{"id":905,"date":"2025-05-19T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T16:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/?p=905"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:02:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T20:02:39","slug":"supercharge-ai-development-with-new-ai-powered-features-in-microsoft-dev-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/supercharge-ai-development-with-new-ai-powered-features-in-microsoft-dev-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercharge AI development with new AI-powered features in Microsoft Dev Box"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>AI is reshaping how we build, deploy, and scale software. As more apps become AI-powered, developers need environments that can keep up with speed and demands of innovation. We&#8217;ve heard from customers just how critical it is to have a zero-config experience when building AI applications, with streamlined access to compute, prebuilt models, and environment configuration tools.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve been listening\u2014and are excited to announce a new wave of capabilities in Microsoft Dev Box to accelerate AI development. Dev Box now empowers you to get started rapidly with ready-to-code cloud development environments optimized for AI workloads\u2014whether you&#8217;re building copilots, training models, or iterating on multi-agent systems.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what\u2019s new:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Serverless GPU support<\/strong>: Spin up dev boxes with GPU acceleration \u2014 no additional setup required.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Preconfigured access to Azure AI resources<\/strong>: Access Azure AI Services \u2014 directly from your dev box with secure identity passthrough.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Agentic authoring workflow<\/strong>: Use natural language to generate and validate custom images for your team, powered by the Dev Box authoring agent.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dev Box MCP Server<\/strong>: Bring agent workflows into your IDE and CLI tools with the new Model Context Protocol server for Dev Box.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s dive into the details.<\/p>\n<h2>Introducing zero-setup access to Serverless GPU compute in Microsoft Dev Box<\/h2>\n<p>As AI development becomes central to modern applications and services, developers increasingly need access to high-performance compute, and especially GPUs. But getting started with GPU workloads often means navigating complex infrastructure, provisioning the right SKUs, managing quotas, and configuring drivers. That\u2019s a lot of friction between a developer\u2019s idea and their first iteration.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we\u2019re making that process much simpler with serverless GPU support in Dev Box (Preview). With this new capability, developers can spin up GPU containers on demand directly from a dev box, with no infrastructure setup, manual configuration, or context switching.<\/p>\n<h3>Developer experience with serverless GPUs in Dev Box<\/h3>\n<p>For developers, there&#8217;s no need to provision VMs, manage containers, or handle drivers. Instead, they can launch a GPU-accelerated shell or VS Code session from their dev box in seconds.<\/p>\n<p>The experience is zero-config by design:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No VM creation or image management<\/li>\n<li>No manual authentication or network setup<\/li>\n<li>No GPU driver installation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Just launch and go\u2014ideal for running inference tasks, accelerating model training, or experimenting with AI libraries.<\/p>\n<h3>Built-in governance for admins<\/h3>\n<p>While developers get an smooth, integrated experience, admins also get control and clarity. To make it easy for admins, serverless GPU compute is built into the existing Dev Box project structure, meaning admins can enable access per project and set usage limits without deploying or maintaining new infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Admins can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Enable GPU compute for individual Dev Box projects<\/li>\n<li>Set and enforce limits on concurrent GPU sessions per project<\/li>\n<li>Monitor usage through familiar Dev Box management tools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This approach helps organizations empower teams to move fast, without compromising on governance, security, or cost control. Serverless GPU compute is currently available in West US 3, powered by NVIDIA T4 GPUs, and we will be expanding to additional regions and GPU SKUs in the coming months.<\/p>\n<h3>How to get started with serverless GPUs in Dev Box<\/h3>\n<p>Getting started is simple, whether you&#8217;re an admin enabling access or a developer jumping into a GPU session.<\/p>\n<h4>For Platform Admins: Enable GPU for a project<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Turn on the AFEC key to register and try out the Serverless GPU Preview\n<ul>\n<li>In the Azure Portal, navigate to the Subscription (in which the project is created), select \u2018Preview features\u2019, Register for \u2018Dev Box Serverless GPU Preview\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Navigate to the project and select \u201cDev Box Settings\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Enable \u201cServerless GPU\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Set the maximum number of concurrent GPU containers for the project<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-Serverless-GPU.