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Azure App Onboard Prereq

MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft

  • Skill
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  • Software development
  • MIT
  • Low risk
  • Has scripts

From the author

Assess whether source code is ready to deploy to Azure — the check BEFORE infrastructure work. Evaluates build health, app completeness, dependencies and local services, stack compatibility, and deployment feasibility. Answers questions about what your app needs before it can be deployed — frameworks, dependencies, and configuration. Checks whether dependencies are compatible and identifies deployment blockers and unsupported frameworks. WHEN: "evaluate my repo", "is my app ready to deploy", "what does my app need to deploy", "what do I need before deploying", "does my app need", "can I ship this to Azure", "scan my repo for issues", "is this app deployable", "check if my app is ready for Azure", "do I need a Dockerfile", "what's blocking my deployment", "are there any blockers", "are my dependencies compatible", "does Azure support my framework", "what needs to change before deploying", "check my app configuration".
— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The azure-app-onboard-prereq skill performs a comprehensive, read-only assessment of a repository to determine if it is prepared for deployment to Azure. It operates as the initial phase of the Azure onboarding pipeline, identifying potential blockers such as unsupported frameworks, incompatible dependencies, or missing configurations. By performing static analysis rather than executing build or test commands, it ensures a safe evaluation of the codebase. The skill generates a structured readiness report and identifies necessary remediations, ensuring that only viable applications proceed to the infrastructure planning and deployment stages.

What it does

  • Scans repositories to detect project components, language stacks, and infrastructure requirements.
  • Performs static analysis of build manifests to identify missing dependencies or configuration errors.
  • Checks for compatibility with Azure services and identifies non-Azure cloud SDKs that require migration.
  • Generates a readiness report with per-component verdicts (PASS/WARN/FAIL).
  • Validates the presence of necessary configuration files for deployment.
  • Enforces a strict read-only policy, prohibiting build, install, or test command execution.

When to use it

  • Before starting infrastructure planning or deployment for an existing application.
  • When you need to verify if your current codebase is compatible with Azure.
  • To identify specific blockers or missing dependencies preventing a successful deployment.
  • When you want to assess the health of your build configuration without running the build process.

Advantages

  • Ensures deployment readiness without executing potentially unsafe build or test commands.
  • Provides clear, actionable feedback on what needs to be fixed before proceeding.
  • Integrates seamlessly into the broader Azure onboarding pipeline.
  • Reduces deployment failures by catching configuration and dependency issues early.

Usage examples

“Is my app ready to deploy to Azure?”
The agent scans the repository, evaluates the build configuration and dependencies, and provides a readiness report with specific findings or blockers.
“What is blocking my deployment to Azure?”
The agent identifies missing dependencies, incompatible frameworks, or non-Azure cloud SDKs that must be addressed before deployment can proceed.
“Scan my repo for Azure deployment issues.”
The agent performs a static analysis of the codebase and reports on build health, completeness, and any required configuration changes.
“Are my dependencies compatible with Azure?”
The agent checks the project manifest against known Azure requirements and flags any problematic or unsupported packages.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-app-onboard-prereq/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-app-onboard-prereq.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Azure App Onboard Prereq — Repository Evaluation

Evaluate a user's repository for build health, app completeness, and Azure deployment feasibility — before infrastructure planning. Produces per-component verdicts (PASS/WARN/FAIL) consumed by downstream phases.

Orchestrator relationship: Called by azure-app-onboard at Step 3, or standalone for code readiness checks. When called by orchestrator, return control to azure-app-onboard after writing artifacts — do NOT invoke downstream phases directly.

Phase 1 of 4 in AppOnboard pipeline. Session: .copilot-azure/sessions/{session-id}/. Reads context.json. Writes components[], repo{}, detectedInfra[]. Produces prereq-output.json. Schema: prereq-schemas.ts — PrereqOutput, BuildRequirements. Direct entry supported.

