOverridehttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/override-sku
Reference schema for Cloud Services configuration (.cscfg)https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/schema-cscfg-file
Configure NetworkConfiguration for Cloud Services deploymentshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/schema-cscfg-networkconfiguration
Configure role settings in Cloud Services .cscfghttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/schema-cscfg-role
Reference schema for Cloud Services definition (.csdef)https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/schema-csdef-file
Configure LoadBalancerProbe in Cloud Services definitionshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/schema-csdef-loadbalancerprobe
Configure NetworkTrafficRules in Cloud Services definitionshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/schema-csdef-networktrafficrules
Define and configure WebRole schema for Cloud Serviceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/schema-csdef-webrole
Define and configure WorkerRole schema for Cloud Serviceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-services-extended-support/schema-csdef-workerrole
Integrations & Coding Patterns
Deployment

© MicrosoftDocs, CC-BY-4.0. 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/azure-cloud-services of MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit ba74e8f

Compare with similar skills

Azure Cloud Services 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.

Azure Cloud Services compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Azure Cloud Services this skillMicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills775—~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassCC-BY-4.0
Azure FunctionsDataDog/dd-trace-dotnet573—~4.7kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Azure Bicep Skilltimothywarner-org/claude-code224—~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Aks Deployment Skilltimothywarner/chatgptclass143—~916Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
Letta Configurationletta-ai/skills147—~1.3kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Environment Deploymentmicrosoft/physical-ai-toolchain122—~5.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Azure Cloud Services

What does Azure Cloud Services do?

Expert knowledge for Azure Cloud Services development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and…. Azure Cloud Services is an agent skill from MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Expert knowledge for Azure Cloud Services development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment.

When should I use Azure Cloud Services?

Azure Cloud Services fits situations like: managing Cloud Services guest OS versions; key Vault certs; .csdef/.cscfg configs; powerShell automation.

How do I install Azure Cloud Services in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills --skill azure-cloud-services -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/azure-cloud-services in MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills) into .claude/skills/azure-cloud-services in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Azure Cloud Services in Codex?

Run `npx skills add MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills --skill azure-cloud-services -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/azure-cloud-services in MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills) into .agents/skills/azure-cloud-services in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Azure Cloud Services 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 MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills --skill azure-cloud-services -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/azure-cloud-services, .gemini/skills/azure-cloud-services, .github/skills/azure-cloud-services and .opencode/skills/azure-cloud-services in your project.

What does Azure Cloud Services need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Azure Cloud Services is instructions for the agent only. Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation..

Does Azure Cloud Services access the network?

SKILL.md names 2 domains. As links in the text: learn.microsoft.com and github.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Azure Cloud Services 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 Azure Cloud Services use?

Azure Cloud Services is published under the CC-BY-4.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Azure Cloud Services use?

About 2.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9k 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 Azure Cloud Services?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Azure Cloud Services: Azure Functions (DataDog/dd-trace-dotnet, 573 stars), Azure Bicep Skill (timothywarner-org/claude-code, 224 stars), Aks Deployment Skill (timothywarner/chatgptclass, 143 stars) and Letta Configuration (letta-ai/skills, 147 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Azure Cloud Services?

MicrosoftDocs (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills, which has 775 GitHub stars. The repository holds 149 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 5, 2026.

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