How do I install the Azure Updates skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/azure-updates in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Azure Updates skill do?

Retrieve Azure Updates information using the Microsoft Release Communications API. Get the latest announcements about new features, previews, retirements, and general availability for Azure services without authentication. Use when tracking Azure product updates, monitoring service changes, checking retirement announcements, or following new feature releases. Use when this capability is needed. It is listed under DevOps & Infra on SkillMD.

Is Azure Updates safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Azure Updates?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Azure Updates free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Azure Updates?

tomevault-io (@tomevault-io) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Azure Updates by tomevault-io — Agent Skill

Name: Azure Updates
Author: tomevault-io

Azure Updates Skill

Retrieve Azure Updates information from the official Microsoft Release Communications API without authentication.

This is the official source for Azure service updates, including new features, previews, retirements, and general availability announcements. Prioritize this source when looking up Azure service updates.

API Endpoint

https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure

Response Structure

Top-level Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
`@odata.context`	string	OData metadata URL
`@odata.count`	integer	Total number of items (when `$count=true`)
`value`	array	List of update items
`facets`	array	Available filter options (when `includeFacets=true`)

Update Item Fields

Field	Type	Description
`id`	string	Unique identifier for the update
`title`	string	Update title
`description`	string	HTML-formatted description
`status`	string	Status: "Launched", "In preview", "In development", or null (for retirements)
`products`	array	Related Azure products
`productCategories`	array	Product categories (e.g., "Compute", "AI + machine learning")
`tags`	array	Tags (e.g., "Features", "Retirements", "Compliance")
`generalAvailabilityDate`	string	GA date in "YYYY-MM" format
`previewAvailabilityDate`	string	Preview date in "YYYY-MM" format
`privatePreviewAvailabilityDate`	string	Private preview date
`availabilities`	array	Availability details (see Availability Ring Values below)
`created`	string	Created timestamp (ISO 8601)
`modified`	string	Last modified timestamp (ISO 8601)
`locale`	string	Locale (typically null)

Available Status Values

Launched - Generally Available
In preview - Public Preview
In development - In Development
null - Typically for retirements

Availability Ring Values

The availabilities array contains objects with ring, year, and month fields:

Ring Value	Description
`General Availability`	GA release
`Preview`	Public Preview
`Private Preview`	Private Preview
`Retirement`	Service retirement

Example:

{
  "availabilities": [
    { "ring": "Preview", "year": 2024, "month": "October" },
    { "ring": "General Availability", "year": 2025, "month": "March" }
  ]
}

Steps

1. Basic API Call

Retrieve recent Azure updates:

# Basic call with count
curl "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=10"

# With jq for better readability
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5" \
  | jq '.value[] | {id, title, status}'

2. Pagination

Use top and skip parameters for pagination:

# Get first 20 items
curl "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=20&skip=0"

# Get next 20 items
curl "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=20&skip=20"

# Get items 41-60
curl "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=20&skip=40"

3. Sorting

Use $orderby to sort results:

# Sort by modified date (newest first)
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$orderby=modified%20desc" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, modified}'

# Sort by created date (oldest first)
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$orderby=created%20asc" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, created}'

# Sort by title alphabetically
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$orderby=title" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title}'

4. Filtering by Status

# Get updates in preview
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=status%20eq%20%27In%20preview%27" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, status}'

# Get launched (GA) updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=status%20eq%20%27Launched%27" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, status}'

# Get updates in development
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=status%20eq%20%27In%20development%27" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, status}'

5. Filtering by Tags

Use tags/any() for filtering by tags:

# Get retirement announcements
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=tags/any(t:t%20eq%20%27Retirements%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, tags}'

# Get feature announcements
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=tags/any(t:t%20eq%20%27Features%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, tags}'

# Get security-related updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=tags/any(t:t%20eq%20%27Security%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, tags}'

# Get Microsoft Build announcements
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=tags/any(t:t%20eq%20%27Microsoft%20Build%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, tags}'

6. Filtering by Product

Use products/any() for filtering by Azure products:

# Get AKS updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=products/any(p:p%20eq%20%27Azure%20Kubernetes%20Service%20(AKS)%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, products}'

# Get Azure Functions updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=products/any(p:p%20eq%20%27Azure%20Functions%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, products}'

# Get Azure Cosmos DB updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=products/any(p:p%20eq%20%27Azure%20Cosmos%20DB%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, products}'

# Get Azure OpenAI Service updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=products/any(p:p%20eq%20%27Azure%20OpenAI%20Service%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, products}'

7. Filtering by Product Category

Use productCategories/any() for filtering by category:

# Get AI + machine learning updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=productCategories/any(c:c%20eq%20%27AI%20%2B%20machine%20learning%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, productCategories}'

# Get Compute updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=productCategories/any(c:c%20eq%20%27Compute%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, productCategories}'

# Get Containers updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=productCategories/any(c:c%20eq%20%27Containers%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, productCategories}'

# Get Security updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=productCategories/any(c:c%20eq%20%27Security%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, productCategories}'

8. Filtering by Availability Ring

Use availabilities/any() for filtering by availability ring (recommended for retirements):

# Get retirement announcements (recommended method)
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=availabilities/any(a:a/ring%20eq%20%27Retirement%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, availabilities}'

# Get GA updates by ring
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=availabilities/any(a:a/ring%20eq%20%27General%20Availability%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, availabilities}'

# Get Preview updates by ring
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=availabilities/any(a:a/ring%20eq%20%27Preview%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, availabilities}'

9. Filtering by Date

# Get updates GA'd in January 2025
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=generalAvailabilityDate%20eq%20%272025-01%27" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, generalAvailabilityDate}'

# Get updates preview'd in December 2024
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=previewAvailabilityDate%20eq%20%272024-12%27" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, previewAvailabilityDate}'

