- .NET agent skills give coding agents domain expertise through structured
SKILL.mdknowledge packs - The
dotnet/skillsrepository provides 10 curated plugins covering core .NET, data access, diagnostics, NuGet, build, testing, and more - Skills provide knowledge (what to do); MCP servers provide tools (how to do it); together they form a complete agentic stack
- Uno Platform is the only cross-platform .NET framework with both MCP servers and agent skill support
- The Agent Skills specification is an open standard supported across Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, VS Code, and Visual Studio 2026
Who this is for: .NET developers who use AI coding agents and want to understand how agent skills extend their capabilities with domain-specific knowledge.
.NET agent skills are lightweight knowledge packages that give AI coding agents like Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, and Visual Studio 2026 specialized .NET expertise. Built on the open Agent Skills specification, each skill bundles domain-specific context in a SKILL.md file so the agent can make better decisions with less trial and error when working on .NET projects.
What Are .NET Agent Skills?
According to the official .NET Blog, "an agent skill is a lightweight package with specialized knowledge an agent can discover and use while solving a task." In practical terms, a skill is a SKILL.md file that contains structured instructions for a coding agent.
Each SKILL.md file follows the Agent Skills specification, an open format supported by multiple coding agents:
---
name: dotnet
description: Core .NET development skill
globs:
- "**/*.cs"
- "**/*.csproj"
tools:
- dotnet-build
- dotnet-test
---
# .NET Development Skill
[Markdown instructions the agent reads and applies...]The name field identifies the skill. The globs field tells the agent when to activate based on file patterns. The tools field declares which MCP tools the skill expects. The markdown body contains the actual knowledge: best practices, code patterns, debugging strategies, and architectural guidance.
When you open a .NET project, your coding agent scans for matching skills, loads the relevant SKILL.md files, and uses that knowledge to guide its actions. The agent does not execute the skill like a script. It reads the instructions and applies them to its decision-making process.
What Skills Are in dotnet/skills?
The dotnet/skills repository is Microsoft's official collection of .NET agent skills, released on March 9, 2026. It ships 10 curated plugins under the MIT license.
| Plugin | What It Covers | When to Use It |
|---|---|---|
dotnet | Core .NET development patterns | General C# coding, project structure, common APIs |
dotnet-data | Entity Framework and data access | Database operations, migrations, LINQ queries |
dotnet-diag | Performance analysis and debugging | Profiling, memory leaks, diagnostic tooling |
dotnet-msbuild | Build system and project files | Build failures, MSBuild customization, CI pipelines |
dotnet-nuget | Package management | Dependency resolution, package authoring, version conflicts |
dotnet-upgrade | Framework migration | Upgrading from .NET Framework, cross-version migration |
dotnet-maui | .NET MAUI development | MAUI-specific setup, diagnostics, platform quirks |
dotnet-ai | AI and ML integration | LLM integration, RAG patterns, ML.NET, MCP servers |
dotnet-template-engine | Project scaffolding | Template discovery, custom templates, dotnet new |
dotnet-test | Test execution | MSTest workflows, test configuration, CI integration |
Each plugin targets a specific domain. When your agent encounters a build failure, the dotnet-msbuild skill provides targeted guidance. When it needs to scaffold an Entity Framework migration, dotnet-data supplies the correct patterns and commands. The repository is open to community contributions.
How Agent Skills Differ from MCP Servers
Skills and MCP servers solve different problems in agentic development. Understanding the distinction is critical to using both effectively.
| Aspect | Agent Skills | MCP Servers |
|---|---|---|
| What they are | Knowledge packs (markdown + YAML) | Live tool endpoints (running servers) |
| Execution model | Agent reads and applies knowledge | Agent calls tools via MCP |
| Runtime dependency | None; skills are static files | Requires a running server process |
| Portability | Same SKILL.md works in any compatible agent | Server must be configured per agent |
| Use case | Domain expertise, best practices, guidance | Tool execution, data access, app interaction |
| Example | "How to diagnose .NET build failures" | "Run dotnet build and return the output" |
Skills are the recipes that tell an agent what to do. MCP tools are the ingredients the agent uses to do it.
