agent-framework/python/samples/02-agents/skills/basic_skill/README.md

Agent Skills Sample

This sample demonstrates how to use Agent Skills with a FileAgentSkillsProvider in the Microsoft Agent Framework.

What are Agent Skills?

Agent Skills are modular packages of instructions and resources that enable AI agents to perform specialized tasks. They follow the Agent Skills specification and implement the progressive disclosure pattern:

1. Advertise: Skills are advertised with name + description (~100 tokens per skill)
2. Load: Full instructions are loaded on-demand via load_skill tool
3. Resources: References and other files loaded via read_skill_resource tool

Skills Included

expense-report

Policy-based expense filing with spending limits, receipt requirements, and approval workflows.

• references/POLICY_FAQ.md — Detailed expense policy Q&A
• assets/expense-report-template.md — Submission template

Project Structure

basic_skills/
├── basic_file_skills.py
├── README.md
└── skills/
    └── expense-report/
        ├── SKILL.md
        ├── references/
        │   └── POLICY_FAQ.md
        └── assets/
            └── expense-report-template.md

Running the Sample

Prerequisites

• An Azure AI Foundry project with a deployed model (e.g. gpt-4o-mini)

Environment Variables

Set the required environment variables in a .env file (see python/.env.example):

• AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT: Your Azure AI Foundry project endpoint
• AZURE_OPENAI_RESPONSES_DEPLOYMENT_NAME: The name of your model deployment (defaults to gpt-4o-mini)

Authentication

This sample uses AzureCliCredential for authentication. Run az login in your terminal before running the sample.

Run

cd python
uv run samples/02-agents/skills/basic_skills/basic_file_skills.py

Examples

The sample runs two examples:

1. Expense policy FAQ — Asks about tip reimbursement; the agent loads the expense-report skill and reads the FAQ resource
2. Filing an expense report — Multi-turn conversation to draft an expense report using the template asset

Learn More

• Agent Skills Specification
• Microsoft Agent Framework Documentation