When NOT to Use

SignalRedirect
Validate infrastructure (Bicep/TF/azure.yaml)azure-validate
Generate IaCazure-prepare
End-to-end idea-to-productionazure-app-onboard
Run azd up or deployazure-deploy

Rules

⛔ ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION — npm install, npm test, npx jest, pytest, and ALL install/build/test commands are NEVER allowed. Under NO circumstances may you run npm install, npm test, npx jest, pip install, pytest, dotnet build, dotnet restore, dotnet test, go mod download, cargo build, or ANY package-manager install, build, or test command during the prereq phase. Do NOT run test suites to verify code — check for test config files statically instead. The prereq phase is read-only evaluation + static-only verification. ONLY exception — two sanctioned contexts, both consent-gated: (a) code the agent modified during migration/remediation (see remediation-protocol.md step 6), or (b) code the agent wrote from scratch on the zero-code path (see zero-code-path.md). In either case, install/build/test runs ONLY via the user-confirmed build-validation gate (build-check.md Step 3), after the user answers that specific per-command consent prompt. General prior consent never counts.

  1. ⛔ Full pipeline (Steps 1–8), no exceptions. All prompts → Step 1 directly. Answer specific questions AS PART OF findings (Step 5), not before.

  2. ⛔ No sub-agents for evaluation. 3-axis evaluation is inline. Exception: zero-code-path scaffolding (Step 2).

  3. Code/destructive modifications require ask_user. Max 3 questions before results. Direct entry: don't repeat orchestrator's intent questions.

MCP Tools

ToolPurpose
mcp_azure_mcp_get_azure_bestpracticesValidate detected stack patterns against Azure best practices
mcp_azure_mcp_extension_cli_installCheck/install required CLI tools (az, azd, func)

Workflow

Step 1: Session Check

Orchestrator entry: Session exists — read context.json, proceed to Step 2.

Direct entry: Check .copilot-azure/sessions/active-session.json:

  • Exists → ⛔ read session-protocol.md for resume/fresh gate. Do NOT proceed until user answers.

  • Missing → create session: generate UUID, New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path ".copilot-azure/sessions/{uuid}" -Force, write context.json + active-session.json via create tool.

Then: az account show → merge {id, name, tenantId} into context.json.azure. ⛔ Session MUST exist on disk before any scanning.

Step 2: Scan Workspace

Scan for project files. Detect components, repo{}, detectedInfra[], detectedServices[]. Classify Terraform providers. Check CLI availability. Stack detection conflicts: user explicit statement wins (write to context.json, mark scan as override); scan-only → confirm with user; multiple stacks → show all and ask (see component-mapping.md); no code → zero-code-path.md.

If no project files, no Dockerfile, AND no index.html → ⛔ read zero-code-path.md.

⛔ Cloud SDK early gate. Grep for aws-sdk|@aws-sdk|boto3|google-cloud|@google-cloud|firebase. If functional deps found → read cloud-sdk-migration.md, then ask_user: "Redirect to Azure Cloud Migrate" (set routeToSkill: "azure-cloud-migrate") · "Continue evaluation anyway" (finish readiness eval + SDK→Azure mapping, then STOP at Step 8 — no plan until the deps are swapped) · "Cancel".

Step 3: Per-Component Evaluation
Sub-stepActionReference
3.1Build check⛔ You MUST read build-check.md
3.2Completeness check⛔ You MUST read completeness-check.md
3.3Deployability check⛔ You MUST read deployability-check.md
3.3aComponent mapping (conditional)Read component-mapping.md ONLY IF >1 project manifest found (monorepo)

Populate buildRequirements per component after evaluation. Verdict propagation, tier rules, and f1Viable aggregation are in readiness-gate.md and the individual check references.

Step 4: Write Artifacts + Readiness Gate

⛔ Verify context.json exists on disk. ⛔ You MUST read readiness-gate.md (verdicts, tiers, batch-then-approve, fast-track), then ⛔ You MUST read prereq-artifacts.md (write procedures, schemas).

Step 5: Present Findings

Per readiness-gate.md § Present Findings — show verdicts grouped by severity before proceeding.

Step 6: Remediation (conditional)

⛔ You MUST read remediation-protocol.md IF any ❌ FAIL verdict, 🔧 Recommended Fix, or ⚠️ WARN with fixPhase: "prereq" exists. Contains remediation loop, static verification, re-eval mandate, post-remediation artifact updates, and the build-validation consent gate. If all verdicts are ✅ PASS or ⚠️ WARN without fixPhase: "prereq", skip to Step 7.

