# Assessment > Run application assessment for a single repository - Skill: `microsoft/assessment` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add microsoft/assessment` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/microsoft/assessment/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: Microsoft (https://skillmd.com/u/microsoft) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/microsoft/assessment --- # Application Assessment This skill performs application assessment for a single repository. It supports Java, .NET, and JavaScript/TypeScript projects. ## Input Parameters - `workspace-path` (optional): Path to the project to assess. Defaults to the current directory (repository root) when not specified. All assessment outputs are written relative to this path (e.g. `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json`). For a repository with multiple sub-projects, pass the sub-project directory path so that each sub-project's outputs are isolated. ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Assess a Java or .NET application for cloud readiness and migration issues - Assess a JavaScript/TypeScript project for outdated dependencies and available updates - Generate detailed assessment reports with issue analysis and recommendations - Understand application dependencies, frameworks, and potential migration blockers ## What This Skill Does This skill performs a simplified assessment workflow: 1. **Check Project Type and Prerequisites**: - **For Java projects**: Check MCP tool availability in this order: 1. **Primary**: Check if 'appmod-run-assessment-action' MCP tool is available - If available, use ONLY this tool. It handles everything (prerequisite checks, installation, and assessment execution) in a single call. - Do NOT call any other assessment MCP tools when this tool is available. 2. **Fallback**: If 'appmod-run-assessment-action' is NOT available, check if 'appmod-precheck-assessment' MCP tool is available - If available, use the legacy workflow: call 'appmod-precheck-assessment' first, then follow its guidance for 'appmod-install-appcat' and 'appmod-run-assessment'. 3. If neither tool is configured, return immediately with setup instructions. - **For .NET projects**: Check if .NET SDK is available - No MCP tools required for .NET assessment - **For JavaScript/TypeScript projects**: Check if Node.js and npm are available - No MCP tools required for JS/TS assessment 2. **Run Assessment**: - **For Java projects**: Trigger AppCAT analysis via Assessment MCP server - **If 'appmod-run-assessment-action' is available (primary path)**: - Call 'appmod-run-assessment-action' MCP tool only - The MCP tool automatically saves the report to the versioned directory - **If falling back to 'appmod-precheck-assessment' (legacy path)**: - Call 'appmod-precheck-assessment' to check prerequisites - Call 'appmod-install-appcat' to install AppCAT if needed - Call 'appmod-run-assessment' to run the assessment - **For .NET projects**: Install and run AppCAT directly - Install: `dotnet tool update dotnet-appcat` - Find all .csproj files under `{workspace-path}` - Join project paths with semicolons: `projectPaths="project1.csproj;project2.csproj"` - Run: `appcat analyze $projectPaths --source Solution --target Any --serializer APPMODJSON --code --privacyMode Restricted --non-interactive --report {workspace-path}\.github\modernize\appcat\result\report.json` - **For JavaScript/TypeScript projects**: Install and run npm-check-updates - Install: `npm install -g npm-check-updates@19.6.3 --prefix {tool-install-dir}` - Run: `ncu --format group --packageFile {workspace-path}/package.json` - Generate the `reportId` as a UTC timestamp formatted as `yyyyMMddHHmmss` (e.g. `2024-06-15T14:30:52Z` becomes `20240615143052`) - Create the versioned directory: `mkdir -p {workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}` - Save the output to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/js-assessment-report.md` - Do NOT save a copy to the top-level assessment directory - Analyzes code for cloud migration issues or dependency updates - Generates structured assessment data 3. **Save Report to Versioned Directory (All languages)**: - **For Java projects (primary path — 'appmod-run-assessment-action')**: The MCP tool automatically saves the report to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` — no manual saving needed - **For Java projects (legacy fallback path — 'appmod-precheck-assessment')**: 1. Find `report.json` under `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/` 2. Read the report and extract `metadata.analysisStartTime` 3. Format the timestamp as `yyyyMMddHHmmss` to produce the `reportId` (e.g. `2024-06-15T14:30:52Z` becomes `20240615143052`) 4. Create the versioned directory: `mkdir -p {workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}` 5. Move the report to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` - **For .NET projects**: 1. Find `report.json` at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/report.json` 2. Read the report and extract `metadata.analysisStartTime` 3. Format the timestamp as `yyyyMMddHHmmss` to produce the `reportId` (e.g. `2024-06-15T14:30:52Z` becomes `20240615143052`) 4. Create the versioned directory: `mkdir -p {workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}` 5. Move the report to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` - This versioned report should be included in the pull request ## How to Use ### Prerequisites **For Java projects**: - **Primary**: MCP tool 'appmod-run-assessment-action' — preferred, handles everything in one call - **Fallback**: If primary tool is not available, use 'appmod-precheck-assessment' → 'appmod-install-appcat' → 'appmod-run-assessment' workflow - If neither tool is configured, the skill will return instructions for setup **For .NET projects**: - .NET SDK must be installed - No MCP tools required - appcat will be installed and run directly via .NET CLI - The assessment will automatically install `dotnet-appcat` tool if not already present **For JavaScript/TypeScript