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Azure Upgrade

MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft

  • Skill
  • Workflow
  • Cloud and DevOps
  • MIT
  • Low risk
  • Has scripts

From the author

Assess and upgrade Azure workloads between plans, tiers, or SKUs, or modernize Azure SDK dependencies in source code. WHEN: upgrade Consumption to Flex Consumption, upgrade Azure Functions plan, change hosting plan, function app SKU, migrate App Service to Container Apps, modernize legacy Azure Java SDKs (com.microsoft.azure to com.azure), migrate Azure Cache for Redis (ACR/ACRE) to Azure Managed Redis (AMR).
— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

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

Azure Upgrade provides a structured, automated approach to upgrading Azure resources and modernizing source code dependencies. It supports complex transitions such as moving Azure Functions from Consumption to Flex Consumption, migrating various Redis cache tiers to Azure Managed Redis, and refactoring legacy Java applications from the deprecated com.microsoft.azure SDKs to the modern com.azure ecosystem. The skill enforces safety through pre-migration assessments, explicit user confirmation for destructive actions, and idempotent automation scripts, ensuring that original workloads remain intact until the new configuration is fully validated.

What it does

  • Assesses Azure workloads for upgrade readiness across plans, tiers, and SKUs.
  • Automates the migration of Azure Functions from Consumption to Flex Consumption.
  • Modernizes legacy Java applications by replacing deprecated com.microsoft.azure SDKs with modern com.azure equivalents.
  • Facilitates the migration of Azure Cache for Redis (ACR/ACRE) to Azure Managed Redis (AMR).
  • Generates detailed migration status reports and maintains artifact isolation.
  • Provides a safe, gated workflow requiring user approval for all resource creation and configuration changes.

When to use it

  • When you need to upgrade your Azure Functions hosting plan to a more performant or cost-effective tier.
  • When your Java project relies on deprecated Azure SDKs and requires modernization to supported libraries.
  • When migrating existing Redis cache instances to the newer Azure Managed Redis service.
  • When you need a repeatable, documented process for changing Azure resource SKUs or hosting plans.

Advantages

  • Reduces manual effort and risk during complex infrastructure and code migrations.
  • Ensures safety by requiring explicit user approval for all destructive or state-changing operations.
  • Maintains high availability by keeping original resources running until the new ones are validated.
  • Promotes security best practices by encouraging the use of managed identities over connection strings.
  • Provides clear, step-by-step guidance for both infrastructure upgrades and source-code refactoring.

Usage examples

“Upgrade my function app from Consumption to Flex Consumption”
The agent will identify the current plan, assess compatibility, and guide you through the migration steps to the Flex Consumption plan.
“Migrate my Java project from com.microsoft.azure to com.azure”
The agent will inventory legacy dependencies, provide a migration plan, and assist in updating your build files and source code imports.
“Migrate my Redis cache to AMR”
The agent will assess your current Redis configuration and execute the migration path to Azure Managed Redis.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

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

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-upgrade.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Azure Upgrade

This skill handles assessment and automated upgrades of existing Azure workloads from one Azure service, hosting plan, or SKU to another — all within Azure. This includes plan/tier upgrades (e.g. Consumption → Flex Consumption), cross-service migrations (e.g. App Service → Container Apps), and SKU changes. It also covers Azure SDK for Java source-code modernization (e.g. legacy Java com.microsoft.azure.* → modern com.azure.*). This is NOT for cross-cloud migration — use azure-cloud-migrate for that.

Triggers

User IntentExample Prompts
Upgrade Azure Functions plan"Upgrade my function app from Consumption to Flex Consumption"
Discover Functions upgrade candidates"What Consumption Function Apps do I have that can be upgraded to Flex Consumption?"
Change hosting tier"Move my function app to a better plan"
Assess upgrade readiness"Is my function app ready for Flex Consumption?"
Automate plan migration"Automate the steps to upgrade my Functions plan"
Modernize legacy Azure Java SDK"Migrate legacy Azure SDKs for Java", "Upgrade legacy Azure Java SDK", "Migrate my Java project from com.microsoft.azure to com.azure"
Migrate Azure Cache for Redis (ACR/OSS) to Azure Managed Redis (AMR)"Migrate my Redis cache to AMR", "ACR to AMR", "OSS to AMR", "Upgrade my Premium P2 cache to Managed Redis", "Pick an AMR SKU", "Convert my Redis IaC template to AMR"
Migrate Azure Cache for Redis Enterprise (ACRE) to Azure Managed Redis (AMR)"Migrate my Enterprise_E10 cache to AMR", "ACRE to AMR", "Update my ACRE IaC template for AMR", "Migrate EnterpriseFlash to AMR", "Migrate my geo-replicated Enterprise Redis"

Rules

  1. Follow phases in order. Skip or defer work only when the selected scenario explicitly permits it, and record the reason in the migration status.

