{"id":5929,"date":"2026-11-04T07:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T15:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/?p=5929"},"modified":"2026-11-04T07:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T15:35:49","slug":"give-your-coding-agent-a-head-start-with-microsoft-agent-framework-skills-for-net-and-python","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/give-your-coding-agent-a-head-start-with-microsoft-agent-framework-skills-for-net-and-python\/","title":{"rendered":"Give your coding agent a head start with Microsoft Agent Framework skills for .NET and Python"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have added installable <strong>Microsoft Agent Framework builder skills for .NET and Python<\/strong>. They give coding agents Microsoft-maintained guidance for building and modifying Agent Framework applications, from choosing the right pattern to wiring tools, sessions, workflows, and hosting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are development-time skills for your coding assistant, not runtime skills loaded by the application you ship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use a coding agent that supports the <a href=\"https:\/\/agentskills.io\/specification\">Agent Skills format<\/a>. With GitHub CLI, install the .NET skill from <code>main<\/code>:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"prettyprint language-bash\"><code class=\"language-bash\">gh skill install microsoft\/agent-framework agent-framework-builder-dotnet@main\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Python:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"prettyprint language-bash\"><code class=\"language-bash\">gh skill install microsoft\/agent-framework agent-framework-builder-python@main\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both examples use <code>main<\/code> for the latest repository guidance. Pin a tag or commit if you need a reproducible snapshot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alternatively, install either skill with the cross-agent CLI:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"prettyprint language-bash\"><code class=\"language-bash\">npx skills add microsoft\/agent-framework --skill agent-framework-builder-dotnet\r\nnpx skills add microsoft\/agent-framework --skill agent-framework-builder-python\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Choose one installer, and check its documentation for supported clients and scope: <a href=\"https:\/\/cli.github.com\/manual\/gh_skill_install\">GitHub CLI<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/vercel-labs\/skills\">skills CLI<\/a>. Your application still needs its SDK packages and model credentials.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pair the builder skill with Microsoft Learn MCP<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The natural companion to either builder skill is the <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/training\/support\/mcp-get-started\">Microsoft Learn MCP Server<\/a>. The skill provides focused implementation guidance, while Learn MCP lets your coding agent search the full Agent Framework documentation and fetch complete articles and code examples when it needs more detail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Configure its Streamable HTTP endpoint:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"prettyprint language-text\"><code class=\"language-text\">https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/api\/mcp\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What the guidance adds<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each skill has a <code>SKILL.md<\/code> entry point and focused references. The coding agent first inspects your project and dependencies, then loads the guidance relevant to the task rather than every framework feature at once.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both skills favor the smallest suitable pattern: one agent when tools and sessions are enough, a harness when an operating loop is needed, or a workflow when explicit stages, routing, and checkpointing are part of the requirements. A support assistant does not need a multi-agent system just because it has several tools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guidance is language-specific. The .NET skill covers <code>AIAgent<\/code>, <code>Microsoft.Extensions.AI<\/code>, NuGet packages, dependency injection, and ASP.NET Core hosting. The Python skill covers <code>Agent<\/code>, provider packages, middleware, context providers, and Python workflow patterns.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A note on other Microsoft services<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your application also uses other Microsoft services, use the <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/azure-skills\">Azure Skills Plugin<\/a> for Azure and Foundry work. Its <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/azure-skills\/blob\/main\/.github\/plugins\/azure-skills\/skills\/microsoft-foundry\/SKILL.md\"><code>microsoft-foundry<\/code> skill<\/a> covers Foundry model and agent workflows, while <code>azure-prepare<\/code>, <code>azure-deploy<\/code>, and <code>azure-diagnostics<\/code> help prepare, deploy, and troubleshoot Azure applications.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plugin includes the <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/azure\/developer\/azure-mcp-server\/overview\">Azure MCP Server<\/a> for tasks such as listing resources and querying logs, plus <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/azure-skills#foundry-mcp-the-ai-specialist\">Foundry MCP<\/a> for model and agent operations. Add these when your application needs them; Azure operations require the appropriate credentials and permissions.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Put it to work<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prompt the coding agent naturally; compatible clients discover skills through their metadata, without a universal slash command. For .NET:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"prettyprint language-text\"><code class=\"language-text\">Add an Agent Framework support assistant to our ASP.NET Core app.\r\nUse our model provider, isolate conversations per user, require approval\r\nbefore changing tickets, and test tool behavior with a fake IChatClient.\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For an existing Python application:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"prettyprint language-text\"><code class=\"language-text\">Turn this Python Agent Framework research agent into a research-and-review\r\nworkflow. Preserve its response format, add checkpointing, and test resume\r\nbehavior using the project's existing test tooling.\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Include your provider, hosting target, persistence requirements, and approval boundaries when you know them. The skills direct the coding agent to clarify consequential unknowns, preserve existing behavior, and validate the change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Give the <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/agent-framework\/tree\/main\/skills\">builder skill for your language<\/a> a try in your own project. If something doesn&#8217;t work, <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/agent-framework\/issues\">open an issue in the Agent Framework repository<\/a> and include the skill name, the coding agent you used, what you tried, and what went wrong.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have added installable Microsoft Agent Framework builder skills for .NET and Python. They give coding agents Microsoft-maintained guidance for building and modifying Agent Framework applications, from choosing the right pattern to wiring tools, sessions, workflows, and hosting. These are development-time skills for your coding assistant, not runtime skills loaded by the application you ship. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150044,"featured_media":5048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-semantic-kernel"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"<p>We have added installable Microsoft Agent Framework builder skills for .NET and Python. They give coding agents Microsoft-maintained guidance for building and modifying Agent Framework applications, from choosing the right pattern to wiring tools, sessions, workflows, and hosting. These are development-time skills for your coding assistant, not runtime skills loaded by the application you ship. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150044"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5932,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5929\/revisions\/5932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}