When skills are not enough: Skills cannot execute code, query databases, or interact with running applications. They provide knowledge, not action. If your agent needs to inspect a running app's visual tree, query a live API, or run a build command, it needs an MCP server. The two layers are complementary, not interchangeable.
The Complete Agentic Stack: Skills + MCP Servers
The real power of agent skills emerges when they work alongside MCP servers. A skill tells the agent what patterns to follow. An MCP server gives the agent the tools to apply those patterns to real code and running applications.
- SKILL.md (Knowledge Layer) provides domain-specific guidance, best practices, and decision rules
- Coding Agent (Orchestration Layer) reads skills, plans actions, and coordinates tool calls
- MCP Server (Action Layer) exposes tools to search docs, generate code, or inspect the running app
- Running Application (Target Layer) is the app the agent is building or debugging
Why Generic Skills Fall Short for Cross-Platform Apps
The dotnet/skills repository covers core .NET patterns, but cross-platform development introduces challenges that generic skills do not address. Platform-conditional XAML, Skia rendering versus native controls, multi-target framework builds, and responsive layouts across desktop, mobile, and web all require specialized knowledge that goes beyond standard C# guidance.
Uno Platform addresses this gap with two dedicated MCP servers:
- Uno Remote MCP: Connects the agent to Uno Platform documentation, code generation templates, and framework-specific guidance. When a skill tells the agent to "create a responsive layout," the Remote MCP provides the Uno Platform-specific XAML and C# patterns to make it work across Windows, iOS, Android, macOS, Linux, and WebAssembly.
- App MCP: Allows AI agents to control the running app using pointer and keyboard interactions along with visual tree queries. The agent can verify its changes against the actual running application in real time.
Consider a practical example. An agent using the dotnet skill knows how to structure a C# class and follow .NET conventions. But when that agent works on an Uno Platform project, it also has access to the Uno Remote MCP for cross-platform documentation and the App MCP for validating that the generated UI renders correctly on every target platform. The skills tell the agent what to build. The MCP servers show it how to build for six platforms at once.
This combination of knowledge (skills) and tools (MCP servers) is what makes agentic development practical for real-world cross-platform .NET projects. Uno Platform is currently the only cross-platform .NET framework offering this integrated agentic workflow.
Getting Started with .NET Agent Skills
Claude Code Setup
- Install Claude Code and configure it for .NET development. The Uno Platform Claude Code guide covers the full setup, including MCP server configuration.
- Add skills from the
dotnet/skillsrepository. Claude Code supports the Agent Skills specification natively. Point your agent to the repository and select the plugins relevant to your project. - Verify activation. Open a .NET project and confirm that your agent recognizes the installed skills. The agent should reference skill knowledge when answering .NET-related questions.
Other Supported Agents
The same SKILL.md files work in VS Code with GitHub Copilot, GitHub Copilot CLI, and Visual Studio 2026. Each agent discovers skills through its own mechanism, but the underlying format is the same across all of them.
FAQ
Do .NET agent skills work across different coding agents?
Yes. Agent skills follow the open Agent Skills specification. The same SKILL.md file works in Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, VS Code with Copilot, and Visual Studio 2026.
Can I create my own .NET agent skill?
Yes. A skill is a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter (name, description, globs, tools) and a markdown body containing your instructions. The dotnet/skills repository accepts community contributions through pull requests.
How are agent skills different from CLAUDE.md or system prompts?
CLAUDE.md provides project-wide instructions specific to Claude Code. Agent skills provide task-specific, domain-scoped knowledge that is portable across multiple agents. Skills use structured YAML frontmatter for automatic discovery based on file patterns, while CLAUDE.md is a flat file loaded for every interaction. For .NET projects, you might use CLAUDE.md for project conventions and agent skills for .NET domain expertise.
Does Uno Platform support agent skills?
Uno Platform's agentic approach combines .NET agent skills with two dedicated MCP servers. The Uno Remote MCP provides documentation search and code generation, while the App MCP enables runtime application control. Together with standard .NET agent skills from dotnet/skills, this provides both the knowledge layer and the tools layer for cross-platform .NET development.
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