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Highlights

In memory of the man who put red and green squiggles under words

Starting in Word and expanding to nearly every other word processor, and even things that aren't word processors.
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Stop overloading your skills

You built a skill for your technology. API references, authentication flows, SDK patterns, error handling, version info, all packed into one skill. The agent calls it, gets all that context, and generates code. The kicker? You've just wasted a lot of tokens. It already knows Models have...
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Latest posts

Jul 1, 2026
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What AI benchmarks are not telling you

Waldek Mastykarz
This is the sixth article in a series about Agent Experience (AX): the practice of making AI coding agents work correctly with your technology. The series covers what you can and can't control in the agent stack, how to measure whether your extensions are helping or hurting, and how to...
Microsoft for Developers
Jul 1, 2026
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It rather involved being on the other side of this airtight hatchway: Changing administrative settings

Raymond Chen
Unlocking the door from the inside.
The Old New Thing
Jul 1, 2026
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What’s new across Microsoft SQL in 2026 so far (SQL Server, Azure SQL, and SQL database in Fabric)

Anna Hoffman
We’re halfway through 2026, and Microsoft SQL has not slowed down. Since SQLCon/FabCon in March (where we released a ton of things, and those updates can be found in this udpates video), we shipped a wave of updates across SQL Server, Azure SQL, and SQL database in Fabric, with...
Azure SQL Dev Corner
Jun 30, 2026
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Access GitHub Copilot in JetBrains - GitHub Copilot Is Now a Native Agent in JetBrains AI Assistant

Hang,
Antonio,
Jun
GitHub Copilot is now a first-class, native option in JetBrains AI Assistant agent picker(read more). You can select it directly from the chat interface, no extra configuration needed, and immediately put Copilot to work on real coding tasks without ever leaving AI...
Microsoft for Java Developers
Jun 30, 2026
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SharePoint Framework (SPFx) roadmap update – July 2026

Vesa Juvonen
June celebrates the announcement of upcoming SharePoint Copilot Apps, ships the quality-focused SPFx 1.23.2 release, and shares the roadmap for the AI era - shaped by your feedback.
Microsoft 365 Developer Blog
Jun 30, 2026
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Compose your API surface with Data API builder custom paths

Jerry Nixon
Data API builder (DAB) 2.0 adds compound paths for REST endpoints, giving developers more control over how their API surface is organized. Instead of mirroring database topology, endpoints can now reflect simple names, business areas, or schema ownership.
Azure SQL Dev Corner
Jun 30, 2026
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MCP Beyond the Chat Window: Build Diagnostics in CI

Jan,
Yuliia
A practical tour of the Model Context Protocol tools for .NET build diagnostics - the full Binlog MCP toolset, how those tools run inside a GitHub Actions workflow, and what the evaluation data says about the efficiency gains.
.NET Blog
Jun 30, 2026
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Visual Studio June Update - Track Your Usage, Trust Your Tools

Mark Downie
The June update includes a Copilot Usage window refresh with proactive alerts as you approach your limits, MCP servers now get a trust check before they run anything new.
Visual Studio Blog
Jun 30, 2026
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MSIX Per-User vs All Users: Install, Provision, and Uninstall Packages

Howard Kapustein
MSIX supports making a package available to all users; the formal term is provisioning. Provisioning a package family makes it available to all users, whereas registration makes a package available to a single user. Per-User vs All Users Traditional installers often provide a...
Inside MSIX
Jun 30, 2026
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Mailbox requirement set 1.16 now available for Outlook add-ins

Office Extensibility team
Mailbox requirement set 1.16 is now generally available for Outlook add-ins. This release reflects our continued investment in closing the gap between COM/VSTO and web add-ins, with a focus on message and information security. Mailbox 1.16 introduces APIs and platform updates that...
Microsoft 365 Developer Blog
Jun 30, 2026
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2026 mid-year link clearance

Raymond Chen
Made it to another midpoint.
The Old New Thing
Jun 30, 2026
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A compatibility note on the abuse of Windows window class extra bytes

Raymond Chen
Finding an illicit place to hide data.
The Old New Thing
Jun 30, 2026
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🚀React Native Windows v0.84 is here!!