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-973\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-Serverless-GPU-1024x334.png\" alt=\"Crop 8211 Serverless GPU image\" width=\"1024\" height=\"334\" data-wp-editing=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-Serverless-GPU-1024x334.png 1024w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-Serverless-GPU-300x98.png 300w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-Serverless-GPU-768x251.png 768w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-Serverless-GPU-1536x501.png 1536w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-Serverless-GPU-2048x668.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Once enabled, Dev Box users in that project will automatically see GPU options in their terminal and VS Code environments.<\/p>\n<h4>For Developers: Connect to a GPU with Zero Setup<\/h4>\n<p>After serverless GPU access is enabled, developers can connect using two easy methods:<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Option 1: Launch a Dev Box GPU shell<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the Windows Terminal on your dev box<\/li>\n<li>Run: <code class=\"language-default\">devbox gpu shell<\/code><\/li>\n<li>Instantly connect to a pre-configured GPU container and start coding, debugging<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Option 2: Use VS Code with remote tunnels<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the Windows Terminal on your dev box<\/li>\n<li>Run: <code class=\"language-default\">devbox gpu shell<\/code><\/li>\n<li>Launch Visual Studio Code<\/li>\n<li>Install the <a href=\"https:\/\/code.visualstudio.com\/docs\/remote\/tunnels#_remote-tunnels-extension\">Remote Tunnels extension<\/a><\/li>\n<li>You will see an available tunnel named <em>&#8216;gpu-session&#8217;<\/em>, connect to it<\/li>\n<li>Start coding and debugging in a full-featured, GPU environment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Introducing preconfigured access to Azure AI resources<\/h2>\n<p>Many AI workflows don\u2019t start with training a model from scratch. They start with adapting or fine-tuning existing models. Whether you&#8217;re building an agent, tuning prompts, or experimenting with inference, quick access to prebuilt LLMs can dramatically accelerate your development loop.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why we\u2019re excited to announce preconfigured access to Azure AI resources in Microsoft Dev Box (Preview). With just a few clicks, platform admins can enable access to Azure AI resources and developers can interact with large language models (LLMs) directly from their dev environment. No setup, no secrets management, and no context switching.<\/p>\n<h3>Develop faster with built-in LLM access<\/h3>\n<p>Once enabled, developers can access and deploy models from Azure AI Foundry using the Dev Box CLI. This streamlines key AI development workflows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Prompt tuning<\/strong>: Iterate on prompt engineering directly in your dev environment<\/li>\n<li><strong>Model comparison<\/strong>: Evaluate different model deployments using live data<\/li>\n<li><strong>Agentic workflows<\/strong>: Build and debug LLM-powered flows with real-time feedback<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now you can spend less time wiring up infrastructure and more time building.<\/p>\n<h3>How to get started with Azure AI Services in Dev Box<\/h3>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re setting up access or deploying your first model, you can do this in a few simple steps.<\/p>\n<h4>For Platform Admins: Enable the resource called \u201cAzure AI Services\u201d for a Project<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Turn on the AFEC key to register and try out the Azure AI Services Preview\n<ul>\n<li>In the Azure Portal, navigate to the Subscription (in which the project is created), select \u2018Preview features\u2019, Register for \u2018Dev Box Azure AI Services Preview\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Navigate to your Dev Box project, go to Settings &gt; Dev Box Settings<\/li>\n<li>Toggle \u201cAzure AI Services\u201d to Enabled<\/li>\n<li>Click Apply<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This creates a managed Azure AI Services instance paired with the project, hosted in a resource group managed by Dev Center.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-AI-Services.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-972\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-AI-Services-1024x242.png\" alt=\"Crop 8211 AI Services image\" width=\"1024\" height=\"242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-AI-Services-1024x242.png 1024w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-AI-Services-300x71.png 300w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-AI-Services-768x182.png 768w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-AI-Services-1536x363.png 1536w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Crop-AI-Services-2048x484.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>For Developers: Manage and use LLMs with the Dev Box CLI<\/h4>\n<p>After the feature is enabled, developers are automatically granted access to the Azure AI instance with the Cognitive Services User role. Here\u2019s how to start using it in the command line:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Check your access<\/strong>: <em>\u2018devbox ai status\u2019 to<\/em> confirm that your dev box is connected to the AI Services instance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>List available models: <em>\u2018<\/em><\/strong><em>devbox ai list-models\u2019 to b<\/em>rowse the catalog of models available in your project.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deploy a model: <em>\u2018<\/em><\/strong><em>devbox ai deploy-model &#8211;model-name &lt;model-name&gt; [&#8211;deployment-name &lt;deployment-name&gt;]\u2019 <\/em>to deploy an instance of a model for use in your application.