Skills for Copilot Studio
A plugin for Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, and VS Code that enables authoring, testing, and troubleshooting Microsoft Copilot Studio agents through YAML files — directly from your terminal or editor.
Prerequisites
- Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, or VS Code
- Node.js 18+
- VS Code with the Copilot Studio Extension (required for push/pull/clone operations)
Installation
From marketplace (Claude Code / GitHub Copilot CLI)
/plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio
/plugin install copilot-studio@skills-for-copilot-studio
From VS Code Extensions Store (GitHub Copilot)
Search for Skills for Copilot Studio in the VS Code Extensions using the @agentPlugins filter to view and click Install.
From a local clone
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio.git
# Load for a single session
claude --plugin-dir /path/to/skills-for-copilot-studio
# Or install persistently (user-wide)
claude plugin install /path/to/skills-for-copilot-studio --scope user
# Or install for a specific project
claude plugin install /path/to/skills-for-copilot-studio --scope project
Updating
The update process depends on how you installed the plugin:
| Interface | Update Method | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code CLI | Auto-update (recommended) | Marketplace plugins update automatically. No action needed. |
| GitHub Copilot CLI | Manual | Run /plugin update skills-for-copilot-studio in an interactive session, or copilot plugin update skills-for-copilot-studio from the terminal. |
| VS Code | Extension auto-update | VS Code handles updates automatically when extension auto-update is enabled in settings. |
Usage
The plugin provides four commands, each backed by a specialized agent:
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-manage Clone, push, pull, and sync agent content between local files and the cloud
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-author Create and edit YAML (topics, actions, knowledge, triggers, variables)
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-test Test published agents — point-tests, batch suites, or evaluation analysis
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-troubleshoot Debug issues — wrong topic routing, validation errors, unexpected behavior
Quick Start
# Clone an agent from the cloud (guided flow — opens browser for sign-in)
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-manage clone
# Design and build topics
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-author Create a topic that handles IT service requests
# Pull latest, push your changes
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-manage pull
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-manage push
# Publish in Copilot Studio UI, then test
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-test Send "How do I request a new laptop?" to the published agent
# Troubleshoot and fix issues
/copilot-studio:copilot-studio-troubleshoot The agent is hallucinating — it's not using real data from our knowledge base
See SETUP_GUIDE.md for a full end-to-end walkthrough including validation, testing options, and troubleshooting.
Disclaimer
This plugin is an experimental research project, not an officially supported Microsoft product. The Copilot Studio YAML schema may change without notice. Always review and validate generated YAML before pushing to your environment — AI-generated output may contain errors or unsupported patterns.
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for local development setup, building bundled scripts, and project structure.