Step 7: Write Final State

completedPhases already has "prereq" + currentPhase: null (from Step 4). Then:

⛔ Write lastScanCommit. Run git rev-parse HEAD and store the full 40-character SHA as context.json.repo.lastScanCommit. Required — staleness guard in Step 1 compares to HEAD on resume to detect changes.

Step 8: Route

⛔ Mandatory — do NOT skip this step.

Routing fields: All routing writes routeToSkill and routeReason to context.json.

Post-remediation context: If Step 6 ran, lead the routing prompt with: "Remediation complete — {N} issues fixed, your app is now {overallHealth}."

⛔ Evaluate rows top to bottom — first match wins.

#ConditionAction
1routeToSkill set (any entry)ask_user: "Redirect to {routeToSkill}" / "Not now". ⛔ Pipeline stops — do NOT proceed to architecture planning.
2cloudSdkFindings[] non-empty (user chose "Continue evaluation anyway")Present the cloud-SDK → Azure swap mapping as 🔶 blockers, then ask_user with this exact prompt: "🔶 Cloud SDK migration required — these dependencies must be swapped before this app can deploy to Azure. (Redirect to azure-cloud-migrate / Stop — swap manually and re-run)" — Redirect sets routeToSkill: "azure-cloud-migrate", Stop halts. ⛔ Pipeline stops — do NOT proceed to architecture planning, and do NOT offer a "continue to prepare" option; the app can't deploy until the deps are swapped.
3Orchestrator + no routeToSkillTell the user: "✅ Your app has been evaluated and is ready — let's plan your Azure deployment." Then invoke azure-app-onboard. ⛔ Do NOT stop, do NOT wait for user input, do NOT narrate internal handoffs. The user already consented to the full pipeline at scope triage.
4Direct + ready/readyWithCaveats + no Azure infraask_user: "Deploy to Azure (full pipeline)" → invoke azure-app-onboard / "Not now"
5Direct + ready/readyWithCaveats + existing Azure infraask_user: "Start fresh" → invoke azure-app-onboard / "Use existing infra" → invoke azure-prepare / "Not now"
6Direct + blockedReport blocker summary + "Fix and re-run."

Severity tiers (🛑🔶❌🔧⚠️✅) are defined in readiness-gate.md.

Outputs

ArtifactLocationConsumer
Session contextcontext.json → components[], repo{}, detectedInfra[], detectedServices[]All downstream phases
Prereq outputprereq-output.jsonprepare phase (via azure-app-onboard)
Readiness report.copilot-azure/sessions/{uuid}/readiness-report.mdUser (offline reference)

Files

references/dependency-compatibility.md

Dependency compatibility checks for Azure. Part of the deployability check.

EOL / Unsupported Runtimes

VerdictCondition
🔶 Major Migration.NET Framework 4.x, ASP.NET Core 2.1, Python 2.x
❌ FAIL or 🔶Node.js < 18, Java < 11 — config-only upgrade → ❌ FAIL (fixable), API changes needed → 🔶

Quick test: ONE config value change, no import changes? → ❌ FAIL. Otherwise → 🔶.

PHP: the runtime is the PHP version of the image (FROM php:, or any image that embeds PHP); require.php is a constraint, not the runtime. A floating minor tag tracks the latest patch. WARN W-PHP-EOL (PHP2Shell, critical RCE — advisory), not a verdict from the table above, when that version is on an unsupported branch or below the patched releases (8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36, 8.2.35). If it can't be determined (for example a digest pin), WARN as unverified with fixPhase: "post-deploy". fix (prereq only reports it; the scaffold approval gate offers and applies it, so a standalone scan edits nothing): floating minor tag on the nearest supported branch the app's composer.json/composer.lock PHP constraints allow, fixPhase: "scaffold"; if none is allowed, fixPhase: "post-deploy" naming the constraint. With no Dockerfile, warn only in that last case. Never blocked.

Ecosystem-era check (Python): ALL pinned deps pre-2018, no Python 3.10+ wheels → ❌ FAIL. Signals: flask_script, werkzeug<1.0, itsdangerous<1.0, imports from werkzeug.contrib.* / flask.ext.*.

