Azure App Onboard
MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft
- Skill
- Workflow
- Cloud and DevOps
- MIT
- Low risk
- Has scripts
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
Azure App Onboard is a comprehensive workflow agent designed to take a business idea or an existing codebase and transition it to a running Azure deployment. It automates the entire lifecycle from initial discovery and architecture planning to infrastructure scaffolding and final deployment. The skill is built to be intelligent and tailored, analyzing the specific requirements of your application rather than relying on generic templates. It includes built-in approval gates for both the architecture plan and the final deployment, ensuring you maintain control over costs and resource configuration throughout the process.
What it does
- Analyzes your application code or business idea to determine the optimal Azure service stack.
- Generates custom infrastructure-as-code (IaC) files tailored to your specific application needs.
- Provides detailed cost estimates for the proposed Azure infrastructure before deployment.
- Executes the deployment of resources directly to your Azure subscription.
- Handles the migration of existing applications to Azure with minimal code changes.
- Provides a structured, step-by-step onboarding experience for developers of all experience levels.
When to use it
- When you have an application and want to deploy it to Azure but are unsure which services to use.
- When you need to migrate an existing application to the cloud without a complete rewrite.
- When you require a cost estimate for your infrastructure before committing to a deployment.
- When you need guided, end-to-end assistance for setting up a new Azure project.
- When you want to verify if your current codebase is ready for a cloud deployment.
Advantages
- Eliminates guesswork by auto-detecting the right Azure services for your specific stack.
- Reduces manual effort by automating the scaffolding of infrastructure-as-code.
- Ensures transparency with mandatory approval gates for architecture and deployment.
- Provides cost visibility early in the planning phase.
- Supports a wide range of scenarios from greenfield projects to existing app migrations.
Usage examples
- “I have a Python web app and want to deploy it to Azure. Can you help me get started?”
- The agent will initiate the discovery phase, scan your codebase, propose an architecture, and guide you through the deployment process.
- “I need to move my existing application to Azure, but I'm not sure what services I need. Can you plan this for me?”
- The agent will analyze your app's requirements, suggest the appropriate Azure services, and provide a cost estimate for your approval.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-app-onboard/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-app-onboard.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Microsoft
Azure App Onboard
⛔ Every repo goes through the full pipeline (Steps 1–10). No exceptions. Do not skip steps, refuse, or short-circuit based on what you recognize. Follow the Workflow table below sequentially — read each step's references before acting.
Quick Reference
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Best for | Developers who know what to build but not which Azure services to use |
| Inputs | Business idea or existing codebase, budget/scale preferences (optional) |
| Outputs | Architecture plan, cost estimate, IaC files, deployed Azure resources |
| Phases | Discover → Architect → Scaffold → Deploy (self-contained, no external skill calls) |
When to Use This Skill
Deploy existing code without knowing which Azure services to use
Check if your existing code is ready to deploy to Azure
Move an existing app to Azure without rewriting or with minimal changes
Get cost estimates before committing to infrastructure
Understand architecture decisions and rejected alternatives
Get answers to Azure architecture or service selection questions (e.g., "What database should I use?")
Get guided Azure onboarding without prior experience
When NOT to Use
| Scenario | Use Instead |
|---|---|
Run azd up or execute an existing deployment | azure-deploy |
| Optimize existing Azure spend | cost-optimization from the optional azure-cost plugin |
| Generate Bicep/Terraform for a known architecture | azure-prepare |
| Validate infrastructure or run preflight checks | azure-validate |
| Troubleshoot a running Azure deployment | azure-diagnostics |
| Deploy to or manage AKS/Kubernetes directly | azure-kubernetes |
| Look up or list existing Azure resources | azure-resource-lookup |
If cost-optimization is unavailable, explain that it is provided by the
optional azure-cost plugin and direct the user to their client's supported
plugin installation flow; do not imply the handoff completed.
Pipeline Rules
⛔ You MUST read
references/pipeline-rules.mdat the start of every AppOnboard session. It contains approval gates, phase lifecycle, session artifacts, deploy-as-is, and security baseline rules.
Workflow
⛔ Deploy recovery: After deploy gate approval OR before any
az deployment/az webapp deploy/az acr build— if you haven't readdeploy/PHASE.md, read.copilot-azure/sessions/{id}/deploy-checklist.mdfirst, thendeploy/PHASE.md. ⛔ NEVER invoke{"skill": "azure-deploy"}— that is a DIFFERENT skill for a DIFFERENT workflow.