<\/li>\n<li><strong>View deployed models: <em>\u2018<\/em><\/strong><em>devbox ai list-deployments\u2019 <\/em>to get the endpoint and deployment name needed to integrate the model into your app.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Launch Azure Foundry portal: \u2018<\/strong>devbox ai start-ai-foundry-portal\u2019 to open the Foundry portal to manage deployments and explore model options via a visual UI. We recommend using Azure OpenAI SDK with Entra ID authentication instead of API key auth for better security and enterprise compliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Want to try it out quickly? Clone the <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/DavidObando\/OpenAISDKTutorial\">OpenAI SDK Tutorial<\/a> and configure the appsettings.json file with your model\u2019s deployment details. Then hit F5, sign in using Entra ID, and you\u2019re up and running with a fully functional LLM-powered app.<\/p>\n<h2>Customize your Dev Box configurations with the new agentic workflow<\/h2>\n<p>Project onboarding is still one of the biggest productivity bottlenecks in software development, especially for teams building complex, AI-powered applications. Before writing a single line of code, developers often spend hours wrangling toolchains, resolving dependency conflicts, and aligning environment settings.<\/p>\n<p>At Ignite 2024, we introduced team customizations and built-in imaging functionality for Dev Box, which allows platform engineers and dev leads to define a reusable image configuration using a single file: imagedefinition.yaml. This ensures that every developer on the team gets a consistent, ready-to-code environment without the manual setup.<\/p>\n<p>The response has been overwhelmingly positive, but we also heard your feedback loud and clear: Authoring these YAML files manually can be slow, error-prone, and not fun. We agree. YAML should empower\u2014not intimidate. So we asked: \u201cWhat if Dev Box could help generate these files for you \u2014 based on your intent, your repo, or even your current machine?\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Meet the Dev Box authoring agent (Preview)<\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019re excited to introduce the authoring agent, an AI-powered, conversational workflow built into the Dev Box extension for Visual Studio Code.<\/p>\n<p>With the authoring agent, platform engineers and dev leads can generate and refine imagedefinition.yaml files through a natural, chat-based experience with full transparency and control. No need to memorize schemas, hunt for allowed packages, or worry about indentation quirks.<\/p>\n<p>The authoring agent workflow supports three core scenarios:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mimic your current machine<\/strong>: Capture your local dev setup and generate an equivalent image definition.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use repository context:<\/strong> Point the agent at a repository and it will generate a recommended imagedefinition.yaml based on the tech stack, build files, and dependencies it finds.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Natural language instructions:<\/strong> Describe what you need \u2014 e.g., <em>\u201cSet up a Python 3.12 environment with VS Code and PostgreSQL\u201d<\/em> \u2014 and let the agent create the definition for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><div style=\"width: 1920px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-905-1\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Authoring-Agent-15-sec-1.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Authoring-Agent-15-sec-1.mp4\">https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/Authoring-Agent-15-sec-1.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div><\/p>\n<h3>How to get started with the Dev Box authoring agent<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Open Visual Studio Code: Make sure you\u2019re on VS Code version 1.99 or later.<\/li>\n<li>Install the latest Dev Box extension: Open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X), search for Dev Box, and install or update the extension.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-DB-ext.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-915\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-DB-ext.png\" alt=\"authoring agent DB ext image\" width=\"352\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-DB-ext.png 352w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-DB-ext-244x300.png 244w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 352px) 100vw, 352px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Enable Agent Mode: In the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/code.visualstudio.com\/docs\/getstarted\/personalize-vscode#_configure-settings\">Settings editor<\/a>, enable the\u00a0<a href=\"vscode:\/\/settings\/chat.agent.enabled\">agent.enabled<\/a>setting.<\/li>\n<li>Launch Copilot Chat:\n<ul>\n<li>Open Copilot Chat panel<\/li>\n<li>Under Select tools, make sure <strong>Dev Box <\/strong>tools are pre-selected<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-3.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-911\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-3.png\" alt=\"authoring agent 3 image\" width=\"167\" height=\"119\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-4.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-912\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-4.png\" alt=\"authoring agent 4 image\" width=\"624\" height=\"162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-4.png 624w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-4-300x78.