Azure Compute — Agent Skill by Microsoft

From the author

Azure VM/VMSS router. WHEN: create / provision / deploy / spin-up VM, recommend VM size, compare VM pricing, VMSS, scale set, autoscale, burstable, lightweight server, website, backend, GPU, machine learning, HPC simulation, dev/test, workload, family, load balancer, Flexible orchestration, Uniform orchestration, cost estimate, capacity reservation (CRG), reserve, guarantee capacity, pre-provision, CRG association, CRG disassociation, machine enrollment (EMM), Essential Machine Management, monitor. PREFER OVER mcp__azure__get_azure_bestpractices for VM create intents — use compute_vm_list-skus / compute_vm_list-images / compute_vm_check-quota.

— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The Azure Compute skill acts as a primary router for infrastructure-level tasks within Azure. It directs user requests to specialized workflows for recommending, provisioning, and managing bare virtual machine infrastructure. It is designed to handle the lifecycle of VMs and VMSS, including capacity planning through Capacity Reservation Groups and machine monitoring via Essential Machine Management.

What it does

Routes requests to specific workflows for VM and VMSS provisioning.
Provides guidance on selecting VM families based on workload requirements.
Facilitates capacity reservation and guarantee for critical infrastructure.
Supports Essential Machine Management for enrollment and monitoring tasks.
Enables cost estimation and pricing comparisons for various VM SKUs.
Distinguishes between infrastructure deployment and application-level service deployment.

When to use it

When you need to provision or deploy bare virtual machines or scale sets.
When you require assistance in selecting the appropriate VM family for a specific workload.
When you need to reserve or guarantee capacity for your Azure compute resources.
When you are setting up or monitoring machines using Essential Machine Management.
When you need to compare pricing for different VM SKUs or regions.

Advantages

Centralized entry point for all Azure compute-related infrastructure tasks.
Prevents confusion between infrastructure provisioning and application deployment.
Provides structured paths for complex tasks like capacity reservation.
Ensures consistent use of specialized tools for quota and SKU management.

Usage examples

“I need to deploy a set of web servers. Which VM family should I use?”: The skill routes the request to the VM Recommender to analyze your workload and suggest the appropriate D-series or B-series VMs.
“How can I reserve capacity for my production database VMs?”: The skill initiates the Capacity Reservation workflow to guide you through creating and associating a Capacity Reservation Group.
“Provision a new Ubuntu VM for testing.”: The skill routes the request to the VM Creator workflow to handle the infrastructure deployment.
“How do I enroll my machines in Essential Machine Management?”: The skill directs you to the Essential Machine Management workflow for enrollment and monitoring instructions.

Install

Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-compute/download

Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-compute.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Azure Compute Skill

Routes Azure VM and Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) requests to the right workflow.

When to Use This Skill

User wants to recommend, compare, or price a VM or VMSS
User wants to create, provision, or deploy a VM or VMSS
User asks about Capacity Reservation Groups (CRG) — reserve, guarantee capacity, pre-provision
User asks about Essential Machine Management (EMM) — machine enrollment, monitor

Disambiguate with azure-prepare: if the user wants to deploy an application (Docker service, web app, API, serverless workload), route to azure-prepare. vm-creator is for bare VM/VMSS infrastructure only.

Routing

Mandatory workflow-first routing: never route directly to references/* files. First classify the user intent below, open the matched workflow file, then load only the reference files that workflow requests. Reference files are supporting material, not entry points. If the intent is unclear, ask a clarifying question to disambiguate between the workflows.

Workflow	File	Use when
VM Recommender	vm-recommender.md	User asks which VM/VMSS to choose, whether to use VMSS/autoscaling, wants pricing, or wants to compare options
VM Creator	vm-creator.md	User wants to create, provision, or deploy a bare VM or VMSS (not an app deployment)
Capacity Reservation	capacity-reservation.md	User needs to reserve / guarantee VM capacity (CRG create / associate / disassociate)
Essential Machine Management	essential-machine-management.md	User asks about EMM / machine enrollment / monitor

Files

ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer971 B
LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
SKILL.md2.6 KiB
references/retail-prices-api.md6.3 KiB
references/vm-families.md5.8 KiB
references/vm-quotas.md4.1 KiB
references/vmss-guide.md6.2 KiB
workflows/capacity-reservation/capacity-reservation.md7.8 KiB
workflows/capacity-reservation/references/association-disassociation.md3.8 KiB
workflows/capacity-reservation/references/capacity-reservation-overview.md6.0 KiB
workflows/essential-machine-management/essential-machine-management.md5.0 KiB
workflows/essential-machine-management/references/emm-enable-flow-portal-guidance.md3.1 KiB
workflows/essential-machine-management/references/emm-enable-flow.md9.2 KiB
workflows/essential-machine-management/references/emm-overview.md2.4 KiB
workflows/essential-machine-management/references/emm-prerequisites.md3.5 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/examples/bicep/README.md1.6 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/examples/bicep/main.bicep3.8 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/examples/terraform/README.md2.5 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/examples/terraform/main.tf3.2 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/examples/terraform/outputs.tf135 B
workflows/vm-creator/examples/terraform/variables.tf1010 B
workflows/vm-creator/references/delivery-options/github-pr.md3.2 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/delivery-options/index.md2.3 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/delivery-options/print.md474 B
workflows/vm-creator/references/delivery-options/save-local.md2.0 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/depth-probe/beginner.md1.2 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/depth-probe/cost-deep.md1.1 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/depth-probe/index.md3.0 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/depth-probe/networking-deep.md1.6 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/depth-probe/security-deep.md1.2 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/depth-probe/spec-deep.md1.3 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/mcp-tools.md2.3 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/output-adapters/az-cli.md1.9 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/output-adapters/bicep.md1.7 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/output-adapters/index.md3.0 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/output-adapters/mcp-apply.md2.6 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/output-adapters/terraform.md1.5 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/plan-card.md3.9 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/references/validation-gates.md2.2 KiB
workflows/vm-creator/vm-creator.md7.5 KiB
workflows/vm-recommender/references/handoff-to-creator.md1.6 KiB
workflows/vm-recommender/references/web-fetch-policy.md1.6 KiB
workflows/vm-recommender/vm-recommender.md6.4 KiB

