markheydon Microsoft Docs
Research skill for the Microsoft technology ecosystem. Covers learn.microsoft.com and documentation that lives outside it (VS Code, GitHub, Aspire, Agent Framework repos).
Default: Microsoft Learn MCP
Use these tools for everything on learn.microsoft.com — Azure, .NET, M365, Power Platform, Agent Framework, Semantic Kernel, Windows, and more. This is the primary tool for the vast majority of Microsoft documentation queries.
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
microsoft_docs_search |
Search learn.microsoft.com — concepts, guides, tutorials, configuration |
microsoft_code_sample_search |
Find working code snippets from Learn docs. Pass language (python, csharp, etc.) for best results |
microsoft_docs_fetch |
Get full page content from a specific URL (when search excerpts aren't enough) |
Use microsoft_docs_fetch after search when you need complete tutorials, all config options, or when search excerpts are truncated.
CLI Alternative
If the Learn MCP server is not available, use the mslearn CLI from your terminal or shell (for example, Bash, PowerShell, or cmd) instead:
# Run directly (no install needed)
npx @microsoft/learn-cli search "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"
# Or install globally, then run
npm install -g @microsoft/learn-cli
mslearn search "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"
| MCP Tool | CLI Command |
|---|---|
microsoft_docs_search(query: "...") |
mslearn search "..." |
microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "...", language: "...") |
mslearn code-search "..." --language ... |
microsoft_docs_fetch(url: "...") |
mslearn fetch "..." |
Pass --json to search or code-search to get raw JSON output for further processing.
Exceptions: When to Use Other Tools
The following categories live outside learn.microsoft.com. Use the specified tool instead.
.NET Aspire — Use Aspire MCP Server (preferred) or Context7
Aspire docs live on aspire.dev, not Learn. The best tool depends on your Aspire CLI version:
CLI 13.2+ (recommended) — The Aspire MCP server includes built-in docs search tools:
| MCP Tool | Description |
|---|---|
list_docs |
Lists all available documentation from aspire.dev |
search_docs |
Weighted lexical search across aspire.dev content |
get_doc |
Retrieves a specific document by slug |
These ship in Aspire CLI 13.2 (PR #14028). To update: aspire update --self --channel daily. Ref: https://davidpine.dev/posts/aspire-docs-mcp-tools/
CLI 13.1 — The MCP server provides integration lookup (list_integrations, get_integration_docs) but not docs search. Fall back to Context7:
| Library ID | Use for |
|---|---|
/microsoft/aspire.dev |
Primary — guides, integrations, CLI reference, deployment |
/dotnet/aspire |
Runtime source — API internals, implementation details |
/communitytoolkit/aspire |
Community integrations — Go, Java, Node.js, Ollama |
VS Code — Use Context7
VS Code docs live on code.visualstudio.com, not Learn.
| Library ID | Use for |
|---|---|
/websites/code_visualstudio |
User docs — settings, features, debugging, remote dev |
/websites/code_visualstudio_api |
Extension API — webviews, TreeViews, commands, contribution points |
GitHub — Use Context7
GitHub docs live on docs.github.com and cli.github.com.
| Library ID | Use for |
|---|---|
/websites/github_en |
Actions, API, repos, security, admin, Copilot |
/websites/cli_github |
GitHub CLI (gh) commands and flags |
Agent Framework — Use Learn MCP + Context7
Agent Framework tutorials are on learn.microsoft.com (use microsoft_docs_search), but the GitHub repo has API-level detail that is often ahead of published docs — particularly DevUI REST API reference, CLI options, and .NET integration.
| Library ID | Use for |
|---|---|
/websites/learn_microsoft_en-us_agent-framework |
Tutorials — DevUI guides, tracing, workflow orchestration |
/microsoft/agent-framework |
API detail — DevUI REST endpoints, CLI flags, auth, .NET AddDevUI/MapDevUI |
DevUI tip: Query the Learn website source for how-to guides, then the repo source for API-level specifics (endpoint schemas, proxy config, auth tokens).
Context7 Setup
For any Context7 query, resolve the library ID first (one-time per session):
- Call
mcp_context7_resolve-library-idwith the technology name - Call
mcp_context7_query-docswith the returned library ID and a specific query
Writing Effective Queries
Be specific — include version, intent, and language:
# ❌ Too broad
"Azure Functions"
"agent framework"
# ✅ Specific
"Azure Functions Python v2 programming model"
"Cosmos DB partition key design best practices"
"GitHub Actions workflow_dispatch inputs matrix strategy"
"Aspire AddUvicornApp Python FastAPI integration"
"DevUI serve agents tracing OpenTelemetry directory discovery"
"Agent Framework workflow conditional edges branching handoff"
Include context:
- Version when relevant (
.NET 8,Aspire 13,VS Code 1.96) - Task intent (
quickstart,tutorial,overview,limits,API reference) - Language for polyglot docs (
Python,TypeScript,C#)