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Lab E1 : Choose Your Foundation Path

Why this split

Copilot Developer Camp mostly focuses on professional developers and code-heavy workflows. In the era of coding agents, more people can become builders, but getting started still is not easy.

This split is intentional:

  • We first onramp everyone with a familiar Agent Builder lab in Copilot Chat.
  • Once learners are confident navigating Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and core agent concepts, they can move into Agents Toolkit and the broader code-first labs that make up most of this camp.

Our bundles are primarily pro-code by design, and we want to be explicit about that expectation so learners can choose the right starting path.

To keep each workflow clean and avoid mixed step confusion, foundation is split into two separate labs:

  • Lab E1A — Declarative Agent Foundation with Agent Builder (no-code path)
  • Lab E1B — Declarative Agent Foundation with Agents Toolkit (code-first path)

Recommended progression: complete E1A first, then E1B to push your limits and build confidence before choosing a bundle. Each bundle lists its own prerequisites.

Path options

Lab E1A — Declarative Agent Foundation with Agent Builder

Best for learners who are newer to building and want a faster, familiar start in Copilot Chat.

  • Create a first declarative agent in Agent Builder
  • Add instructions and grounding knowledge
  • Enable Code Interpreter and validate chart-based prompts
  • Run governance and test checks
Start — Declarative Agent Foundation with Agent Builder →

Lab E1B — Declarative Agent Foundation with Agents Toolkit

Best for learners ready for source files, provisioning, and code-first workflows in VS Code.

  • Scaffold a declarative agent project
  • Configure declarativeAgent.json, instruction.txt, and manifest.json
  • Add file grounding via Add Capability -> Embedded Knowledge
  • Enable Code Interpreter in manifest code and validate chart-based prompts
Start — Declarative Agent Foundation with Agents Toolkit →

Choose what to do next

After the foundation labs, choose the learning format that matches your goal:

  • Bundle-based labs: follow a guided sequence that builds an end-to-end scenario. Complete E1B, choose Bundle A, B, D, or E, then prepare the prerequisites listed on that bundle's page.
  • Standalone labs: select an independent lab for one focused subject. Review that lab's requirements before starting; you do not need to complete a bundle.