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Microsoft Official

Chat Directline skill

Send a message to a Copilot Studio agent via DirectLine v3. Use for agents with no auth or manual auth. Requires a token endpoint URL or DirectLine secret.

$npx skills add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio --skill chat-directline
View this skill on GitHubmicrosoft/skills-for-copilot-studio/skills/chat-directline/SKILL.md
Pack stars
490
Pack installs
331
Alyn Score
47/99
Updated
6 days ago
License
MIT
– views – installs via Alyn

Install Chat Directline

Pick your agent. Every command is ready to paste.

$npx skills add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio --skill chat-directline

The open skills CLI detects your agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and 70+ more) and installs to the right folder. Add -g to install globally.

01

Install it

Run the command above, or upload the folder in Claude.

02

Ask naturally

Describe the task. Your agent loads chat-directline when the request matches its description.

03

Name it if needed

If it does not trigger, say “use the chat-directline skill”. In Codex, type $chat-directline.

The skill itself

SKILL.md

FolderGitHub

Chat via DirectLine

Send a single utterance to a published agent via the DirectLine v3 REST API. Use this for agents with no authentication (authenticationmode 1) or manual authentication (authenticationmode 3).

Instructions

  1. Run the script with --token-endpoint (from detect-mode output) and the utterance from $ARGUMENTS:

    node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/chat-with-agent.bundle.js \
      --token-endpoint "<tokenEndpoint>" "<utterance>"
    

    If the user provided a DirectLine secret instead:

    node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/chat-with-agent.bundle.js \
      --directline-secret "<secret>" "<utterance>"
    
  2. Parse the JSON output from stdout.

Normal response (status: "ok")

{
  "status": "ok",
  "protocol": "directline",
  "utterance": "hello",
  "conversation_id": "abc123-XYZ",
  "directline_token": "eyJ...",
  "watermark": "3",
  "start_activities": [ ... ],
  "activities": [ ... ]
}

Display the agent's response from the activities array:

  • Text: activities where type === "message" — show text
  • Suggested actions: suggestedActions.actions array
  • Adaptive cards: attachments with contentType === "application/vnd.microsoft.card.adaptive"

Save conversation_id, directline_token, and watermark — needed for follow-ups.

Sign-in required (status: "signin_required")

The agent requires the user to authenticate (manual auth agents):

{
  "status": "signin_required",
  "protocol": "directline",
  "signin_url": "https://...",
  "resume_command": "...",
  "followup_command": "..."
}
  1. Show the signin_url to the user, ask for the validation code
  2. Send the code: node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/chat-with-agent.bundle.js <resume_command with code substituted>
  3. Re-send the utterance: node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/chat-with-agent.bundle.js <followup_command>

Use resume_command and followup_command exactly as given.

Multi-turn

Pass all three values from the previous response:

node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/chat-with-agent.bundle.js \
  --token-endpoint "<url>" "<follow-up>" \
  --conversation-id "<id>" --directline-token "<token>" --watermark "<watermark>"
  • directline_token is bound to the conversation — do NOT fetch a new token. Always reuse from the previous response.
  • watermark tracks seen activities — pass it to avoid duplicates.
  • Tokens expire after ~30 minutes. If expired, start a new conversation (omit --conversation-id).

Error Handling

Error Cause Resolution
Token endpoint rejected Agent not published or wrong URL Verify agent is published
Conversation not found Token expired (>30 min) Start a new conversation

Tips for Chat Directline

  • • Start a fresh session after installing so your agent picks up the new skill.
  • • It is part of a pack with 30 skills. Install only the ones you need with --skill to keep triggers precise.
  • • If two skills overlap, mention the one you want by name.

Questions about Chat Directline

What does the Chat Directline skill do?

Send a message to a Copilot Studio agent via DirectLine v3. Use for agents with no auth or manual auth. Requires a token endpoint URL or DirectLine secret.

How do I install Chat Directline?

Run "npx skills add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio --skill chat-directline" in your project. The skills CLI installs it for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and 70+ other agents. In Claude on the web, upload the skill folder as a ZIP under Customize > Skills.

Does Chat Directline work in Cursor and Codex?

Yes. Chat Directline uses the open SKILL.md format, so it works in Claude Code, Claude, Cursor, OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and other agents that support agent skills.

Is Chat Directline free?

Chat Directline is open source on GitHub under the MIT license. It is free to install; check the license before commercial use.

Who made Chat Directline?

Chat Directline is published by Microsoft in the microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio repository, together with 29 other skills.

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