Quickstart

Quickstart: Create Your First Agent in 5 Minutes

This guide walks you through creating a declarative agent for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Choose the marketplace-first agentic path or the existing installation-script path.

Step 1: Choose an installation path

Path 1: Marketplace-first agentic setup

GitHub Copilot CLI:

copilot plugin install wiqd@awesome-copilot

Or use the WIQD marketplace:

copilot plugin marketplace add microsoft/wiqd
copilot plugin install wiqd@wiqd

Claude Code:

claude plugin marketplace add microsoft/wiqd
claude plugin install wiqd@wiqd

Start a new host session and ask WIQD to create the project files. For example, in GitHub Copilot CLI:

copilot -i "create a new declarative agent" --agent wiqd:wiqd

Marketplace installation does not install the wiqd CLI. You can begin agentic and file-based authoring immediately; use the separate installation-script path if you need direct authentication, validation, provisioning, or sharing commands.

Path 2: Installation script

Install the CLI and the components managed by the existing installer:

iex "& { $(irm 'https://aka.ms/wiqd/install.ps1') }"

This installs Node.js (if needed), the wiqd CLI, the core lifecycle backend, and the VS Code extension.

Tip

See Installation for all options.

Step 2: Continue with direct CLI lifecycle commands

The remaining steps apply to the installation-script path.

Authenticate

Sign in to your Microsoft 365 account:

wiqd auth login --interactive

Verify your session:

wiqd auth status

Create an Agent

Scaffold a new agent project from a template:

wiqd agent create --name my-first-agent

This creates a new directory my-first-agent/ with the agent manifest and supporting files.

Note

Run wiqd agent create list to see all available templates.

Validate

Validate the agent manifests to catch errors before deployment:

wiqd agent validate --path my-first-agent

A clean validation returns exit code 0 with no errors.

Note

Use --mode deep for enhanced validation that checks external references and API plugin schemas.

Provision

Deploy the agent to your development environment:

wiqd agent provision --path my-first-agent

This packages and uploads your agent to Microsoft 365.

Share

Share the agent with specific users:

wiqd agent share --scope users --email colleague@contoso.com --path my-first-agent

Or share across the entire tenant:

wiqd agent share --scope tenant --path my-first-agent

Prefer a Conversational Workflow?

Instead of running each command yourself, you can drive the entire lifecycle through Copilot CLI in interactive mode. The --agent wiqd:wiqd flag routes your request to the wiqd orchestrator, which handles skill routing, lifecycle orchestration, and next-step suggestions end-to-end:

copilot -i "create a new declarative agent" --agent wiqd:wiqd
copilot -i "validate my agent" --agent wiqd:wiqd
copilot -i "deploy my agent locally" --agent wiqd:wiqd

Tip

Always include --agent wiqd:wiqd so Copilot CLI targets the wiqd orchestrator rather than falling back to generic behavior.

What’s Next?

• CLI Reference — Explore the full command set
• Validation & MVL — Learn about validation architecture
• Environments — Manage multiple deployment targets
• VS Code Extension — Get real-time validation in your editor