EOL / Unmaintained Frameworks

VerdictCondition
🔶 Major MigrationFlask < 2.0, Django < 3.2, Express < 4.0, Rails < 6.0, Spring Boot < 2.7
⚠️ WARNReact < 16, Angular < 14, Next.js < 13

Archived / Abandoned Repositories

SignalVerdict
archived: true + EOL stack🔶 Major Migration
archived: true (current runtime)⚠️ WARN
README "deprecated"/"unmaintained" + EOL🔶 Major Migration
README "deprecated"/"unmaintained" (current)⚠️ WARN

Remediation scope: Fixing all blockers requires major upgrade OR >5 files → 🔶 Major Migration.

Intentionally Vulnerable Applications

Detect via code structure first, metadata second. These apps are designed to be exploited — vulnerability IS the product.

Code signals (check first):

  • Directory vulnerabilities/ with subdirs like sqli/, xss/, csrf/, fi/ (file inclusion)

  • Security-level config toggling vulnerability severity (default_security_level, security.level, difficulty)

  • Source files with intentionally unsanitized $_GET/$_POST/$_REQUEST passed to SQL queries, shell commands (exec, shell_exec, system ), or eval/include -- that are systematic across 3+ files (not a single bug)

  • hackable//exploit/ directories, or files with names like command_injection.php, brute_force.php

Metadata signals (secondary check):

  • Project/package description or repo About containing: "deliberately vulnerable", "intentionally insecure", "vulnerable by design", "security training", "penetration testing", "do not deploy to production"

  • README/License warning against internet-facing deployment

Verdict: ≥2 code signals OR 1 code + 1 metadata → 🛑 HALT. Single metadata only → ⚠️ WARN (could be a disclosure).

⛔ 🛑 HALT is a verdict, not an exit. On 🛑 HALT your NEXT action MUST be the Step-4 write — persist all 3 artifacts (prereq-output.json, context.json, readiness-report.md) with overallHealth: "blocked" via the create tool, then read them back, BEFORE printing any halt summary to the user. A halt message with no prereq-output.json on disk is a failure — the deterministic blocked verdict must be persisted first, because the halt message can end the turn.

Non-Azure Cloud SDK Dependencies

Functional cloud SDK deps → 🔶 blockers; classification and observability carve-out in cloud-sdk-migration.md. The redirect gate (SKILL.md Step 2) and the deploy-blocking stop (SKILL.md Step 8 Row 2) own all routing — no routeToSkill decision happens here.

Platform-Specific Dependencies

Dependency TypeVerdict
Native OS binaries (.so, .dll)⚠️ WARN
Native Node.js addons on free/low-tier SKUs⚠️ WARN
GPU-required libraries (CUDA)⚠️ WARN
Local file system writes, file-based DBs⚠️ WARN — ephemeral on PaaS
BuildKit Dockerfile syntax (--mount, # syntax=)⚠️ WARN W-BUILDKIT — set buildRequirements.hasBuildKitSyntax: true. ACR az acr build does NOT support BuildKit — scaffold must generate Dockerfile.azure. fix: "Generate ACR-compatible Dockerfile.azure" fixPhase: scaffold
Jib container build (no Dockerfile)⚠️ WARN — note Jib path for scaffold
Redis client without TLS config⚠️ WARN W-REDIS-TLS — fix: "Add TLS config" fixPhase: prereq. Config key registration: if the app uses a config library that requires keys to be pre-registered before env var override (Go/Viper Unmarshal(), Spring @ConfigurationProperties), the config file must also declare the TLS key (e.g., add tlsEnabled: false to YAML) — otherwise the env var is silently ignored. Detection: grep for viper.Unmarshal, mapstructure, @ConfigurationProperties.
PostgreSQL client with SSL disabled⚠️ WARN W-PG-SSL — fix: "Set SSL mode env var" fixPhase: scaffold
MySQL client without TLS config⚠️ WARN W-MYSQL-SSL — fix: "Enable client TLS for Azure MySQL" fixPhase: prereq. Most MySQL drivers/ORMs need an in-code SSL option (no SSL env var like Postgres has), so this is a client-config change → prereq remediation batch (like W-REDIS-TLS), not IaC-only scaffold. Detection: MySQL in the plan (mysql:* in compose, or a MySQL driver/ORM — e.g. mysql2, sequelize dialect mysql, typeorm, prisma, knex) with no SSL/TLS option in the client config.
Go Viper without env key replacer⚠️ WARN W-VIPER-ENV — fix: "Add SetEnvKeyReplacer call" fixPhase: prereq
Licensed/proprietary SDKs⚠️ WARN