Vineeth,
Vivek,
Sourav
We're excited to release React Native Windows 0.84.0, aligned with React Native 0.84.1. React Native Windows v0.84 delivers input-handling improvements such as standard click events and imperative focus, theme-aware defaults and robust hit-testing semantics. 🔥 What's New in RNW...
React Native
Jun 29, 2026
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.NET 8 and .NET 9 will reach End of Support on November 10, 2026

Rahul Bhandari (MSFT)
.NET 8 and .NET 9 will both reach end of support on November 10, 2026. Learn what this means and how to upgrade to .NET 10 (LTS).
.NET Blog
Jun 29, 2026
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SkiaSharp 4.0 is here: announcing the first stable release

Matthew Leibowitz
SkiaSharp 4.148.0 is the first stable release of SkiaSharp v4. Learn what is new, why you should be excited, and join the SkiaSharp live event on June 30.
.NET Blog
Jun 29, 2026
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Packaging and Package Identity for .NET apps with WinApp CLI on Windows

Zachary Teutsch
Use the WinApp CLI to add identity to and package .NET desktop applications, enabling deeper integration to Windows and easier distribution.
.NET Blog
Jun 29, 2026
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WSL container is now available for public preview

Craig Loewen
At Microsoft Build 2026, we introduced WSL containers, bringing Linux container development directly into Windows through the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Containers have become a foundational part of modern development - from cloud-native applications and AI workloads to testing...
Windows Command Line
Jun 29, 2026
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Automating your Visual Studio extension builds with GitHub Actions

Mads Kristensen
If you’re building and maintaining Visual Studio extensions, you’ve probably ended up with some sort of build and publishing workflow - whether it’s manual, scripted, or stitched together over time. This post is for extension authors who want a simple, repeatable way to build,...
Visual Studio Blog
Jun 29, 2026
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The evolution of window and class extra bytes in Windows

Raymond Chen
The intended usage is encoded in the prefix.
The Old New Thing
Jun 29, 2026
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Agent Harness: Working with your data, safely

Wes Steyn
Part 2 of Build your own claw and agent harness with Microsoft Agent Framework. In Part 1 we stood up a harness and gave our personal finance assistant its first abilities: a custom tool, web search, and planning. It can talk about the markets - but it can't yet touch your data, and...
Microsoft Agent Framework
Jun 29, 2026
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Remote Event Receivers are retiring: move to SharePoint webhooks before July 1, 2027

SharePoint team
Remote Event Receivers in SharePoint Online are retiring. Starting July 1, 2027, all remote event receivers will stop firing events, including those registered using Microsoft Entra applications.
Microsoft 365 Developer Blog
Jun 29, 2026
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Spring AI 2.0 is GA: Vector Search, Memory, and Agents on Azure Cosmos DB

Theo van Kraay
The wait is over. Spring AI 2.0 is generally available, and Azure Cosmos DB is right there with it. With this release, Spring AI graduates into a mature, production-ready framework for building AI applications in Java, and Azure Cosmos DB ships dedicated, vendor-maintained...
Azure Cosmos DB Blog
Jun 26, 2026
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Azure Developer CLI (azd) - May and June 2026

Kristen Womack
A combined May and June recap. A new azd tool command group, the cross-platform azd exec runner, safer multi-layer provisioning, an interactive Ctrl+C cancel prompt, Go support for Azure Functions, self-contained extension bundles, per-tenant subscription filters, and a long list of correctness fixes for parallel Container Apps deploys and authentication.
Azure SDK Blog
Jun 26, 2026
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The case of the DLL that was not present in memory despite not being formally unloaded, part 2

Raymond Chen
Tying two bugs together.
The Old New Thing
Jun 26, 2026
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Passing Context Between Agents in Multi-Agent A2A Systems

Olha,
Scott
How we solved the challenge of passing conversational context between independently deployed agents using the A2A protocol's embedded context pattern, keeping domain agents stateless and secure.
ISE Developer Blog
Jun 25, 2026
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Save the Date: Pure Virtual C++ 2026

Marian Luparu
Pure Virtual C++ is back for its 7th year! Join us on July 21 for a free, one-day virtual conference for the whole C++ community.
C++ Team Blog
Jun 25, 2026
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Your agent already has a plan

Garry Trinder
If an agent isn't doing the right thing, the obvious move is to make the docs clearer. Add a tip, spell out the correct command, describe the right approach more prominently. You do all of that, and the agent still ignores it. It does what it had already decided to do. The tip wasn't...
Microsoft for Developers
Jun 25, 2026
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Learn from Microsoft: Transform software development through an agentic platform

Poonam Gupta
See how Microsoft is transforming software development with agentic workflows, AI-powered automation, and specialized agents across the engineering lifecycle.
Microsoft for Developers
Jun 25, 2026
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The case of the DLL that was not present in memory despite not being formally unloaded, part 1

Raymond Chen
Figuring out how it went missing.
The Old New Thing
Jun 25, 2026
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Which Azure Cosmos DB Role Does My App Need?