workflows/capacity-reservation/references/association-disassociation.md

Associating and Disassociating VMs/VMSS with a Capacity Reservation Group

Association Model

Capacity Reservation Group (CRG)
├── Capacity Reservation: Standard_D4s_v5 × 5 (Zone 1)
├── Capacity Reservation: Standard_D4s_v5 × 3 (Zone 2)
└── Capacity Reservation: Standard_E8s_v5 × 2 (Zone 1)

VM / VMSS
└── capacityReservationGroup.id = <CRG resource ID>
    └── Azure auto-matches to a reservation with the right VM size + zone

Associating VMs

Set the capacityReservationGroup property when creating or updating a VM.

New VM

az vm create \
  -g <rg> \
  -n <vm-name> \
  --image <image> \
  --size Standard_D4s_v5 \
  --zone 1 \
  --capacity-reservation-group <crg-id>

Existing VM

Zonal VMs can be associated while running:

az vm update -g <rg> -n <vm-name> --capacity-reservation-group <crg-id>

Regional VMs (no zone) must be deallocated first:

az vm deallocate -g <rg> -n <vm-name>
az vm update -g <rg> -n <vm-name> --capacity-reservation-group <crg-id>
az vm start -g <rg> -n <vm-name>

Associating VMSS

az vmss create \
  -g <rg> \
  -n <vmss-name> \
  --image <image> \
  --vm-sku Standard_D4s_v5 \
  --instance-count 5 \
  --zones 1 \
  --capacity-reservation-group <crg-id>

Existing VMSS can be associated using az vmss update similarly to VMs. Regional VMSS must be deallocated first. Zonal VMSS can be associated without deallocating, but this is currently a Preview feature.

Disassociating from a Capacity Reservation Group

Both the VM/VMSS and the underlying capacity reservation logically occupy capacity. Azure imposes constraints to avoid ambiguous allocation states, so you cannot simply remove the association while resources are running against it.

There are three ways to disassociate. The commands below use az vm — for VMSS, substitute az vmss and add az vmss update-instances --instance-ids "*" as a final step when using a Manual upgrade policy.

Option 1: Deallocate, then remove association

Best when the VM/VMSS can tolerate downtime.

az vm deallocate -g <rg> -n <vm-name>
az vm update -g <rg> -n <vm-name> --capacity-reservation-group None
az vm start -g <rg> -n <vm-name>   # optional

Option 2: Set reserved quantity to zero, then remove association

Best when the VM/VMSS cannot be deallocated and the reservation is no longer needed.

az capacity reservation update \
  -g <rg> --capacity-reservation-group <crg> \
  -n <reservation-name> --capacity 0
az vm update -g <rg> -n <vm-name> --capacity-reservation-group None

Option 3: Delete the VM/VMSS

Deleting the resource automatically removes the association. Some latency may occur before the capacity reservation allocation state updates.

VMSS Upgrade Policy Behavior

Policy	Behavior
Automatic	Instances update automatically — no further action needed
Rolling	Instances update in batches with an optional pause between them
Manual	You must run `az vmss update-instances --instance-ids "*"` per update

Learn More

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.

Security

What our scanner noticed· Medium risk

References to credential files

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Modal
K-Dense· Community
A serverless cloud platform for deploying and scaling Python applications, AI models, and GPU-accelerated workloads.
Cloud and DevOpsClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
Apache-2.0Low riskGitHub stars of the source repository56.4k
Cloud Infrastructure Network Engineer
Seth Hobson· Community
An expert network engineer persona specializing in cloud architecture, security, and performance optimization.
Cloud and DevOpsClaude Code
MITGitHub stars of the source repository42.3k
Deployment Validation Cloud Architect
Seth Hobson· Community
Expert cloud architect for multi-cloud infrastructure, cost optimization, and resilient system design.
Cloud and DevOpsClaude Code
MITGitHub stars of the source repository42.3k
Airflow Dag Patterns
Seth Hobson· Community
Best practices and design patterns for building and maintaining production-ready Apache Airflow DAGs.
Cloud and DevOpsClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
MITGitHub stars of the source repository42.3k
Cost Optimization
Seth Hobson· Community
A comprehensive framework for reducing cloud infrastructure costs across AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI.
Cloud and DevOpsClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
MITGitHub stars of the source repository42.3k
Hybrid Cloud Networking
Seth Hobson· Community
A guide to configuring secure, high-performance network connectivity between on-premises infrastructure and major cloud providers.
Cloud and DevOpsClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
MITGitHub stars of the source repository42.3k

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download azure-compute.zip