.NET: Add MCP-based skills support (skill-md type) (#6108)

* Add MCP-based skills support

- Add AgentMcpSkill, AgentMcpSkillResource, AgentMcpSkillsSource, and McpSkillIndex to Microsoft.Agents.AI.Mcp
- Add AgentSkillsProviderBuilderMcpExtensions for DI integration
- Add Agent_Step06_McpBasedSkills sample project
- Add unit tests for AgentMcpSkillsSource
- Update solution file and project references

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

* Remove unnecessary [Experimental] attributes from MCP package

The package is already alpha, so the [Experimental] attribute is redundant.
Removed from both AgentSkillsProviderBuilderMcpExtensions and
AgentMcpSkillsSource classes.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

* Make Agent_Step06_McpBasedSkills self-contained and add to verify-samples

Embed an internal MCP server (launched via --server flag as a child process)
that serves skill://index.json and skill://unit-converter/SKILL.md resources,
replacing the external MCP_SKILLS_ENDPOINT dependency. The sample now uses
StdioClientTransport and a fixed prompt instead of an interactive loop.

Added SampleDefinition to AgentsSamples.cs for automated verification.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

* Sort usings

---------

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
This commit is contained in:
semenshi-m
2026-05-27 18:38:57 +00:00
committed by GitHub
co-authored by Copilot
parent 8fbda1de22
commit 1d301af7d2
16 changed files with 1214 additions and 7 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
<PropertyGroup>
<OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
<TargetFrameworks>net10.0</TargetFrameworks>
<Nullable>enable</Nullable>
<ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
<NoWarn>$(NoWarn);MAAI001;MCPEXP001</NoWarn>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.OpenAI" />
<PackageReference Include="Azure.Identity" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting" />
<PackageReference Include="ModelContextProtocol" />
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectReference Include="..\..\..\..\src\Microsoft.Agents.AI.Mcp\Microsoft.Agents.AI.Mcp.csproj" />
<ProjectReference Include="..\..\..\..\src\Microsoft.Agents.AI.OpenAI\Microsoft.Agents.AI.OpenAI.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
// This sample demonstrates how to discover Agent Skills served over MCP.
//
// When launched with "--server", this executable runs a small MCP stdio server
// that exposes a unit-converter skill via the SEP-2640 convention:
// - skill://index.json — discovery document listing all skills
// - skill://unit-converter/SKILL.md — the skill instructions
//
// In default (client) mode the sample launches itself as a child process,
// connects via StdioClientTransport, and uses AgentSkillsProviderBuilder
// to discover and inject the skill into a ChatClientAgent.
using System.ComponentModel;
using Azure.AI.OpenAI;
using Azure.Identity;
using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
using ModelContextProtocol.Client;
using ModelContextProtocol.Server;
using OpenAI.Responses;
if (args.Length > 0 && args[0] == "--server")
{
await RunMcpServerAsync();
return;
}
// --- Configuration ---
string openAiEndpoint = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT")
?? throw new InvalidOperationException("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT is not set.");
string deploymentName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME") ?? "gpt-5.4-mini";
// --- MCP client + skill discovery ---
// Launch this same assembly as a stdio MCP server in a child process.
var thisAssemblyPath = typeof(Program).Assembly.Location;
Console.WriteLine("Discovering MCP-based skills");
await using McpClient client = await McpClient.CreateAsync(
new StdioClientTransport(new()
{
Name = "skills-server",
Command = "dotnet",
Arguments = [thisAssemblyPath, "--server"],
}));
var skillsProvider = new AgentSkillsProviderBuilder()
.UseMcpSkills(client)
.Build();
// --- Agent ---
// WARNING: DefaultAzureCredential is convenient for development but requires careful consideration in production.
// In production, consider using a specific credential (e.g., ManagedIdentityCredential) to avoid
// latency issues, unintended credential probing, and potential security risks from fallback mechanisms.
AIAgent agent = new AzureOpenAIClient(new Uri(openAiEndpoint), new DefaultAzureCredential())
.GetResponsesClient()
.AsAIAgent(new ChatClientAgentOptions
{
Name = "SkillsAgent",
ChatOptions = new()
{