Sudhanshu,
Iria
In the previous post in the series, we covered the security decisions you make on day one. In this part, we will talk about how to give your app access to Cosmos DB data, using roles and a managed identity instead of keys. The situation You’ve built your app. It works locally. Now...
Azure Cosmos DB Blog
Jun 24, 2026
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Visual Studio Code 1.126

Visual Studio Code Team
Learn what is new in Visual Studio Code 1.126 Read the full article
VS Code Blog
Jun 24, 2026
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Azure Functions MCP Extension: What's New at Build 2026

Lily Ma
A roundup of what shipped in the Azure Functions MCP extension since preview: resource and prompt triggers, MCP Apps, built-in MCP authentication, structured and rich content, fluent .NET configuration APIs, and what is coming next.
Azure SDK Blog
Jun 24, 2026
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When the model has never seen your code

Waldek Mastykarz
This is the fifth article in a series about Agent Experience (AX): the practice of making AI coding agents work correctly with your technology. The series covers what you can and can't control in the agent stack, how to measure whether your extensions are helping or hurting, and how to...
Microsoft for Developers
Jun 24, 2026
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Cancellation of Windows Runtime activities is asynchronous

Raymond Chen
You're asking for it to cancel, but it doesn't wait for confirmation.
The Old New Thing
Jun 23, 2026
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Streamline C++ Code Intelligence Setup in Copilot CLI

Sinem Akinci
C++ developers can now bring IDE-style semantic intelligence into Copilot CLI with less setup. The C++ language server plugin supports richer code navigation, diagnostics, symbol understanding, and code changes by using the same build context your compiler does. That build context...
C++ Team Blog
Jun 23, 2026
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Add vs Stage and Register

Howard Kapustein
As previously mentioned to 'install' a package, as people think of the term, Windows actually performs two separate operations: staging and registration. To oversimplify: Staging puts the package content on disk. At this point the package is present, but inert and unused. Registering...
Inside MSIX
Jun 23, 2026
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Microspeak elaborated: Isn't escrow just a release candidate by another name?

Raymond Chen
Yes, but the name is a psychological trick.
The Old New Thing
Jun 23, 2026
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Going beyond text in Microsoft 365 Copilot - Introducing SharePoint Copilot Apps

Vesa Juvonen
Microsoft 365 Copilot is brilliant with words - but work isn't only words. Introducing SharePoint Copilot Apps: bring rich, interactive UX components straight into the Copilot canvas, built with any JavaScript stack your team already knows. Reuse your existing SPFx investments across Copilot, SharePoint, and Teams - no new platform, no infrastructure, no lock-in.
Microsoft 365 Developer Blog
Jun 22, 2026
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Azure SDK Release (May 2026)

Justin Bettencourt
Azure SDK releases every month. In this post, you'll find this month's highlights and release notes.
Azure SDK Blog
Jun 22, 2026
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Meet your agent harness and claw

Wes Steyn
Part 1 of Build your own claw and agent harness with Microsoft Agent Framework. In the overview we said a "claw" is really just an agent harness: a loop around a model, wired up with tools, planning, memory, and more. In this first post we stand up that loop and give our personal...
Microsoft Agent Framework
Jun 22, 2026
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Build your own claw and agent harness with Microsoft Agent Framework

Wes Steyn
What does it take to build your own "claw" - a capable, CLI-style agent that can plan, use tools, remember things, and safely act on your behalf? Coding agents and assistants like these can feel like magic, but underneath they are an agent harness: a loop around a language model wired up...
Microsoft Agent Framework
Jun 22, 2026
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Models don't have preferences, they have context

Waldek Mastykarz
You open a fresh chat, type "What framework should I use for a web app?", and the model says "React." You screenshot it, share it, and write "Claude prefers React." It gets engagement. People nod along. A few reply with their own results. And now we have a consensus: Claude prefers React....
Microsoft for Developers
Jun 22, 2026
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In memory of the man who put red and green squiggles under words

Raymond Chen
Starting in Word and expanding to nearly every other word processor, and even things that aren't word processors.
The Old New Thing
Jun 22, 2026
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How to Use Deep Agents with Azure Cosmos DB – Plan, act, and verify against operational data

Abhishek Gupta
Deep Agents is an agent harness built on LangGraph, for agents that need to work through a task over many steps instead of a single LLM call. The agent runs tools, looks at the results, and uses that to pick the next one, keeping a todo list as it goes. On top of that loop the harness...
Azure Cosmos DB Blog