projects**: - Node.js and npm must be installed - No MCP tools required - npm-check-updates will be installed and run directly via npm - The assessment will automatically install `npm-check-updates` if not already present ### Triggering Assessment Simply express the intent to assess the application. Example prompts: - "Assess the application" - "Run assessment for this project" The assessment process automatically: - Detects project language and framework within `{workspace-path}` - **For Java**: Uses MCP tool to run AppCAT and automatically save report to versioned directory - **For .NET**: Installs dotnet-appcat tool and runs analysis directly - **For JavaScript/TypeScript**: Installs npm-check-updates and runs dependency analysis - Executes comprehensive analysis - **For Java (primary)**: Report is automatically saved to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` - **For Java (legacy fallback)**: Generates report at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/`, then moved to versioned directory - **For .NET**: Generates report at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/report.json` - **For JavaScript/TypeScript**: Generates report at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/js-assessment-report.md` ### Report Saving **For Java projects**: 1. **If using 'appmod-run-assessment-action' (primary path)**: The MCP tool automatically saves the report to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` — no manual report moving is needed 2. **If using legacy fallback path ('appmod-precheck-assessment')**: - Find `report.json` under `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/` - Read the report and extract `metadata.analysisStartTime`, format as `yyyyMMddHHmmss` to get `reportId` - Move the report to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` 3. Include this versioned report in the pull request **For .NET projects**: 1. Report is initially generated at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/report.json` 2. Read the report and extract `metadata.analysisStartTime`, format as `yyyyMMddHHmmss` to get `reportId` 3. Move the report to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` 4. Include this versioned report in the pull request **For JavaScript/TypeScript projects**: 1. Generate the `reportId` as a UTC timestamp formatted as `yyyyMMddHHmmss` (e.g. `2024-06-15T14:30:52Z` becomes `20240615143052`) 2. Create the versioned directory: `mkdir -p {workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}` 3. Save the ncu output to `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/js-assessment-report.md` 4. Include this versioned report in the pull request ## Report Output Location Report location depends on project type: **For Java projects** (via MCP server): - **Primary path ('appmod-run-assessment-action')**: Automatically saved to: `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` - **Legacy fallback path ('appmod-precheck-assessment')**: Initially stored under `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/`, then moved to versioned directory: `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` **For .NET projects** (direct execution): - Initially generated at: `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/report.json` - Moved to versioned directory: `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` **For JavaScript/TypeScript projects** (direct execution): - Saved to versioned directory: `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/js-assessment-report.md` ## Success Criteria Assessment is complete when: - ✅ **For Java**: MCP server is available (or clear instructions provided if not) - ✅ **For .NET**: .NET SDK is available and dotnet-appcat tool is installed - ✅ **For JavaScript/TypeScript**: Node.js and npm are available and npm-check-updates is installed - ✅ AppCAT analysis executes without errors (Java/.NET) or ncu analysis executes without errors (JS/TS) - ✅ **For Java and .NET**: Report generated at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/report.json` - ✅ **For JavaScript/TypeScript**: Report generated at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/js-assessment-report.md` - ✅ Report metadata includes assessment tool version, timestamp, and configuration ## Troubleshooting **Prerequisites Not Met**: - **For Java**: First check for 'appmod-run-assessment-action', then fall back to 'appmod-precheck-assessment' - Return immediately with setup instructions if neither tool is available - Do not attempt to run assessment without MCP - **For .NET**: Verify .NET SDK is installed - Check with `dotnet --version` command - Provide installation instructions if .NET SDK is missing - **For JavaScript/TypeScript**: Verify Node.js and npm are installed - Check with `npm --version` command - Provide installation instructions if npm is missing **Assessment Failures**: - Unsupported project type (only Java, .NET, and JavaScript/TypeScript supported) - **For Java**: MCP server communication errors - **For .NET**: - dotnet-appcat tool installation failure - appcat command execution errors - **For JavaScript/TypeScript**: - npm-check-updates installation failure - ncu command execution errors - No package.json found at `{workspace-path}/package.json` - Invalid project structure or build configuration **Report Generation Issues**: - **For Java (primary)**: No report.json found under `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-*/report.json` after MCP execution - **For Java (legacy fallback)**: No report.json found under `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/` after MCP execution - **For .NET**: Report not generated at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/appcat/result/report.json`, or `metadata.analysisStartTime` missing from report - **For JavaScript/TypeScript**: Report not generated at `{workspace-path}/.github/modernize/assessment/reports/report-{reportId}/js-assessment-report.md` - Report file is corrupted or invalid JSON (Java/.NET only) For any failure, provide clear error messages and troubleshooting steps.