⛔ Post-scaffold transition (MANDATORY): Immediately after
scaffold-manifest.jsonis written, YOUR NEXT ACTION MUST be Step 8 (Deploy Approval Gate) — NOT a summary report, NOT a "here are the generated files" message, NOT a completion signal. Confirmcontext.jsonhascompletedPhases: [...,"scaffold"]+currentPhase: "deploy"(update it yourself if the scaffold subagent didn't). Re-read approval-gates.md § Deploy Gate if evicted from context (scaffold reference loading is heavy), then present the exact prompt: "🚀 Ready to deploy? (Yes / Run manually / Edit plan / Cancel)". This gate is the LAST content in your response — wait for the user's reply.
| # | Step | Action | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Session check + Azure login | Create/resume session, verify Azure CLI auth, resolve subscription + user identity | ⛔ You MUST read session-protocol.md |
| 2 | Scope triage | Check azd markers, triage question. Empty workspace or code-only (no infra) → Step 3 directly. | ⛔ Read intent-gathering.md § Scope Triage |
| 3 | Prereq scan | ⛔ Skip if completedPhases includes "prereq". Otherwise: invoke {"skill": "azure-app-onboard-prereq"}. Write prereq-output.json, update context.json. Halt if: overallHealth: "blocked" OR routeToSkill set. | |
| 4 | Gather intent | Present prereq results, confirm stack + Azure services, ask remaining questions. | ⛔ Read intent-gathering.md § After Prereq Returns |
| 5 | Plan architecture | Write prepare-plan.json. | ⛔ You MUST read prepare/PHASE.md |
| 6 | Scaffold approval gate | Display plan for user approval BEFORE generating any files. | ⛔ Read approval-gates.md § Scaffold Gate |
| 7 | Scaffold | Generate IaC, self-review. Write scaffold-manifest.json. Update context.json. | ⛔ You MUST read scaffold/PHASE.md |
| 8 | Deploy approval gate | Display validation summary. ⛔ After approval: FIRST read deploy-checklist.md → deploy/PHASE.md. NEVER {"skill": "azure-deploy"}. | ⛔ Read approval-gates.md § Deploy Gate |
| 9 | Deploy | Execute IaC, health-check. Write deploy-result.json. | ⛔ You MUST read deploy/PHASE.md |
| 10 | Handoff | Surface deployment identity, cleanup commands, next steps. | ⛔ You MUST read handoff-protocol.md |
Error Handling
| Error | Remediation |
|---|---|
| Phase fails | Halt, report phase + error. User decides: retry, skip, abort. |
| MCP server unavailable | Skip affected checks, add disclaimer to costEstimate.assumptions[] and every approval gate. |
| Missing RBAC | Report required role + az role assignment command. |
Shared references: MCP tools (cross-phase tool parameters) | IaC resources (Azure resource docs for troubleshooting)
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer983 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
- SKILL.md6.6 KiB
- deploy/PHASE.md7.5 KiB
- deploy/references/approval-gate-template.md2.9 KiB
- deploy/references/blocked-patterns.md5.7 KiB
- deploy/references/code-deployment-appservice.md4.6 KiB
- deploy/references/code-deployment-container-apps.md8.4 KiB
- deploy/references/code-deployment-swa.md5.7 KiB
- deploy/references/database-post-deploy.md4.5 KiB
- deploy/references/deploy-checklist-template.md10.1 KiB
- deploy/references/deploy-safety.md4.5 KiB
- deploy/references/deploy-schemas.tsScript3.5 KiB
- deploy/references/error-classification.md3.6 KiB
- deploy/references/health-check-patterns.md5.5 KiB
- deploy/references/mcp-tools.md5.5 KiB
- deploy/references/portal-links.md3.1 KiB
- deploy/references/preflight-checks.md4.4 KiB
- deploy/references/subagent-preflight.md5.1 KiB
- prepare/PHASE.md6.4 KiB
- prepare/references/deploy-strategy.md6.8 KiB
- prepare/references/mcp-tools.md5.6 KiB
- prepare/references/naming-patterns.md4.6 KiB
- prepare/references/prepare-schemas.tsScript7.0 KiB
- prepare/references/pricing-guide-services.md8.4 KiB
- prepare/references/pricing-guide.md4.0 KiB
- prepare/references/service-mapping.md8.5 KiB
- prepare/references/sku-matrix.md3.2 KiB
- prepare/references/sku-quota-validation.md9.0 KiB
- prepare/references/subagent-pricing.md2.5 KiB
- prepare/references/subagent-quota.md3.5 KiB
- prepare/references/validation-rubric.md2.3 KiB
- references/approval-gates.md8.4 KiB
- references/azd-template-routing.md4.7 KiB
- references/handoff-protocol.md7.8 KiB
