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How to install Agent Framework builder skills

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How to install Agent Framework builder skills

Install Microsoft's Agent Framework builder skills so a coding agent can scaffold .NET and Python agents with maintained guidance for tools, sessions, and hosting.

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Microsoft has added installable Agent Framework builder skills for .NET and Python. In a post on the Agent Framework blog, Eduard van Valkenburg and Wes Steyn describe skills that give a coding agent Microsoft-maintained guidance for building and modifying Agent Framework applications, from choosing the right pattern to wiring tools, sessions, workflows, and hosting.

These are development-time skills for your coding assistant. They are not runtime skills loaded by the application you ship. Installing one does not put framework code into your product, and it does not supply model access. The post is clear that your application still needs its SDK packages and model credentials.

Confirm the client can load Agent Skills

Use a coding agent that supports the Agent Skills format. The post does not name every compatible client. It tells you to choose one installer and check that installer's documentation for supported clients and scope: GitHub CLI, or the cross-agent skills CLI.

Compatible clients discover skills through their metadata. There is no universal slash command you must type before the agent will see the skill.

Install from the repository with GitHub CLI

The GitHub CLI examples install from main, which the post uses for the latest repository guidance. Pin a tag or commit if you need a reproducible snapshot. The post states that choice but does not show a separate pin command, so this guide does not invent one.

Install the .NET skill with:

gh skill install microsoft/agent-framework agent-framework-builder-dotnet@main

Install the Python skill with:

gh skill install microsoft/agent-framework agent-framework-builder-python@main

Match the skill to the language you are editing. The guidance is language-specific. A .NET skill will not stand in for Python package and workflow guidance, and the Python skill will not cover .NET hosting.

Install with the cross-agent CLI instead

If you are not using GitHub CLI, the post shows a cross-agent alternative. Run the command for the skill you need:

npx skills add microsoft/agent-framework --skill agent-framework-builder-dotnet

npx skills add microsoft/agent-framework --skill agent-framework-builder-python

Choose one installer. Do not assume both must be run, and do not assume a skill installed in one client is automatically visible in another. Check the installer documentation for scope before you rely on it in a given coding agent.

Add Microsoft Learn MCP when you want the full docs

The natural companion to either builder skill is the Microsoft Learn MCP Server. The skill provides focused implementation guidance. Learn MCP lets the coding agent search the full Agent Framework documentation and fetch complete articles and code examples when it needs more detail.

Configure its Streamable HTTP endpoint:

https://learn.microsoft.com/api/mcp

The post stops at that endpoint. It does not include a client config file, so do not guess keys or transport settings that are not shown there. Use your client's own MCP setup for everything else.

Let the skill pick the smallest pattern

Each skill has a SKILL.md entry point and focused references. The coding agent first inspects your project and dependencies, then loads the guidance relevant to the task rather than every framework feature at once.

Both skills favor the smallest suitable pattern:

  • Use one agent when tools and sessions are enough.
  • Use a harness when an operating loop is needed.
  • Use a workflow when explicit stages, routing, and checkpointing are part of the requirements.

A support assistant does not need a multi-agent system just because it has several tools. That is the post's own test for whether you are overbuilding.

What each skill covers:

  • The .NET skill covers AIAgent, Microsoft.Extensions.AI, NuGet packages, dependency injection, and ASP.NET Core hosting.
  • The Python skill covers Agent, provider packages, middleware, context providers, and Python workflow patterns.

Keep Azure and Foundry work in the Azure skills

If the application also uses other Microsoft services, use the Azure Skills Plugin for Azure and Foundry work. Its microsoft-foundry skill covers Foundry model and agent workflows. The skills named azure-prepare, azure-deploy, and azure-diagnostics help prepare, deploy, and troubleshoot Azure applications.

The plugin includes the Azure MCP Server for tasks such as listing resources and querying logs, plus Foundry MCP for model and agent operations. Add these when your application needs them. Azure operations require the appropriate credentials and permissions.

The blog post does not include install commands for that plugin. Do not borrow the builder-skill commands and rewrite them for Azure. Follow the plugin's own documentation when you are ready for that work.

Prompt in ordinary language

Prompt the coding agent naturally. For .NET, the post's example is:

Add an Agent Framework support assistant to our ASP.NET Core app.
Use our model provider, isolate conversations per user, require approval
before changing tickets, and test tool behavior with a fake IChatClient.

For an existing Python application:

Turn this Python Agent Framework research agent into a research-and-review
workflow. Preserve its response format, add checkpointing, and test resume
behavior using the project's existing test tooling.

Include your provider, hosting target, persistence requirements, and approval boundaries when you know them. The skills direct the coding agent to clarify consequential unknowns, preserve existing behavior, and validate the change.

What to do next

Install the builder skill for the language you are actually editing, using either the GitHub CLI command or the cross-agent command above. If you want the agent to pull complete Agent Framework articles while it works, configure the Learn MCP Streamable HTTP endpoint. Then give it a concrete change that names the provider, the host, and any approval boundary you already know.

If something does not work, open an issue in the Agent Framework repository. Include the skill name, the coding agent you used, what you tried, and what went wrong. The blog post is the place to confirm the install lines and the development-time scope before you rely on them in a shared repo.

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