Instructions = "You are a helpful assistant. Use available skills to answer the user.",
},
AIContextProviders = [skillsProvider],
},
model: deploymentName);
// --- Run ---
Console.WriteLine(new string('-', 60));
AgentResponse response = await agent.RunAsync(
"How many kilometers is a marathon (26.2 miles)? And how many pounds is 75 kilograms?");
Console.WriteLine($"Agent: {response.Text}");
// --- Server mode (launched as a child process via --server) ---------------------------------
static async Task RunMcpServerAsync()
{
var builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder();
// Critical for stdio transport: any provider that writes to stdout will corrupt the
// JSON-RPC channel. Clear all providers; the MCP SDK routes its own diagnostics
// appropriately.
builder.Logging.ClearProviders();
builder.Logging.AddConsole(o => o.LogToStandardErrorThreshold = LogLevel.Trace);
builder.Services.AddMcpServer(o => o.ServerInfo = new() { Name = "SkillsServer", Version = "1.0.0" })
.WithStdioServerTransport()
.WithResources<SkillResources>();
await builder.Build().RunAsync();
}
#pragma warning disable CA1812 // Discovered by MCP SDK via [McpServerResourceType] attribute
[McpServerResourceType]
internal sealed class SkillResources
#pragma warning restore CA1812
{
private const string IndexJson = """
{
"$schema": "https://schemas.agentskills.io/discovery/0.2.0/schema.json",
"skills": [
{
"name": "unit-converter",
"type": "skill-md",
"description": "Convert between common units using a multiplication factor. Use when asked to convert miles, kilometers, pounds, or kilograms.",
"url": "skill://unit-converter/SKILL.md"
}
]
}
""";
private const string SkillMd = """
---
name: unit-converter
description: Convert between common units using a multiplication factor. Use when asked to convert miles, kilometers, pounds, or kilograms.
---
## Usage
When the user requests a unit conversion, use these factors:
| From | To | Factor |
|-------------|-------------|----------|
| miles | kilometers | 1.60934 |
| kilometers | miles | 0.621371 |
| pounds | kilograms | 0.453592 |
| kilograms | pounds | 2.20462 |
Formula: result = value × factor
""";
[McpServerResource(UriTemplate = "skill://index.json", Name = "Skill Index", MimeType = "application/json")]
[Description("SEP-2640 skill discovery index")]
public static string GetIndex() => IndexJson;
[McpServerResource(UriTemplate = "skill://unit-converter/SKILL.md", Name = "Unit Converter Skill", MimeType = "text/markdown")]
[Description("Unit converter skill instructions")]
public static string GetSkillMd() => SkillMd;
}
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
# MCP-Based Agent Skills Sample
This sample demonstrates how to discover **Agent Skills served over MCP** with a `ChatClientAgent`.
## What it demonstrates
- Hosting a small MCP server (in this same executable, launched with `--server`) that
exposes skill resources following the SEP-2640 convention.
- Connecting an `McpClient` to the embedded server via stdio transport.
- Building an `AgentSkillsProvider` via `UseMcpSkills(client)`, which reads
`skill://index.json` (SEP-2640 canonical discovery) and constructs skills from the
index entries.
- The progressive disclosure pattern across MCP: advertise → load → read resources, exactly
as for filesystem-backed skills.
## Running the Sample
### Prerequisites
- .NET 10.0 SDK
- Azure OpenAI endpoint with a deployed model
### Setup
```powershell
$env:AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT="https://your-endpoint.openai.azure.com/"
$env:AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME="gpt-5.4-mini"
```
### Run
```powershell
dotnet run
```
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Samples demonstrating Agent Skills capabilities. Each sample shows a different w
| [Agent_Step03_ClassBasedSkills](Agent_Step03_ClassBasedSkills/) | Define skills as C# classes using `AgentClassSkill`. |
| [Agent_Step04_MixedSkills](Agent_Step04_MixedSkills/) | **(Advanced)** Combine file-based, code-defined, and class-based skills using `AgentSkillsProviderBuilder`. |
| [Agent_Step05_SkillsWithDI](Agent_Step05_SkillsWithDI/) | Use Dependency Injection with both code-defined (`AgentInlineSkill`) and class-based (`AgentClassSkill`) skills. |
| [Agent_Step06_McpBasedSkills](Agent_Step06_McpBasedSkills/) | Discover skills served over the [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) via `AgentMcpSkillsSource`. Spins up an in-process MCP server that exposes skills as resources (`skill://...`) and connects an `McpClient` to it. |
## Key Concepts