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Select <strong>Agent Mode <\/strong>and Choose the model: <strong>Claude 3.5 Sonnet<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-5.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-913\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-5.png\" alt=\"authoring agent 5 image\" width=\"427\" height=\"148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-5.png 427w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-5-300x104.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Provide natural language prompts<\/strong>, such as:\n<ul>\n<li><em>&#8220;I want to configure a dev box with all the tools and packages required to work on this [repo name] repo.&#8221;<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>&#8220;I want to pre-configure a dev box with Visual Studio 2022 Enterprise, VS Code, Git, .NET SDK 8, Node.js LTS, Docker Desktop installed, and have the team&#8217;s repo [URL] cloned onto the dev box.&#8221;<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>&#8220;I want to configure a dev box with all the dev tools and packages installed on my current machine.&#8221;<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tip:<\/strong> Clone and open the specific repo in VS Code if you want to generate the definition in the context of a repository<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Follow prompts to configure packages\n<ul>\n<li>When prompted, select <strong>Continue<\/strong> to proceed with package configuration<\/li>\n<li>Copilot will generate the imagedefinition.yaml file<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Refine with additional prompts\n<ul>\n<li>Continue interacting with the agent until your desired tools and packages are reflected in the file<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Validating or applying the customizations<\/h4>\n<p>These steps must be performed <strong>within a Dev Box<\/strong> instance.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Select <strong>Continue<\/strong> when prompted to proceed with validation or provide the prompt to validate the imagedefinition.yaml\n<ul>\n<li>Submit a prompt to the agent: <em>&#8220;Validate my imagedefinition.yaml file.&#8221;<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Apply customizations on the current Dev Box\n<ul>\n<li>Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)<\/li>\n<li>Select <strong>Apply Customization Tasks<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Confirm the UAC prompt to install tools and apply settings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-6.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-914\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-6.png\" alt=\"authoring agent 6 image\" width=\"596\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-6.png 596w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/authoring-agent-6-300x142.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Save and configure the project to leverage the image definition<\/h4>\n<p>Once your imagedefinition.yaml is ready:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Save the file in a GitHub or Azure DevOps repository.<\/li>\n<li>Attach the repository as a catalog to your Project.<\/li>\n<li>Configure a Dev Box pool using the generated imagedefinition.yaml:\n<ul>\n<li>Go to Dev Box Pools in your Project.<\/li>\n<li>Create new or edit an existing dev box pool.<\/li>\n<li>Select the image definition created with your imagedefinition.yaml.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From there, every Dev Box created in the pool will launch with a consistent, preconfigured environment tailored to your project needs.<\/p>\n<p>The Dev Box authoring agent represents a leap forward in dev environment automation \u2014 reducing friction for platform engineers and dev leads and accelerating onboarding for developers. It\u2019s a great example of how agentic workflows and AI-native tooling can transform software development at scale.<\/p>\n<h2>Introducing the Dev Box MCP: AI-native control for your development environment<\/h2>\n<p>The way developers work is rapidly evolving. AI agents and copilots are increasingly handling operational tasks\u2014from spinning up dev environments to retrieving workspace context\u2014allowing developers to focus on building great software.<\/p>\n<p>At the center of this shift is the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an emerging standard that enables agents to discover and invoke tools programmatically. Today, we\u2019re excited to bring Dev Box into this new ecosystem.<\/p>\n<h3>Meet the Dev Box MCP: Open Source and agent-ready<\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019re announcing the preview of the Dev Box MCP, an open-source server that exposes Dev Box as a programmable resource through the MCP standard. This makes it easier for both developers and AI agents to automate Dev Box actions like provisioning, starting, stopping, and listing environments \u2014 all via structured, AI-friendly interfaces.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re using an AI assistant, a CLI, or building your own developer tool, the Dev Box MCP gives you direct control over your environments without ever opening a portal.<\/p>\n<h3>How to get started with Dev Box MCP Server<\/h3>\n<p>The Dev Box MCP Server will soon be published as a public NPM package. Once available, you\u2019ll be able to install and launch it using any MCP-compatible client. Follow the below instructions to start using Dev Box MCP Server today.