validate

Checks every file in your chatbot for mistakes before you send it anywhere — the same checks the official VS Code extension runs, reported down to the line number.

WHEN TO USE

SCOPE

USE FOR

Catch broken files before pushing, instead of after the push is rejected.
Narrow a failure down to the single file and line that is causing it.
Confirm a formula you wrote by hand is actually valid before relying on it.
Catch a broken cross-file reference between topics after renaming one of them.

This is a saved copy of the skill's SKILL.md instructions. It may differ from the upstream file or the version you install.

In this document (2)

Validate Agent YAML

Validate Copilot Studio agent YAML files using the LanguageServerHost binary's full diagnostics — the same validation engine used by the VS Code Copilot Studio extension.

Instructions

Locate the agent workspace. Find the directory containing .mcs/conn.json. If a specific file was requested, use the workspace that contains it.
Run LSP-based validation:
```
node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/manage-agent.bundle.js validate \
  --workspace "<path-to-agent-folder>" \
  --tenant-id "<tenantId>" \
  --environment-id "<envId>" \
  --environment-url "<envUrl>" \
  --agent-mgmt-url "<mgmtUrl>"
```
This validates all .mcs.yml files in the workspace using the LSP binary's full diagnostics: YAML structure, Power Fx expressions, schema validation, cross-file references, and environment-specific checks.

Connection details come from .mcs/conn.json — read it to get tenant-id, environment-id, environment-url, and agent-mgmt-url.
Parse the JSON output:
- valid: true → all files pass (may still have warnings)
- valid: false + summary.errors > 0 → report errors as FAIL items
- summary.warnings > 0 → report as WARN items
- Each file with diagnostics is listed with severity, message, code, and line range
If the user asked about a specific file, filter the output to show only that file's diagnostics.

For additional context on specific errors, use schema lookup:

node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/schema-lookup.bundle.js resolve <kind>

Report findings:

Validation Results for: <agent-name>

[PASS] <filename> — no issues
[FAIL] <filename> — <error message> (line X)
[WARN] <filename> — <warning message> (line X)

Summary: X files checked, Y errors, Z warnings

This skill ships inside the Copilot Studio YAML Toolkit plugin. Listed package contents include 4 agents and hooks. Installed components and skill versions may vary by AI tool.

Install the whole plugin

This route installs the Copilot Studio YAML Toolkit plugin package selected for your AI tool.

Add Microsoft's marketplace, then install the plugin

Type both lines inside a Claude Code session, not at your shell prompt. They add Microsoft's marketplace, which is this repository, and the copilot-studio plugin, with its Copilot Studio skills and four sub-agents.

Install checklist

Microsoft lists Node.js 18 or later, and VS Code with the Copilot Studio extension for cloning, pushing and pulling agents.

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio

/plugin install copilot-studio@skills-for-copilot-studio

Installation and loading

Claude Code installs it once you pick an install option.

Good to know

A hook that runs whenever a session starts adds Microsoft's Copilot Studio instructions; one tells Claude to lean towards reading your requests as Copilot Studio requests unless there are clear signs otherwise.
The option that installs it for you in every project brings the hook's instructions into every project; to keep them to one Copilot Studio repository, pick the option for this repo only.
On first run, and after an update that changes its dependencies, the session-start hook runs npm install in the plugin's data folder; every session it also writes ~/.copilot-studio-cli/plugin-paths.json.

Add Microsoft's marketplace, then install the plugin

Type both lines in an interactive GitHub Copilot CLI session, not at your shell prompt. The first adds Microsoft's marketplace, which is this repository; the second installs the copilot-studio plugin.

Install checklist

Microsoft lists Node.js 18 or later, and VS Code with the Copilot Studio extension for cloning, pushing and pulling agents.

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio

/plugin install copilot-studio@skills-for-copilot-studio

Good to know

The plugin also carries a hooks/hooks.json file with SessionStart hooks, a path GitHub's plugin reference lists as a hooks file for plugins in this format; read the file in the repository before you install.

Open plugin page ↗

Install without the plugin (incomplete)

What's missing

Installing just this skill adds only its own folder. Its instructions also call for other plugin components, such as shared scripts, reference files or other skills, which aren't included. Installing the whole plugin avoids this gap.

Run this outside your AI tool, using Node.js 22.20.0 or newer. Skills CLI 1.7.2 skips skill selection; prompts cancel installation without an interactive terminal. If choosing Project when asked about installation scope, open your project's folder before running this.

Install checklist

Check selected tools if a picker appears; Claude Code may be unchecked under Additional agents. ↑/↓ moves, Space toggles selections, Enter confirms.
Without a tool picker, check Installing to: for your intended tool. Stop if it names a different tool.
If asked, choose Symlink (Recommended) for shared files or Copy to all agents for separate copies; review the summary before confirming installation.
Install the find-skills skill? defaults to Yes, adding another skill for all projects. Choose No if you don't want that extra installation.

Skills CLI 1.7.2 sends install data to skills.sh by default, including the source, skill names, target tools and file details; GitHub sources are reported only when GitHub confirms the repository is public, while other remote sources can also be reported. Confirmed-public GitHub sources also trigger a security-audit request. Before installing, set the environment variable DO_NOT_TRACK=1 or DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1 to disable both.

npx skills add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio --skill "validate" --full-depth

After installing for Claude Code, open it in the installation project if you chose Project; Global makes the skill available across projects on this computer. Once Claude Code loads the skill, its description helps Claude decide when to use it.

If installation created a top-level skills folder that did not exist when your Claude Code session started, run /reload-skills in that session. Run it again after later changes in that folder.

View on GitHub

Validate Agent YAML

Instructions

Local tool required

Install the whole plugin

Add Microsoft's marketplace, then install the plugin

Add Microsoft's marketplace, then install the plugin

More skills

MCP keyword matches