- references/iac-resources.md2.6 KiB
- references/intent-gathering.md2.2 KiB
- references/mcp-tool-reference.md3.7 KiB
- references/pipeline-rules-runtime.md3.5 KiB
- references/pipeline-rules.md6.3 KiB
- references/session-protocol.md8.0 KiB
- references/session-schemas.tsScript5.2 KiB
- references/subscription-resolution.md2.1 KiB
- scaffold/PHASE.md14.2 KiB
- scaffold/references/bicep-app-service.md5.4 KiB
- scaffold/references/bicep-container-apps.md9.3 KiB
- scaffold/references/bicep-patterns-data.md4.0 KiB
- scaffold/references/bicep-patterns-security.md7.8 KiB
- scaffold/references/bicep-patterns.md6.8 KiB
- scaffold/references/bicep-swa.md757 B
- scaffold/references/cicd-pipelines.md325 B
- scaffold/references/dockerfile-generation.md4.1 KiB
- scaffold/references/env-var-secrets.md4.1 KiB
- scaffold/references/error-handling.md1.5 KiB
- scaffold/references/iac-generation-rules.md6.6 KiB
- scaffold/references/mcp-tools.md7.0 KiB
- scaffold/references/rbac-roles.md3.8 KiB
- scaffold/references/scaffold-healing-rules.md3.3 KiB
- scaffold/references/scaffold-schemas.tsScript3.5 KiB
- scaffold/references/self-healing.md2.3 KiB
- scaffold/references/self-review-checklist.md9.0 KiB
- scaffold/references/self-review-procedure.md2.3 KiB
- scaffold/references/subagent-iac-gen.md9.5 KiB
- scaffold/references/subagent-review.md3.5 KiB
- scaffold/references/subagent-validate.md7.2 KiB
- scaffold/references/terraform-patterns.md6.9 KiB
- scaffold/references/validation-and-manifest.md5.1 KiB
- scaffold/references/waf-checklist.md2.3 KiB
- scaffold/scripts/scaffold-conformance.ps1Script12.8 KiB
- scaffold/scripts/scaffold-conformance.shScript13.8 KiB
prepare/references/prepare-schemas.ts
/**
* Prepare artifact schema — prepare-plan.json.
* Read by prepare PHASE.md Step 9 (write prepare-plan.json).
*/
// ─── Shared type (inlined from session-schemas.ts to avoid cross-ref) ────────
export interface PostDeployRecommendation {
title: string;
reason: string;
effort: "low" | "medium" | "high";
services?: string[];
}
// ─── Healing types (prepare phase) ───────────────────────────────────────────
export type PrepareHealingTrigger = "quota" | "policy" | "rubric" | "region";
export type PrepareIssueClassification = "AUTO_FIXABLE" | "NEEDS_USER_INPUT";
export type PrepareHealingResult = "fixed" | "needs-input" | "still-failing";
export interface PrepareHealingIssue {
dimension: string;
detail: string;
classification: PrepareIssueClassification;
}
export interface PrepareHealingFix {
service: string;
change: string;
reason: string;
}
export interface PrepareHealingAttempt {
attempt: number;
trigger: PrepareHealingTrigger;
issues: PrepareHealingIssue[];
fixes: PrepareHealingFix[];
result: PrepareHealingResult;
}
// ─── prepare-plan.json ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
export interface PlannedService {
name: string;
sku: string;
purpose: string;
component: string;
region: string;
resourceName: string;
/** Exact engine version for managed database services (MySQL/PostgreSQL Flexible Server),
* sourced from the provider capabilities API during quota validation — NOT guessed.
* ARM rejects major-only strings (e.g. MySQL '8.0'); use the exact supported patch
* (e.g. '8.0.21'). Omit for non-DB services. */
version?: string;
}
export interface CostBreakdownItem {
service: string;
sku: string;
monthlyUsd: number;
note?: string;
}
export interface CostEstimate {
monthlyUsd: number;
currency: "USD";
breakdown: CostBreakdownItem[];
disclaimer: string;
}
export interface RejectedAlternative {
service: string;
reason: string;
}
export interface NamingResource {
type: string;
name: string;
}
export interface NamingConfig {
pattern: string;
/** The computed prefix used for all resource names: {project}-{env}-{suffix}.
* deploymentVariables.environmentName MUST equal this value. */
resourcePrefix: string;
resources: NamingResource[];
}
export type QuotaSource = "cli" | "fallback";
export interface QuotaCheck {
resource: string;
region: string;
required: number;
available: number;
sufficient: boolean;
provider: string;
currentUsage: number;
currentLimit: number;
adjustable: boolean;
source: QuotaSource;
}
export interface DeployStrategy {
/** Deploy pattern — see deploy-strategy.md for the three patterns.