10. Search

Use $search for text search:

# Search for "kubernetes" in updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$search=kubernetes" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title}'

# Search for "AI" in updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$search=AI" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title}'

# Search for "retirement" in updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$search=retirement" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title}'

11. Getting Facets (Filter Options)

Use includeFacets=true to get available filter values with counts:

# Get all facets
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&includeFacets=true&top=1" \
  | jq '.facets'

# Get product categories with counts
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&includeFacets=true&top=1" \
  | jq '.facets[] | select(.name == "ProductCategory") | .values[] | {value, count}'

# Get status options with counts
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&includeFacets=true&top=1" \
  | jq '.facets[] | select(.name == "Status") | .values'

# Get tags with counts
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&includeFacets=true&top=1" \
  | jq '.facets[] | select(.name == "Tags") | .values[] | {value, count}'

12. Combining Filters

Combine multiple filters with and:

# Get AKS updates that are in preview
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=products/any(p:p%20eq%20%27Azure%20Kubernetes%20Service%20(AKS)%27)%20and%20status%20eq%20%27In%20preview%27" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, status}'

# Get security updates from Containers category
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=productCategories/any(c:c%20eq%20%27Containers%27)%20and%20tags/any(t:t%20eq%20%27Security%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, tags, productCategories}'

# Get launched features in AI category
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=5&\$filter=productCategories/any(c:c%20eq%20%27AI%20%2B%20machine%20learning%27)%20and%20status%20eq%20%27Launched%27%20and%20tags/any(t:t%20eq%20%27Features%27)" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, status}'

13. Getting Latest Updates (Common Use Case)

# Get 10 most recently modified updates
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=10&\$orderby=modified%20desc" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, status, modified}'

# Get latest GA announcements
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=10&\$filter=status%20eq%20%27Launched%27&\$orderby=modified%20desc" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, generalAvailabilityDate, modified}'

# Get latest preview announcements
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=10&\$filter=status%20eq%20%27In%20preview%27&\$orderby=modified%20desc" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, previewAvailabilityDate, modified}'

# Get upcoming retirements (using availability ring)
curl -s "https://www.microsoft.com/releasecommunications/api/v2/azure?\$count=true&top=10&\$filter=availabilities/any(a:a/ring%20eq%20%27Retirement%27)&\$orderby=modified%20desc" \
  | jq '.value[] | {title, availabilities, modified}'

Output Format

Simplified Update Item

{
  "id": "466954",
  "title": "Public Preview: Collect Azure Container Storage metrics...",
  "status": "In preview",
  "products": ["Azure Container Storage", "Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)"],
  "productCategories": ["Containers", "Compute"],
  "tags": ["Features"],
  "generalAvailabilityDate": null,
  "previewAvailabilityDate": "2024-12",
  "modified": "2025-01-09T16:00:28.6638383Z"
}

Facet Response

{
  "name": "Status",
  "values": [
    { "value": "In development", "count": 137 },
    { "value": "In preview", "count": 2929 },
    { "value": "Launched", "count": 4686 }
  ]
}

Query Parameters Summary

Parameter	Type	Description	Example
`$count`	boolean	Include total count	`$count=true`
`includeFacets`	boolean	Include filter facets	`includeFacets=true`
`top`	integer	Number of items to return	`top=20`
`skip`	integer	Number of items to skip	`skip=20`
`$orderby`	string	Sort field and direction	`$orderby=modified desc`
`$filter`	string	OData filter expression	`$filter=status eq 'Launched'`
`$search`	string	Text search query	`$search=kubernetes`

Filter Expression Examples

Filter Type	Expression
By status	`status eq 'Launched'`
By tag	`tags/any(t:t eq 'Features')`
By availability ring	`availabilities/any(a:a/ring eq 'Retirement')`
By product	`products/any(p:p eq 'Azure Functions')`
By category	`productCategories/any(c:c eq 'Compute')`
By date	`generalAvailabilityDate eq '2025-01'`
Combined	`status eq 'Launched' and tags/any(t:t eq 'Features')`

Notes

The API is publicly accessible without authentication
All dates are in UTC and ISO 8601 format
HTML content in description field needs to be parsed/stripped for plain text
Special characters in filter values must be URL-encoded
Maximum top value may be limited by the API

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Azure Updates

File contents

Azure Updates Skill

API Endpoint

Response Structure

Top-level Response Fields

Update Item Fields

Available Status Values

Availability Ring Values

Steps

1. Basic API Call

2. Pagination

3. Sorting

4. Filtering by Status

5. Filtering by Tags

6. Filtering by Product

7. Filtering by Product Category

8. Filtering by Availability Ring

9. Filtering by Date

10. Search

11. Getting Facets (Filter Options)

12. Combining Filters

13. Getting Latest Updates (Common Use Case)

Output Format

Simplified Update Item

Facet Response

Query Parameters Summary

Filter Expression Examples

Notes

Frequently asked questions

Azure Updates

File contents

Azure Updates Skill

API Endpoint

Response Structure

Top-level Response Fields

Update Item Fields

Available Status Values

Availability Ring Values

Steps

1. Basic API Call

2. Pagination

3. Sorting

4. Filtering by Status

5. Filtering by Tags

6. Filtering by Product

7. Filtering by Product Category

8. Filtering by Availability Ring

9. Filtering by Date

10. Search

11. Getting Facets (Filter Options)

12. Combining Filters

13. Getting Latest Updates (Common Use Case)

Output Format

Simplified Update Item

Facet Response

Query Parameters Summary

Filter Expression Examples

Notes

Related skills

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Azure Updates skill?

What does the Azure Updates skill do?

Is Azure Updates safe to use?

Which AI agents work with Azure Updates?

Is Azure Updates free to use?

Who published Azure Updates?