Azure App Onboard skill

Azure App Onboard

⛔ Every repo goes through the full pipeline (Steps 1–10). No exceptions. Do not skip steps, refuse, or short-circuit based on what you recognize. Follow the Workflow table below sequentially — read each step's references before acting.

Quick Reference

Property	Value
Best for	Developers who know what to build but not which Azure services to use
Inputs	Business idea or existing codebase, budget/scale preferences (optional)
Outputs	Architecture plan, cost estimate, IaC files, deployed Azure resources
Phases	Discover → Architect → Scaffold → Deploy (self-contained, no external skill calls)

When to Use This Skill

• Deploy existing code without knowing which Azure services to use
• Check if your existing code is ready to deploy to Azure
• Move an existing app to Azure without rewriting or with minimal changes
• Get cost estimates before committing to infrastructure
• Understand architecture decisions and rejected alternatives
• Get answers to Azure architecture or service selection questions (e.g., "What database should I use?")
• Get guided Azure onboarding without prior experience

When NOT to Use

Scenario	Use Instead
Run azd up or execute an existing deployment	azure-deploy
Optimize existing Azure spend	cost-optimization from the optional azure-cost plugin
Generate Bicep/Terraform for a known architecture	azure-prepare
Validate infrastructure or run preflight checks	azure-validate
Troubleshoot a running Azure deployment	azure-diagnostics
Deploy to or manage AKS/Kubernetes directly	azure-kubernetes
Look up or list existing Azure resources	azure-resource-lookup

If cost-optimization is unavailable, explain that it is provided by the optional azure-cost plugin and direct the user to their client's supported plugin installation flow; do not imply the handoff completed.

Pipeline Rules

⛔ You MUST read references/pipeline-rules.md at the start of every AppOnboard session. It contains approval gates, phase lifecycle, session artifacts, deploy-as-is, and security baseline rules.

Workflow

⛔ Deploy recovery: After deploy gate approval OR before any az deployment/az webapp deploy/az acr build — if you haven't read deploy/PHASE.md, read .copilot-azure/sessions/{id}/deploy-checklist.md first, then deploy/PHASE.md. ⛔ NEVER invoke {"skill": "azure-deploy"} — that is a DIFFERENT skill for a DIFFERENT workflow.

⛔ Post-scaffold transition (MANDATORY): Immediately after scaffold-manifest.json is written, YOUR NEXT ACTION MUST be Step 8 (Deploy Approval Gate) — NOT a summary report, NOT a "here are the generated files" message, NOT a completion signal. Confirm context.json has completedPhases: [...,"scaffold"] + currentPhase: "deploy" (update it yourself if the scaffold subagent didn't). Re-read approval-gates.md § Deploy Gate if evicted from context (scaffold reference loading is heavy), then present the exact prompt: "🚀 Ready to deploy? (Yes / Run manually / Edit plan / Cancel)". This gate is the LAST content in your response — wait for the user's reply.

#	Step	Action	Reference
1	Session check + Azure login	Create/resume session, verify Azure CLI auth, resolve subscription + user identity	⛔ You MUST read session-protocol.md
2	Scope triage	Check azd markers, triage question. Empty workspace or code-only (no infra) → Step 3 directly.	⛔ Read intent-gathering.md § Scope Triage
3	Prereq scan	⛔ Skip if completedPhases includes "prereq". Otherwise: invoke {"skill": "azure-app-onboard-prereq"}. Write prereq-output.json, update context.json. Halt if: overallHealth: "blocked" OR routeToSkill set.
4	Gather intent	Present prereq results, confirm stack + Azure services, ask remaining questions.	⛔ Read intent-gathering.md § After Prereq Returns
5	Plan architecture	Write prepare-plan.json.	⛔ You MUST read prepare/PHASE.md
6	Scaffold approval gate	Display plan for user approval BEFORE generating any files.	⛔ Read approval-gates.md § Scaffold Gate
7	Scaffold	Generate IaC, self-review. Write scaffold-manifest.json. Update context.json.	⛔ You MUST read scaffold/PHASE.md
8	Deploy approval gate	Display validation summary. ⛔ After approval: FIRST read deploy-checklist.md → deploy/PHASE.md. NEVER {"skill": "azure-deploy"}.	⛔ Read approval-gates.md § Deploy Gate
9	Deploy	Execute IaC, health-check. Write deploy-result.json.	⛔ You MUST read deploy/PHASE.md
10	Handoff	Surface deployment identity, cleanup commands, next steps.	⛔ You MUST read handoff-protocol.md

Error Handling

Error	Remediation
Phase fails	Halt, report phase + error. User decides: retry, skip, abort.
MCP server unavailable	Skip affected checks, add disclaimer to costEstimate.assumptions[] and every approval gate.
Missing RBAC	Report required role + az role assignment command.

Shared references: MCP tools (cross-phase tool parameters) | IaC resources (Azure resource docs for troubleshooting)