* "oryx-auto": Oryx handles build + run (Pattern A — default for most apps).
* "startup-install": native module compilation at startup (Pattern B).
* "container-only": Dockerfile-based deploy via ACR (Pattern C).
* Omit when Oryx auto-build is sufficient and no special startup is needed. */
codeDeployPattern?: "oryx-auto" | "startup-install" | "container-only";
/** Startup command for native module compilation (goes into appCommandLine) */
startupCommand?: string;
/** Required app settings for the deploy strategy (e.g., SCM_DO_BUILD_DURING_DEPLOYMENT) */
requiredAppSettings?: Record<string, string>;
/** Human-readable reason for choosing this strategy */
reason: string;
}
export interface InstrumentationConfig {
appInsightsEnabled: boolean;
reason: string;
}
export interface DeploymentVariables {
/** MUST equal naming.resourcePrefix (e.g., "myapp-dev-a1d5"), NOT the env label ("dev") */
environmentName: string;
location: string;
sessionId: string;
deployedBy: string;
/** Variable names that could not be resolved at prepare time — deploy reads, not asks */
deferred?: string[];
}
export interface OfferRestriction {
/** Azure provider namespace (e.g., "Microsoft.DBforPostgreSQL") */
provider: string;
/** Region checked */
region: string;
/** Whether the offer is restricted in this region */
restricted: boolean;
/** Reason string from capabilities API, if any */
reason?: string;
}
export interface QuotaValidation {
/** True when all planned services had quota confirmed */
verified: boolean;
/** How quota was verified — persists in session artifact, survives context compaction */
method?: "cli" | "what-if" | "unverifiable";
/** The specific region that passed validation */
verifiedRegion?: string;
/** The specific SKU that was validated (e.g., "B1", "F1") */
verifiedSku?: string;
/** Regions checked during validation */
checkedRegions?: string[];
/** Resources that failed quota checks */
failedResources?: string[];
/** Reason when verified is false (e.g., "quota CLI unavailable", "all regions zero") */
reason?: string;
/** Offer restriction results for database services (PostgreSQL, MySQL).
* Populated by prepare Step 5 when database services are in the plan.
* `LocationIsOfferRestricted` is NOT caught by what-if — this is the only pre-deploy check. */
offerRestrictions?: readonly OfferRestriction[];
/** Derived from offerRestrictions[]: true when every database service in services[]
* has at least one entry in offerRestrictions[]. Set this based on the array contents,
* not independently. Deploy gate halts if false/missing when services include PostgreSQL/MySQL. */
offerRestrictionsVerified?: boolean;
}
export interface PreparePlan {
services: PlannedService[];
costEstimate: CostEstimate;
rejectedAlternatives: RejectedAlternative[];
naming: NamingConfig;
quotas: readonly QuotaCheck[];
assumptions: string[];
/** IaC format for scaffold — "bicep" (default) or "terraform" */
iacFormat: "bicep" | "terraform";
/** Application database name the app expects to exist (from compose env such as
* MYSQL_DATABASE / MYSQLDB_DATABASE / POSTGRES_DB, a connection string, or ORM config).
* Scaffold emits a `flexibleServers/databases` child resource for this so the schema DB
* exists in IaC before the container starts; the conformance gate's DB-NAME-PRESENT check
* asserts it. Omit only when no managed database is in the plan. */
appDbName?: string;
postDeployRecommendations?: PostDeployRecommendation[];
/** Instrumentation decision — object with boolean + reason, NOT a bare boolean */
instrumentation?: InstrumentationConfig;
/** Deployment variables resolved at prepare time — scaffold/deploy read, not re-ask */
deploymentVariables?: DeploymentVariables;
/** Quota validation result from proactive capacity check */
quotaValidation?: QuotaValidation;
/** Code deploy strategy for native module apps — see deploy-strategy.md.
* Only populated when Pattern B (startup-install) is needed. */
deployStrategy?: DeployStrategy;
healingAttempts?: readonly PrepareHealingAttempt[];
}
Requirements and compatibility
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Needs an MCP server, Needs Node.js
Security
What our scanner noticed· Low risk
- Instructions that use the network
- Scripts that your agent may run
This skill includes scripts that your agent may run. Read them before you use it.
A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.
Attribution and licence
- Created by
- Microsoft
- Publisher
- Microsoft (Official)
- Source
- microsoft/skills · .github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/azure-app-onboard · commit 0696600
- Licence
- MIT License (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from .github/plugins/azure-skills/LICENSE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
- Also distributed in
- microsoft/azure-skills
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft or Microsoft.
Download ZIP
The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download azure-app-onboard.zip