  2. Generate an assessment before any upgrade operations

  3. Load the scenario reference and follow its rules

  4. Use mcp_azure_mcp_get_azure_bestpractices and mcp_azure_mcp_documentation MCP tools

  5. Destructive actions require ask_user — global-rules

  6. Always confirm the target plan/SKU with the user before proceeding

  7. Propose a name for any new resource (default: <source>-<target-suffix>, e.g. <source>-flex for Flex Consumption migrations) and announce the proposed name to the user before creating it so they can override without a blocking prompt. Same pattern applies to other newly-created resources (storage accounts, App Insights, etc.) — see the scenario reference for service-specific defaults.

  8. Windows Consumption → Flex source-change gate: treat the source app as read-only by default. Immediately before every command that would change its settings, triggers, state, deployment, bindings, or existence, use ask_user to describe the exact change and obtain explicit approval. Approval is action-specific and cannot be reused for later source changes.

  9. Never delete or stop the original app without explicit user confirmation

  10. Keep approval-gated workflows moving: after each completed step, immediately perform the next read-only preflight. If the next action requires approval, invoke ask_user in the same turn — never stop after merely announcing the next step and wait for the user to re-engage.

  11. All automation scripts must be idempotent and resumable

Upgrade Scenarios

SourceTargetReference
Azure Functions Consumption Plan (Linux)Azure Functions Flex Consumption Planworkflow.md
Azure Functions Consumption Plan (Windows)Azure Functions Flex Consumption Planworkflow.md
Legacy Azure Java SDK (com.microsoft.azure.*)Modern Azure Java SDK (com.azure.*)languages/java/README.md
Azure Cache for Redis (ACR/OSS) Basic/Standard/PremiumAzure Managed Redis (AMR)services/redis/redis-to-amr.md
Azure Cache for Redis Enterprise (ACRE) / Enterprise FlashAzure Managed Redis (AMR)services/redis/redis-to-amr.md

Functions Consumption-to-Flex routing: For a named app, inspect its Azure platform and load only the matching Linux or Windows workflow. For subscription-wide discovery, evaluate both platforms: use az functionapp flex-migration list for Linux and the Windows workflow's manual discovery and compatibility checks for Windows. Label Windows results as candidates until per-app code compatibility is assessed.

SDK upgrade scenarios (e.g. Java legacy → modern) run a source-code modernization flow that is distinct from Azure service/plan/SKU upgrades: follow the scenario reference, not the Steps below.

No matching scenario? Use mcp_azure_mcp_documentation and mcp_azure_mcp_get_azure_bestpractices tools to research the upgrade path.

MCP Tools

ToolPurpose
mcp_azure_mcp_get_azure_bestpracticesGet Azure best practices for the target service
mcp_azure_mcp_documentationLook up Azure documentation for upgrade scenarios
mcp_azure_mcp_appserviceQuery App Service and Functions plan details
mcp_azure_mcp_applicationinsightsVerify monitoring configuration

Steps

  1. Identify — Determine the source and target Azure plans/SKUs. Ask user to confirm.

  2. Assess — Analyze existing app for upgrade readiness → load scenario reference (e.g., workflow.md)

  3. Pre-migrate — Collect settings, identities, configs from the existing app

  4. Upgrade — Execute the automated upgrade steps (create new resources, migrate settings, deploy code)

  5. Validate — Use the checks defined by the selected scenario: verify target resource state, applicable HTTP endpoints and non-HTTP triggers, and monitoring. If access restrictions or unavailable test resources prevent execution, record validation as deferred — never relax security automatically or report functional success.

