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Azure Compute (Azure Skills) skill

Microsoft router skill for Azure VM and VMSS work: size recommendations and pricing, guided VM creation, capacity reservations and machine enrollment.

in microsoft/azure-skills Cloud & DevOps
Our verdict Recommended

Well-organized workflows with a plan-card step before anything is created; the apply-via-MCP path does create billable resources, so read the card.

3/5 Depth expertise shipped Note Security Review before installing 0d Maintenance Updated today 525K Adoption installs OK License MIT, commercial OK

What the azure-compute skill does

azure-compute routes four kinds of VM and VM Scale Set requests to separate workflows, and insists on classifying the request before opening any reference file. The VM Recommender helps choose a size or decide on a scale set and compares prices. The VM Creator is a guided create flow: it decides VM or VMSS, probes the user's expertise (beginner, networking, spec, cost or security depth), asks only the questions that branch needs with recommended defaults, shows a plan card, and then delivers az CLI, Bicep or Terraform output, a GitHub PR, a local file, or applies it directly through Azure MCP after quota and SKU checks. A Capacity Reservation workflow covers creating, associating and disassociating reservation groups, and an Essential Machine Management workflow covers machine enrollment. Reference files include VM families, quotas, the retail prices API and a VMSS guide. There are 37 files, all markdown, with a 2.6 KB router SKILL.md. Application deployments are redirected to azure-prepare.

Good for

  • Picking a VM size or scale set and getting a price estimate
  • Generating Bicep, Terraform or az CLI for a bare VM with sensible defaults

Not for

  • Deploying applications (use azure-prepare)
  • AKS or container workloads

Depth 3/5

A 2.6 KB router plus 36 workflow and reference files (depth-probe branches, output adapters, examples); no scripts or evals.

Dependencies and costs

  • Azure account or subscription
  • Azure CLI signed in with az login
  • Azure MCP Server (installed with the plugin; needs Node.js 18+ for npx)
  • Quota in the target subscription and region
  • Bicep or Terraform if you choose those outputs
  • Telemetry: The skill files contain no telemetry code. The Azure MCP Server that the plugin wires in has its own telemetry; the repo README says to disable it with AZURE_MCP_COLLECT_TELEMETRY=false.

Security review

Review before installing

Documentation-only skill (41 files) for Azure VM and scale-set work. The vm-creator workflow can write infrastructure files into your project or open a pull request on a feature branch when you choose that delivery option, and its docs say never to push to the default branch or force-push.

Worth knowing

  • Relies on a CLI or package we could not reviewUses az (vm, quota, graph) and Azure MCP tools to size, price, create and manage VMs and scale sets..github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/azure-compute/references/vm-quotas.md:32
  • Makes network requestsCurls the public Azure Retail Prices API (prices.azure.com); the Terraform example README line 14 runs 'curl -s ifconfig.me' to find your public IP..github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/azure-compute/references/retail-prices-api.md:27
  • Installs packages or toolsTells you to run 'az extension add --name quota' and 'az extension add --name resource-graph'..github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/azure-compute/references/vm-quotas.md:42

What we checked

The skill folder (41 files) on Oct 29, 2026. Not a full review: 4 of 41 files were not downloaded (large repository; we reviewed the skill folders); it relies on code outside the repository: Azure CLI (az) and the az extensions it installs on demand; not part of the files we have; Azure MCP Server, started by the plugin through npx; its configuration sits outside this skill folder; 4 files were not downloaded (examples/bicep/main.bicep, examples/terraform/main.tf and two others).

NVIDIA SkillSpector static scan: 23 pattern hits (Privilege Escalation 17, Excessive Agency 3, Tool Misuse 2, analysis-evasion 1). Hits are documentation: a DELETE ManagedOps API example, ~/.ssh key paths in example commands, and a 'never git push --force' rule in the delivery options. No executable code.

A review, not a certification. Skills change after we check them — read the files before installing.

License

MIT (declared in the SKILL.md frontmatter); the repo is a mirror synced from microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure and has no top-level LICENSE file in our copy. Commercial use allowed under MIT.

Can it run unattended?

Not really. The creator flow adapts to questions asked of the user and ends with a plan card for approval, so it is interactive.

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FAQ

What does the azure-compute skill do?

It routes Azure VM and VMSS requests to workflows for recommending a size, creating a VM or scale set, reserving capacity and enrolling machines, with pricing and quota checks along the way.

Will azure-compute create VMs without asking?

The creator flow gathers requirements, shows a plan card, and only applies through Azure MCP when the user says to create or deploy it. You can instead take the output as Bicep, Terraform or an az CLI script.

azure-compute vs azure-prepare for a web app?

azure-compute is for bare VM and VMSS infrastructure. Its SKILL.md says application deployments such as Docker services, web apps and APIs go to azure-prepare.

How do I install azure-compute?

Install Microsoft's Azure plugin: /plugin install azure@claude-plugins-official in Claude Code, or add microsoft/azure-skills to the Codex marketplace.

Sources: GitHub repository; install counts from skills.sh via Best Skills (CC BY 4.0). Review based on the published SKILL.md.