Official agent skill

Azure Update Manager

by MicrosoftDocs in MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills

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

OfficialCC-BY-4.0Auto-check passedBackend & APIs

Install Azure Update Manager

skills CLI
$ npx skills add MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills --skill azure-update-manager -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills azure-update-manager --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-update-manager .claude/skills/azure-update-manager && 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-update-manager
GitHub stars
777
Token cost
~3k tokens
SKILL.md length
838 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
149
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
CC-BY-4.0

At a glance

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

  • Onboarding VMs/Arc servers
  • SKILL.md covers How to Use This Skill and Category Index
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Configuring patch schedules/ESU

What it does

Azure Update Manager is an agent skill from MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Expert knowledge for Azure Update Manager development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when onboarding VMs/Arc servers, configuring patch schedules/ESU, using SDK/REST APIs, or integrating runbooks/webhooks, and other Azure Update Manager related development tasks. Not for Azure Automation (use azure-automation), Azure Policy (use azure-policy), Azure Monitor (use azure-monitor), Azure Site…

Its SKILL.md is about 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 Backend & APIs, covering REST APIs, Webhooks and Runbooks and postmortems. It works with Microsoft Azure and Azure Monitor. 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

  • Onboarding VMs/Arc servers
  • Configuring patch schedules/ESU
  • Using SDK/REST APIs
  • Integrating runbooks/webhooks

Example prompts

  • “/azure-update-manager”

Requirements

  • Python 3
  • 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 Update Manager loads about 3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 143 tokens; SKILL.md has 838 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~143
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~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). 838 words, ~2,954 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/azure-update-manager/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
azure-update-manager
description
Expert knowledge for Azure Update Manager development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when onboarding VMs/Arc servers, configuring patch schedules/ESU, using SDK/REST APIs, or integrating runbooks/webhooks, and other Azure Update Manager related development tasks. Not for Azure Automation (use azure-automation), Azure Policy (use azure-policy), Azure Monitor (use azure-monitor), Azure Site Recovery (use azure-site-recovery).
compatibility
Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata.generated_at
2026-10-04
metadata.generator
docs2skills/1.0.0