  6. Ask User — Offer performance validation and IaC updates. Offer source cleanup only when the selected scenario confirms production cutover and all cleanup prerequisites are complete.

  7. Hand off to azure-validate for deep validation or azure-deploy for CI/CD setup

Track progress in <UPGRADE_DIR>/upgrade-status.md — see Artifact Output Policy for path resolution.

References

Next

After upgrade is validated, hand off to:

  • azure-validate — for thorough post-upgrade validation

  • azure-deploy — if the user wants to set up CI/CD for the new app

Files

references/services/functions/consumption-to-flex/windows/automation/app-settings.md

App Settings

4c. Migrate App Settings

🔒 Security: App settings contain secrets (connection strings, storage keys, API keys). The skill first reviews setting names only. If the user chooses to copy settings, a local pipeline streams values directly from the source ARM endpoint to the new app's ARM endpoint via process memory only — no temp file is ever written to disk.

Phase 1 — Skill reviews setting names (no values)

az functionapp config appsettings list --name <SOURCE_APP_NAME> --resource-group <SOURCE_RESOURCE_GROUP> --query "[].name" -o tsv

⚠️ Skill instruction: Confirm none of the names above look surprising before proceeding — the 4c filter already strips Flex-deprecated names. Cross-reference Deprecated Settings if anything is unfamiliar. Do NOT request values.

Linux app-setting names cannot contain :. For every surviving source name containing :, show the user the planned : → __ mapping before the copy decision (for example, FunctionsHostingConfig:CustomSetting → FunctionsHostingConfig__CustomSetting). .NET configuration maps __ back to : on Linux. For other runtimes, record the rename for application-specific validation.

Before reading values, compare mapped source names case-insensitively. If two source names map to the same target name, stop and use ask_user; never silently choose between them. An existing target name is not a collision: after the user approves the mapping, the source value replaces it using the same idempotent merge behavior as an unchanged setting name.

Surface this once as a post-migration follow-up (do not block 4c on it): connection strings or keys for Azure services (Storage, Service Bus, Event Hubs, Cosmos DB, Key Vault) can be replaced with identity-based connections for better security — see the identities-instead-of-secrets tutorial. The user owns the conversion (code + role assignments), and it only applies to Azure services that support Microsoft Entra ID auth — settings for third-party services stay as-is.

This optional follow-up doesn't override storage authentication requirements. If host or deployment storage prohibits Shared Key authentication, Step 4b must remain blocked until identity-first provisioning is verified; don't defer that requirement until after migration.

Decision — Copy or defer source app settings

Before reading any setting values or changing the target, use ask_user:

Should I copy the filtered source app settings to <NEW_APP_NAME> now?

  • Copy filtered settings — preserves application configuration, but may connect the target code to the same production dependencies after deployment. Target-owned storage and Application Insights settings remain unchanged.

  • Defer source settings — leaves only target-generated settings in place so you can configure isolated or target-specific dependencies before deployment.

Record the choice in <UPGRADE_DIR>/upgrade-status.md.

  • If the user chooses copy, continue to Phase 2.

  • If the user chooses defer, do not fetch source setting values and do not run either Phase 2 block. Before Step 5, require confirmation that all required application-specific target settings have been configured. Reviewing setting names is allowed; never display their values.

Phase 2 — Copy locally (values never leave the terminal, never touch disk)

The az functionapp config appsettings set CLI surface only accepts KEY=VALUE pairs or @file.json, so PATCH the underlying ARM endpoint directly via az rest. Fetch both apps' settings, filter the source settings, and merge them into the target's existing dictionary. This preserves target-owned settings created by Step 4b, including AzureWebJobsStorage, DEPLOYMENT_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING, and the target-specific APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING.

The deny list and storage prefix are normalized to lowercase at runtime, so source apps with non-canonical key casing (e.g. azurewebjobsstorage) are stripped correctly and future contributors can add new deny-list entries in whichever casing reads best. Surviving source names replace every : with __ before merging.