Hardcoded Localhost URLs

PatternVerdictIDfixPhase
localhost, 127.0.0.1, 0.0.0.0 in API base URLs, CORS origins, webhook URLs, service discovery⚠️ WARNW-LOCALHOST-URLscaffold

Exclude: database connection strings, dev-only files, test files.

Dockerfile Analysis

PatternVerdictIDfixPhase
CMD.*uv run / ENTRYPOINT.*uv run⚠️ WARNW-UV-RUNprereq
CMD.*poetry run / ENTRYPOINT.*poetry run⚠️ WARNW-POETRY-RUNprereq

Also check docker-compose.yml command: overrides.

Native Module Detection

Static lockfile analysis only.

LanguageSignalWhere
Node.js"node-gyp" in lockfilepackage-lock.json, yarn.lock, pnpm-lock.yaml
Pythonnumpy, pandas, grpcio, Pillow, bcrypt, psycopg2 (not -binary), cryptography, lxml, scipy, scikit-learnrequirements.txt, pyproject.toml
.NET[DllImport], NativeLibrary.Load.cs files
Goimport "C" (cgo).go files
PHPext-* requirementscomposer.json

⛔ Lockfile grep is the ONLY valid evidence. Do NOT set hasNativeModules from package name alone. prebuild-install without node-gyp = prebuilt → hasNativeModules: false. Key: bcrypt ✅ native, bcryptjs ❌ JS. psycopg2 ✅, psycopg2-binary ❌. sharp v0.33+ ❌ prebuilt. canvas ✅ always. No lockfile → "unknown", ⚠️ WARN.

When hasNativeModules: true: f1Viable: false, f1BlockReason: "native modules ({signal})".

F1 Viability — Beyond Native Modules

Conditionf1BlockReason
Large dep tree (Python >10, Node lockfile >500KB, .NET >20 NuGet)"large dependency tree"
Build-time compilation (tsconfig.json + "build" script)"build-time compilation"
WSGI/ASGI server (gunicorn/uvicorn/daphne)"WSGI/ASGI server"
🔶 Major Migration (>5 files)"major migration"

When f1Viable: false: prepare selects B1 (~$13/mo) minimum.

First-Run Initialization

Detect init steps needed before first HTTP request — run automatically in dev but cause 500s on Azure.

FrameworkSignalInit command
Flask-Migrate/Alembicflask_migrate/alembic + migrations/flask db upgrade
Djangodjango + manage.py + */migrations/python manage.py migrate
Prisma@prisma/client + prisma/schema.prismanpx prisma migrate deploy
TypeORMtypeorm + migrations//ormconfignpx typeorm migration:run
Sequelizesequelize + migrations/npx sequelize-cli db:migrate
EF CoreEntityFrameworkCore.Tools in csprojdotnet ef database update

Seed/bootstrap: Flask @app.cli.command('deploy') → flask deploy. Django fixtures/ → manage.py loaddata. Seed commands: required: false.

Migration framework + migrations/ dir → ⚠️ WARN, write to prereq-output.json.initCommands[] (schema in prereq-schemas.ts). ORM without migrations/ dir → ✅ PASS. Prepare prepends required initCommands to deployStrategy.startupCommand; scaffold encodes in appCommandLine. Migrations are idempotent — safe on every cold start.

Database & Storage

FoundAssessment
File-based DB (SQLite, LevelDB, DuckDB)⚠️ WARN — ephemeral on PaaS. Deploy as-is, suggest managed DB in postDeployRecommendations[]
Local file storageNeeds Azure Blob Storage
In-memory cache onlyConsider Redis
Managed DB connection stringReady — update connection

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs Python, Needs Node.js

Security

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Attribution and licence

Created by
Microsoft
Publisher
Microsoft (Official)
Source
microsoft/skills · .github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/azure-app-onboard-prereq · commit 0696600
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from .github/plugins/azure-skills/LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
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