github/microsoft-code-reference

Microsoft Code Reference

Tools

| Need | Tool | Example | |------|------|---------| | API method/class lookup | microsoft_docs_search | "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs" | | Working code sample | microsoft_code_sample_search | query: "upload blob managed identity", language: "python" | | Full API reference | microsoft_docs_fetch | Fetch URL from microsoft_docs_search (for overloads, full signatures) |

Finding Code Samples

Use microsoft_code_sample_search to get official, working examples:

microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "upload file to blob storage", language: "csharp")
microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "authenticate with managed identity", language: "python")
microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "send message service bus", language: "javascript")

When to use:

• Before writing code—find a working pattern to follow
• After errors—compare your code against a known-good sample
• Unsure of initialization/setup—samples show complete context

API Lookups

# Verify method exists (include namespace for precision)
"BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"
"GraphServiceClient Users Microsoft.Graph"

# Find class/interface
"DefaultAzureCredential class Azure.Identity"

# Find correct package
"Azure Blob Storage NuGet package"
"azure-storage-blob pip package"

Fetch full page when method has multiple overloads or you need complete parameter details.

Error Troubleshooting

Use microsoft_code_sample_search to find working code samples and compare with your implementation. For specific errors, use microsoft_docs_search and microsoft_docs_fetch:

| Error Type | Query | |------------|-------| | Method not found | "[ClassName] methods [Namespace]" | | Type not found | "[TypeName] NuGet package namespace" | | Wrong signature | "[ClassName] [MethodName] overloads" → fetch full page | | Deprecated warning | "[OldType] migration v12" | | Auth failure | "DefaultAzureCredential troubleshooting" | | 403 Forbidden | "[ServiceName] RBAC permissions" |

When to Verify

Always verify when:

• Method name seems "too convenient" (UploadFile vs actual Upload)
• Mixing SDK versions (v11 CloudBlobClient vs v12 BlobServiceClient)
• Package name doesn't follow conventions (Azure.* for .NET, azure-* for Python)
• Using an API for the first time

Validation Workflow

Before generating code using Microsoft SDKs, verify it's correct:

1. Confirm method or package exists — microsoft_docs_search(query: "[ClassName] [MethodName] [Namespace]")
2. Fetch full details (for overloads/complex params) — microsoft_docs_fetch(url: "...")
3. Find working sample — microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "[task]", language: "[lang]")

For simple lookups, step 1 alone may suffice. For complex API usage, complete all three steps.

CLI Alternative

If the Learn MCP server is not available, use the mslearn CLI from a terminal or shell (for example, Bash, PowerShell, or cmd) instead:

# Run directly (no install needed)
npx @microsoft/learn-cli search "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"

# Or install globally, then run
npm install -g @microsoft/learn-cli
mslearn search "BlobClient UploadAsync Azure.Storage.Blobs"

| MCP Tool | CLI Command | |----------|-------------| | microsoft_docs_search(query: "...") | mslearn search "..." | | microsoft_code_sample_search(query: "...", language: "...") | mslearn code-search "..." --language ... | | microsoft_docs_fetch(url: "...") | mslearn fetch "..." |

Pass --json to search or code-search to get raw JSON output for further processing.