Azure Update Manager Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Update Manager. 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-L42Diagnosing and fixing onboarding failures, extension issues, and common errors in Azure Update Manager, Automanage, and Change Tracking (including logs, error codes, and remediation steps).
Best PracticesL43-L53Best practices for configuring Automanage and guest patching on Windows/Linux/Arc VMs, handling SQL Server and Ubuntu/Ubuntu Pro updates, and managing SMB over QUIC in Update Manager.
Decision MakingL54-L59Planning patch strategies across subscriptions and guidance for migrating patch management from Configuration Manager to Azure Update Manager
Limits & QuotasL60-L67OS, region, image, and workload support limits for Update Manager, including supported update sources/types, change tracking matrix, and unsupported scenarios.
SecurityL68-L73Configuring disk encryption for Automanaged VMs and setting up RBAC roles/permissions to securely manage and control access to Azure Update Manager.
ConfigurationL74-L93Configuring Azure Update Manager: profiles, scopes, schedules, alerts, ESU, client settings, data collection, Resource Graph, policy-based assessments, and pre/post maintenance events.
Integrations & Coding PatternsL94-L106Using SDKs (Go/Java/JS/Python) and REST APIs to assign Automanage profiles, manage VM/Arc server updates, and implement pre/post maintenance with Functions, webhooks, and runbooks
DeploymentL107-L120Deploying and managing Automanage/Update Manager at scale: onboarding VMs/Arc servers, upgrading profiles, cross-region moves, tenant repairs, Azure Policy deployment, and supported OS/update sources.
Troubleshooting
TopicURL
Troubleshoot Azure Automanage onboarding failures and errorshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/common-errors
Diagnose Azure Change Tracking extension issueshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/extension-version-details
Troubleshoot errors and issues in Azure Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/troubleshoot
Best Practices
TopicURL
Apply Automanage best practices to Azure Arc-enabled servershttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-arc
Apply Automanage best practices to Linux VMshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-linux
Manage SMB over QUIC using Automanage best practiceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-smb-over-quic
Apply Automanage best practices to Windows Server VMshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-windows-server
Apply patching best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/guidance-patching-sql-server-azure-vm
Handle Ubuntu security and Ubuntu Pro in Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/security-awareness-ubuntu-support
Configure automatic guest patching for Azure VMshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/support-matrix-automatic-guest-patching
Decision Making
TopicURL
Plan cross-subscription patching with Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/cross-subscription-patching
Plan migration from Configuration Manager to Azure Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/guidance-migration-azure
Limits & Quotas
Show full SKILL.md (340 more words)Show less
Security
Configuration
TopicURL
Create and configure custom Automanage profiles for VMshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/virtual-machines-custom-profile
Create data collection rules for Azure Change Trackinghttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/create-data-collection-rule
Configure workspaces and data collection rules for Change Trackinghttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/tutorial-change-workspace-configure-data-collection-rule
Configure Windows Update client for Azure Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/configure-wu-agent
Set up cross-subscription patching in Azurehttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/enable-cross-subscription-patching
Configure ESU enrollment with Azure Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/extended-security-updates
Enable and configure alerts in Azure Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-alerts
Configure and manage dynamic scopes for patchinghttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-dynamic-scoping
Manage existing pre and post maintenance eventshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-pre-post-events
Configure update settings for Azure Update Manager machineshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-update-settings
Create custom Update Manager reports with workbookshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-workbooks
Enable periodic assessment via Azure Policyhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/periodic-assessment-at-scale
Create pre and post maintenance events in Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/pre-post-events-schedule-maintenance-configuration
Access Update Manager data via Azure Resource Graphhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/query-logs
Use sample Resource Graph queries for Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/sample-query-logs
Configure recurring update schedules in Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/scheduled-patching
Integrations & Coding Patterns
TopicURL
Use Go SDK to assign Automanage configuration profileshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/quick-go-sdk
Use Java SDK to assign Automanage configuration profileshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/quick-java-sdk
Use JavaScript SDK to assign Automanage configuration profileshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/quick-javascript-sdk
Use Python SDK to assign Automanage configuration profileshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/quick-python-sdk
Choose and use Automanage SDKs across languageshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/reference-sdk
Use REST API for Arc-enabled server updateshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-arc-enabled-servers-programmatically
Use Azure REST API to manage VM updateshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-vms-programmatically
Implement pre/post maintenance using Azure Functionshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/tutorial-using-functions
Trigger pre/post maintenance via webhooks and runbookshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/tutorial-webhooks-using-runbooks
Deployment
TopicURL
Onboard VMs to Automanage with ARM templateshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/arm-deploy
Onboard Arc-enabled servers to Automanage with ARM templateshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/arm-deploy-arc
Upgrade existing Automanage machines to the latest versionhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-upgrade
Move Automanage configuration profiles between Azure regionshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/move-automanaged-configuration-profile
Move Automanaged virtual machines across Azure regionshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/move-automanaged-vms
Repair Automanage accounts after subscription tenant moveshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/repair-automanage-account
Enable Automanage for VMs using Azure Policyhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/virtual-machines-policy-enable
Deploy Change Tracking at scale using Azure Policyhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/enable-change-tracking-at-scale-policy
Track Arc-enabled VM extension releases and issues for Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/overview-arc-enabled-vm-extensions
Supported update sources and types in Azure Update Managerhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/support-matrix
Azure Update Manager OS and feature support matrixhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/support-matrix-updates

© 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-update-manager of MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit ba74e8f

Compare with similar skills

Azure Update Manager 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 Update Manager compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Azure Update Manager this skillMicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills777—~3kAutomated safety check: PassCC-BY-4.0
Kibana Connectorsaspectrr/deer405—~2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Linear Incident Runbookjeremylongshore/tons-of-skills-marketplace2.8k—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
API Patternsdilolabs/nosia2131 repos~2.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Kql ValidatorAzure/azqr795—~703Automated safety check: PassMIT
Loops APIopeninary/openinary412—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassAGPL-3.0

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Questions about Azure Update Manager

What does Azure Update Manager do?

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

When should I use Azure Update Manager?

Azure Update Manager fits situations like: onboarding VMs/Arc servers; configuring patch schedules/ESU; using SDK/REST APIs; integrating runbooks/webhooks.

How do I install Azure Update Manager in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Azure Update Manager in Codex?

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

Can I use Azure Update Manager 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-update-manager -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-update-manager, .gemini/skills/azure-update-manager, .github/skills/azure-update-manager and .opencode/skills/azure-update-manager in your project.

What does Azure Update Manager need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Azure Update Manager is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3. Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation..

Does Azure Update Manager 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 Update Manager 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 Update Manager use?

Azure Update Manager 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 Update Manager use?

About 3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 12k 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 Update Manager?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Azure Update Manager: Kibana Connectors (aspectrr/deer, 405 stars), Linear Incident Runbook (jeremylongshore/tons-of-skills-marketplace, 2.8k stars), API Patterns (dilolabs/nosia, 213 stars) and Kql Validator (Azure/azqr, 795 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Azure Update Manager?

MicrosoftDocs (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills, which has 777 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.