1---2name: azure-dev-box3description: Expert knowledge for Azure Dev Box development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when designing Dev Box images, catalogs/pools, RBAC/SSO access, region moves, or VS Code dev tunnels, and other Azure Dev Box related development tasks. Not for Azure DevTest Labs (use azure-devtest-labs), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines), Azure Virtual Desktop (use azure-virtual-desktop), Azure Lab Services (use azure-lab-services).4---5# Azure Dev Box Skill
6
7This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Dev Box. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.
8
9## How to Use This Skill
10
11> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: Use the **Category Index** below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., `L35-L120`), use `read_file` with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., `[security.md](security.md)`), use `read_file` on the linked reference file
12
13> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: If `metadata.generated_at` is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If `mcp_microsoftdocs` tools are not available, suggest the user install it: [Installation Guide](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/mcp/blob/main/README.md)
14
15This skill requires **network access** to fetch documentation content:
16- **Preferred**: Use `mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill`. Returns Markdown.
17- **Fallback**: Use `fetch_webpage` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown`. Returns Markdown.
18
19## Category Index
20
21| Category | Lines | Description |
22|----------|-------|-------------|
23| Troubleshooting | L36-L45 | Diagnosing and fixing Dev Box connectivity issues, image validation errors, stale/inaccessible boxes, using Troubleshoot & Repair, and monitoring via Azure Monitor logs. |
24| Best Practices | L46-L51 | Guidance on building efficient Dev Box images, including structuring image definitions and pre-warming Visual Studio caches to speed up developer environments. |
25| Decision Making | L52-L57 | Guidance on planning Dev Box deployments (networking, images, capacity) and deciding or preparing to move from Dev Box to Windows 365, including design and transition considerations. |
26| Limits & Quotas | L58-L63 | Managing Dev Box capacity: requesting quota/core limit increases and configuring per-user Dev Box limits to control usage and costs. |
27| Security | L64-L75 | Securing Dev Box access and sessions: RBAC roles, guest access, SSO, API auth, Key Vault/service principals, Intune Conditional Access and Endpoint Privilege Management. |
28| Configuration | L76-L102 | Configuring Dev Box infrastructure: networking, images, catalogs, policies, schedules (stop/hibernate/autodelete), pools/projects/dev centers, and monitoring/log schemas. |
29| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L103-L107 | Using VS Code dev tunnels to securely connect to Azure Dev Box, including setup, authentication, and remote development workflow configuration. |
30| Deployment | L108-L111 | Planning and rolling out Dev Box environments, including architecture and configuration, plus guidance for moving Dev Box pools and individual boxes between Azure regions. |
31
32### Troubleshooting
33| Topic | URL |
34|-------|-----|
35| Diagnose and fix Microsoft Dev Box connectivity | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-resolve-dev-box-connectivity-issues |
36| Troubleshoot Dev Box custom image validation failures | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-troubleshoot-custom-image-validation |
37| Fix stale or inaccessible Dev Boxes in Task view | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-troubleshoot-dev-box-task-view |
38| Troubleshoot known Dev Box connectivity problems | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-troubleshoot-remote-desktop-connectivity |
39| Use Dev Box Troubleshoot & Repair for connectivity | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-troubleshoot-repair-dev-box |
40| Monitor Dev Box with Azure Monitor diagnostic logs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/monitor-dev-box |
41
42### Best Practices
43| Topic | URL |
44|-------|-----|
45| Best practices for authoring Dev Box image definitions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/concept-authoring-troubleshooting-guide-team-customizations |
46| Pre-generate Visual Studio caches in Dev Box images | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-generate-visual-studio-caches |
47
48### Decision Making
49| Topic | URL |
50|-------|-----|
51| Plan and design a Microsoft Dev Box deployment | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/concept-dev-box-deployment-guide |
52| Plan transition from Dev Box to Windows 365 | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/dev-box-roadmap |
53
54### Limits & Quotas
55| Topic | URL |
56|-------|-----|
57| Request Dev Box quota and core limit increases | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-request-quota-increase |
58| Set per-user Dev Box limits to control costs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/tutorial-dev-box-limits |
59
60### Security
61| Topic | URL |
62|-------|-----|
63| Plan Azure RBAC roles for Dev Box deployments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/concept-dev-box-role-based-access-control |
64| Authenticate to Dev Box REST APIs with Azure CLI | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-authenticate |
65| Secure Dev Box tunnels with conditional access policies | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-conditional-access-dev-tunnels-service |
66| Configure Intune Conditional Access for Dev Box | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-intune-conditional-access-policies |
67| Secure Dev Box customizations with Key Vault and service principals | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-customizations-connect-resource-repository |
68| Set up Intune Endpoint Privilege Management for Dev Box | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-elevate-privilege-dev-box |
69| Enable single sign-on to Windows on Dev Boxes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-enable-single-sign-on |
70| Assign Dev Box RBAC roles for project access | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-manage-dev-box-access |
71
72### Configuration
73| Topic | URL |
74|-------|-----|
75| Configure networking requirements for Microsoft Dev Box | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/concept-dev-box-network-requirements |
76| Configure Dev Box auto-delete for unused environments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-auto-delete-dev-box |
77| Attach and configure Azure Compute Gallery for Dev Box | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-azure-compute-gallery |
78| Add and manage Dev Box catalogs for image definitions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-catalog |
79| Configure Dev Box customization task catalogs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-customization-tasks |
80| Configure Dev Box hibernation and schedules | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-dev-box-hibernation |
81| Configure imaging pipeline for Dev Box team customizations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-dev-center-imaging |
82| Configure Dev Box network connections and VNets | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-network-connections |
83| Configure Dev Box project policies for governance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-project-policy |
84| Configure Dev Box pool autostop schedules | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-stop-schedule |
85| Author Dev Box image definition files for team customizations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-team-customizations |
86| Create and upload Dev Box user customization files | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-configure-user-customizations |
87| Configure virtual switches and networking in Dev Box | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-connect-dev-box-virtual-switch |
88| Build custom Dev Box images with Azure VM Image Builder | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-customize-devbox-azure-image-builder |
89| Define and manage Dev Box definitions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-manage-dev-box-definitions |
90| Configure and manage Dev Box pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-manage-dev-box-pools |
91| Manage Microsoft Dev Box projects and pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-manage-dev-box-projects |
92| Create and manage Dev Box dev centers | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-manage-dev-center |
93| Configure custom Windows images for Microsoft Dev Box | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-prepare-custom-image-dev-box |
94| Reference for Dev Box monitoring logs and metrics | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/monitor-dev-box-reference |
95| Configure core Microsoft Dev Box resources | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/quickstart-configure-dev-box-service |
96| Configure Dev Box resources with Get Started template | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/quickstart-get-started-template |
97| Configure Dev Box imagedefinition.yaml and task.yaml schemas | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/reference-dev-box-customizations |
98
99### Integrations & Coding Patterns
100| Topic | URL |
101|-------|-----|
102| Connect to Dev Box from VS Code using dev tunnels | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-set-up-dev-tunnels |
103
104### Deployment
105| Topic | URL |
106|-------|-----|
107| Move Dev Box pools and boxes between regions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dev-box/how-to-move-dev-box-pool-region |
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