<\/p>\n<h3>Sample MCP Client Setup (VS Code)<\/h3>\n<p>To leverage the MCP server for Dev Box within VS Code, the following JSON can be added to the users\u2019 MCP settings:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"prettyprint language-json\"><code class=\"language-json\">    \"mcp\": {\r\n        \"servers\": {\r\n            \"Dev Box MCP\": {\r\n                \"type\": \"stdio\",\r\n                \"command\": \"npx\",\r\n                \"args\": [\r\n                    \"-y\",\r\n                    \"https:\/\/aka.ms\/devbox\/mcp\/preview\"\r\n                ]\r\n            }\r\n        }\r\n    }<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Once the server is added, start it through your MCP-compatible client. Upon successful startup, you\u2019ll have access to 31 Dev Box tools \u2014 covering everything from provisioning to repair to snapshot management.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/DB-MCP-2.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-916\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/DB-MCP-2.png\" alt=\"DB MCP 2 image\" width=\"624\" height=\"100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/DB-MCP-2.png 624w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2025\/05\/DB-MCP-2-300x48.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With the server running, you can now use natural language to invoke Dev Box operations directly from GitHub Copilot Agent mode. Try these sample prompts (and more):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Create a dev box for me<\/em>: This experience will guide you through all the available projects and pools you have access to, allow you to create an appropriate dev box for your need<\/li>\n<li><em>Skip shutdown on my dev box \u2013 &lt;name of dev box&gt;: <\/em>This experience will walk through the journey of skipping shutdown on an already available dev box. It can also ensure that there are no pending actions already scheduled.<\/li>\n<li><em>Install .NET9, Visual Studio and VSCode within my dev box &#8211; &lt;&gt;: <\/em>Using this command, you can personalize your machine with available tools, which can be installed remotely, without any user interference.<\/li>\n<li><em>Change my dev box theme to dark mode: <\/em>Personalize your dev box without logging in, directly from your client.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>No UI clicks, no dropdowns, just expressive calls using tools that speak MCP.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s Next<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This release marks the beginning of a long-term vision to make Dev Box environments fully accessible and controllable through AI-native workflows.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re actively working on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Expanding action coverage<\/strong>: Supporting more advanced Dev Box operations and richer project interactions<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deep ecosystem integrations<\/strong>: Enabling seamless use with popular AI agents, terminals, IDEs, and workflows<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enhanced usability for assistants<\/strong>: Making it easier for LLMs to reason about, validate, and invoke Dev Box APIs<\/li>\n<li><strong>Broader AI automation<\/strong>: Supporting complex, multi-step flows for LLM-driven software engineering<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We believe Dev Box MCP will be a foundational building block for the future of cloud-based development, putting structured, programmable environment control into the hands of every developer \u2014 and every agent.<\/p>\n<h2>Transform your development experience with Microsoft Dev Box<\/h2>\n<p>As AI-driven software development accelerates, developers need environments that are fast, flexible, and secure \u2014 environments that evolve with the way they work.<\/p>\n<p>Our mission is simple: make Microsoft Dev Box the preferred development environment for enterprise developers by delivering self-service, ready-to-code setups, and AI-powered workflows that unlock speed and innovation across teams.<\/p>\n<p>With new capabilities that support AI development, enable agentic automation, and streamline environment customization, Dev Box empowers your teams to move faster and focus on what matters \u2014 building great software.<\/p>\n<p>Ready to transform how your teams build?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Watch our breakout session: <a href=\"http:\/\/aka.ms\/devbox\/brk127\">Unleash developer potential with AI and Dev Box<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Explore what\u2019s coming next: <a href=\"https:\/\/aka.ms\/devbox\/roadmap\">Check out our public roadmap<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Get started today: <a href=\"https:\/\/aka.ms\/GetStarted\">Try Microsoft Dev Box<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We&#8217;re continuing to make Dev Box even better for you \u2014 so please keep the feedback coming. We can\u2019t wait to see what you\u2019ll build!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AI is reshaping how we build, deploy, and scale software. As more apps become AI-powered, developers need environments that can keep up with speed and demands of innovation. We&#8217;ve heard from customers just how critical it is to have a zero-config experience when building AI applications, with streamlined access to compute, prebuilt models, and environment [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105302,"featured_media":958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dev-box"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"<p>AI is reshaping how we build, deploy, and scale software. As more apps become AI-powered, developers need environments that can keep up with speed and demands of innovation. We&#8217;ve heard from customers just how critical it is to have a zero-config experience when building AI applications, with streamlined access to compute, prebuilt models, and environment [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/develop-from-the-cloud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}