Azure SQL Developer

Documentation

Agent skills

Table of Contents

Install

The skills teach your AI coding agent to use Azure SQL Developer, the Azure SQL Database engine running locally in a container, the right way: start the engine, connect, provision the database, apply migrations, import data, scaffold a new app, build local RAG, wire CI, and move the same code to Azure SQL Database in the cloud. They encode what a model does not otherwise know: the private preview registry, that the engine reports EngineEdition 5, that it does not auto-create databases, and that it is not the SQL Server image.

Install the whole collection with one command. It works in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and VS Code with GitHub Copilot:

npx skills add microsoft/azure-sql-database-container

Then ask your agent in plain English, for example:

Add a local Azure SQL Database to this project, then scaffold the schema, migrations, and data-access layer for my stack.

For the native plugin install (Claude Code and Codex), a single skill, or per-tool detail, see Install by tool below.

The skills

Eleven skills ship in the collection. Each one stands alone and teaches your agent one job; the collection routes between them.

azuresql-db-container

Start the engine →

Free host port, --platform linux/amd64 on non-x64 hosts, a ready-wait loop, and CREATE DATABASE appdb (the engine does not auto-create databases).

 azuresql-db-from-sql-server

Convert from SQL Server →

Move a project off the mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server SQL Server image to the real Azure SQL Database engine.

 azuresql-db-local-to-cloud

Local to cloud →

Ship the same code to Azure SQL Database in the cloud; only the connection string changes.

 azuresql-db-schema-migration

Schema migrations →

Apply EF Core, Prisma, Alembic, or SqlPackage migrations against the user database.

 azuresql-db-import

Import a database →

Load an existing .bacpac / .dacpac into the container with SqlPackage.

 azuresql-db-rag

RAG and vector search →

Native VECTOR type and VECTOR_DISTANCE, with a local embedding model.

 azuresql-db-ci

CI →

Run the engine as a service in GitHub Actions, with the right readiness and provisioning.

 azuresql-db-sidecar

Sidecar →

Add it to a docker compose stack or Dev Container, wired by service name.

 azuresql-db-scaffold

Scaffold →

Bootstrap a new app with Azure SQL Developer as the default local database.

 azuresql-db-faq

Answer questions →

What Azure SQL Developer can and can't do, and why it differs from the cloud: backups, USE, vector index, x64-only, tooling.

 azuresql-db-feedback

Report a problem →

Your agent writes the bug report for you, from what it already knows, and hands you a prefilled issue to review. It never files anything without your say-so.

Install a single skill

Each skill stands alone, so one is enough to be useful. You only lose the handoffs between them.

azuresql-db-container Start the engine
azuresql-db-from-sql-server Convert from SQL Server
azuresql-db-local-to-cloud Local to cloud
azuresql-db-schema-migration Schema migrations
azuresql-db-import Import a database
azuresql-db-rag RAG and vector search
azuresql-db-ci CI
azuresql-db-sidecar Sidecar
azuresql-db-scaffold Scaffold
azuresql-db-faq Answer questions
azuresql-db-feedback Report a problem

Install by tool

The npx skills add command above works everywhere. Claude Code and Codex additionally have a native plugin install, which lets the tool manage updates for you.

Claude Code

Install as a native plugin. In Claude Code, run:

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/azure-sql-database-container
/plugin install azure-sql-developer@azure-sql-developer

The first command registers this repository as a plugin marketplace; the second installs the azure-sql-developer plugin, which contains all 11 skills. Run /plugin any time to manage it, and /reload-plugins to activate it in the current session. The portable npx skills add microsoft/azure-sql-database-container works too.

Codex

Install as a native plugin:

codex plugin marketplace add microsoft/azure-sql-database-container
codex plugin add azure-sql-developer@azure-sql-developer

Or with the portable command: npx skills add microsoft/azure-sql-database-container.

Cursor

npx skills add microsoft/azure-sql-database-container

VS Code with GitHub Copilot

npx skills add writes to a folder that Copilot reads automatically, so no extra step is needed:

npx skills add microsoft/azure-sql-database-container

Find the skills in Copilot Chat under Configure Chat (the gear icon) on the Skills tab, or by typing /skills in chat.

Confirm the skills loaded

Your agent reads skills from its own folder. After installing, confirm they are there. For Claude Code:

ls .claude/skills/

You should see the azuresql-db-* directories. Other agents read from different folders (Codex from .codex/skills/ or .agents/skills/, Cursor from .cursor/skills/, VS Code Copilot from .github/skills/ or ~/.copilot/skills/).

If the folder is empty while .agents/skills/ has the skills in it, the npx installer did not target your agent, and it can report success when this happens. Re-run it naming your agent, for example npx skills add microsoft/azure-sql-database-container -a claude-code. This is a known installer issue, not a problem with the skills. The plugin install paths above (Claude Code and Codex) are not affected.

Report a problem with a skill

If a skill tells your agent the wrong thing, or no skill loads when one should, tell us: aka.ms/sql-agent-skills-feedback. Say which skill, which agent, and what you had to do instead. That is the feedback we are least able to get any other way. For problems with the container itself, file a bug instead.

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