Bash:

(
  set -e
  trap 'unset SOURCE_SETTINGS TARGET_SETTINGS BODY' EXIT
  SUB=$(az account show --query id -o tsv)
  API='2024-04-01'
  SOURCE_SETTINGS=$(az rest --method post --uri "/subscriptions/$SUB/resourceGroups/<SOURCE_RESOURCE_GROUP>/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/<SOURCE_APP_NAME>/config/appsettings/list?api-version=$API")
  TARGET_SETTINGS=$(az rest --method post --uri "/subscriptions/$SUB/resourceGroups/<RESOURCE_GROUP>/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/<NEW_APP_NAME>/config/appsettings/list?api-version=$API")
  BODY=$(printf '%s\n%s\n' "$SOURCE_SETTINGS" "$TARGET_SETTINGS" | jq -s '
    (["WEBSITE_CONTENTAZUREFILECONNECTIONSTRING","WEBSITE_CONTENTSHARE","WEBSITE_CONTENTOVERVNET","WEBSITE_SKIP_CONTENTSHARE_VALIDATION","WEBSITE_RUN_FROM_PACKAGE","WEBSITE_RUN_FROM_ZIP","WEBSITE_USE_ZIP","FUNCTIONS_EXTENSION_VERSION","FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME","FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME_VERSION","FUNCTIONS_MAX_HTTP_CONCURRENCY","FUNCTIONS_WORKER_PROCESS_COUNT","FUNCTIONS_WORKER_DYNAMIC_CONCURRENCY_ENABLED","WEBSITE_MAX_DYNAMIC_APPLICATION_SCALE_OUT","WEBSITE_USE_PLACEHOLDER_DOTNETISOLATED","WEBSITE_LOAD_CERTIFICATES","WEBSITE_MOUNT_ENABLED","ENABLE_ORYX_BUILD","SCM_DO_BUILD_DURING_DEPLOYMENT","WEBSITE_DNS_SERVER","WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION","WEBSITE_VNET_ROUTE_ALL","AzureWebJobsDashboard","APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING"] | map(ascii_downcase)) as $deny |
    (.[0].properties | to_entries | map(select((.key | ascii_downcase) as $k | ($deny | index($k) | not) and ($k | startswith("azurewebjobsstorage") | not))) | map(. + {targetKey: (.key | gsub(":"; "__"))})) as $mapped |
    ($mapped | group_by(.targetKey | ascii_downcase) | map(select(length > 1) | map(.key))) as $sourceCollisions |
    if ($sourceCollisions | length) > 0
    then error("Mapped app-setting name collision; review setting names before retrying.")
    else {properties: (.[1].properties + ($mapped | map({key: .targetKey, value: .value}) | from_entries))}
    end')
  az rest --method patch --uri "/subscriptions/$SUB/resourceGroups/<RESOURCE_GROUP>/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/<NEW_APP_NAME>/config/appsettings?api-version=$API" --headers 'Content-Type=application/json' --body "$BODY" --output none
)

💡 App Insights: APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING is intentionally excluded to preserve the target-specific value created by Step 4b. Step 4k verifies monitoring and preserves AAD ingestion only when the source already used it.

💡 Storage (AzureWebJobsStorage*): Every setting whose name starts with AzureWebJobsStorage is intentionally excluded, matching the published migration filter. Preserve the target storage configuration verified by Step 4b, whether connection-string-based or identity-based. When converting a permitted connection-string target, 4b.opt re-derives identity settings against <STORAGE_NAME>; don't copy source storage settings or downgrade a user-provisioned identity-based target.

💡 Casing is preserved on the wire: The ascii_downcase step is comparison-only. Surviving settings keep the exact key casing the source app had — they're PATCHed back unchanged.

PowerShell 7:

$sourceJson = $targetJson = $sourceSettings = $targetSettings = $body = $accessToken = $secureToken = $null
try {
    $sub = az account show --query id -o tsv
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0 -or [string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($sub)) { throw 'Failed to resolve the current subscription.' }
    $api = '2024-04-01'
    $base = "/subscriptions/$sub/resourceGroups"
    $sourceJson = az rest --method post --uri "$base/<SOURCE_RESOURCE_GROUP>/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/<SOURCE_APP_NAME>/config/appsettings/list?api-version=$api"
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw 'Failed to read source app settings.' }
    $sourceSettings = $sourceJson | ConvertFrom-Json
    $sourceJson = $null
    $targetJson = az rest --method post --uri "$base/<RESOURCE_GROUP>/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/<NEW_APP_NAME>/config/appsettings/list?api-version=$api"
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw 'Failed to read target app settings.' }
    $targetSettings = $targetJson | ConvertFrom-Json
    $targetJson = $null
    $rawDeny = @('WEBSITE_CONTENTAZUREFILECONNECTIONSTRING','WEBSITE_CONTENTSHARE','WEBSITE_CONTENTOVERVNET','WEBSITE_SKIP_CONTENTSHARE_VALIDATION','WEBSITE_RUN_FROM_PACKAGE','WEBSITE_RUN_FROM_ZIP','WEBSITE_USE_ZIP','FUNCTIONS_EXTENSION_VERSION','FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME','FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME_VERSION','FUNCTIONS_MAX_HTTP_CONCURRENCY','FUNCTIONS_WORKER_PROCESS_COUNT','FUNCTIONS_WORKER_DYNAMIC_CONCURRENCY_ENABLED','WEBSITE_MAX_DYNAMIC_APPLICATION_SCALE_OUT','WEBSITE_USE_PLACEHOLDER_DOTNETISOLATED','WEBSITE_LOAD_CERTIFICATES','WEBSITE_MOUNT_ENABLED','ENABLE_ORYX_BUILD','SCM_DO_BUILD_DURING_DEPLOYMENT','WEBSITE_DNS_SERVER','WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION','WEBSITE_VNET_ROUTE_ALL','AzureWebJobsDashboard','APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING')
    $deny = $rawDeny | ForEach-Object { $_.ToLowerInvariant() }
    $merged = [ordered]@{}
    foreach ($property in $targetSettings.properties.PSObject.Properties) { $merged[$property.Name] = $property.Value }
    $mappedSourceNames = @{}
    foreach ($property in $sourceSettings.properties.PSObject.Properties) {
        $lower = $property.Name.ToLowerInvariant()
        if ($deny -notcontains $lower -and -not $lower.StartsWith('azurewebjobsstorage')) {
            $targetName = $property.Name.Replace(':', '__')
            $normalizedTargetName = $targetName.ToLowerInvariant()
            if ($mappedSourceNames.ContainsKey($normalizedTargetName)) { throw "Source app-setting names '$($mappedSourceNames[$normalizedTargetName])' and '$($property.Name)' map to the same target name '$targetName'." }
            $mappedSourceNames[$normalizedTargetName] = $property.Name
            $merged[$targetName] = $property.Value
        }
    }
    $body = @{ properties = $merged } | ConvertTo-Json -Compress -Depth 10
    $accessToken = az account get-access-token --resource https://management.azure.com/ --query accessToken -o tsv
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0 -or [string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($accessToken)) { throw 'Failed to acquire an Azure Resource Manager access token.' }
    $secureToken = ConvertTo-SecureString ($accessToken.Trim()) -AsPlainText -Force
    $accessToken = $null
    $uri = "https://management.azure.com$base/<RESOURCE_GROUP>/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/<NEW_APP_NAME>/config/appsettings?api-version=$api"
    Invoke-RestMethod -Method Patch -Uri $uri -Authentication Bearer -Token $secureToken -ContentType 'application/json; charset=utf-8' -Body $body -ErrorAction Stop | Out-Null
}
finally {
    $sourceJson = $targetJson = $sourceSettings = $targetSettings = $body = $accessToken = $secureToken = $null
    Remove-Variable merged,mappedSourceNames -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}

🔒 No file or secret-bearing command argument: Unlike a --settings @file.json flow, nothing here touches disk. PowerShell sends the JSON body with Invoke-RestMethod, avoiding native command-line JSON escaping and keeping app-setting values out of process arguments on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Secret-bearing variables and the ARM access token are cleared whether the PATCH succeeds or fails. If the PATCH fails, re-run the entire block; both GETs and the merged PATCH are idempotent.

If Azure returns extended error 04072 (AppSetting with name ... is not allowed), inspect the rejected name for Linux-invalid characters. A : rejection does not prove that its prefix is reserved; map : to __, rerun collision checks, and retry the full block.

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

The author says: python3.10+

Security

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Attribution and licence

Created by
Microsoft
Publisher
Microsoft (Official)
Source
microsoft/skills · .github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/azure-upgrade · 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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