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← AI PulseJul 28, 2026

Policy · news · Single-source brief

Microsoft Agents Can Now Discover Skills from MCP Servers in .NET

Microsoft has enabled agents to discover and load Agent Skills directly from a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, allowing central management and distribution of skills.

By Illumora Editorial

Source · Jul 28, 2026, 9:01 AM · On Illumora · Jul 28, 2026, 9:07 AM

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Read the source →Microsoft Semantic Kernel Blog — Discover Agent Skills from MCP servers in .NET | Microsoft Agent Framework
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Microsoft has introduced a new capability for agents to discover and load Agent Skills directly from a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. This feature, available today in .NET through the Microsoft.Agents.AI.Mcp package, allows agents to pull necessary skills on demand rather than requiring every skill to be shipped within an application or copied into each deployment.

Key Points

  • Agents can now discover and load skills directly from a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.
  • This capability is available in .NET via the Microsoft.Agents.AI.Mcp NuGet package.
  • A central team can publish skills once, and agents across an organization can access them without redeployment.
  • Skills are advertised through a discovery document at skill://index.json, with content retrieved via an authenticated MCP connection.
  • The .NET implementation supports two distribution methods for skills: skill-md (for markdown-based skills) and archive (for bundled reference files).
  • Agents update to new skill versions from the server during their next discovery cycle, without requiring application code changes.
  • The UseMcpSkills extension method on AgentSkillsProviderBuilder adds an MCP server as a skill source.

Context

According to Microsoft, this development addresses a distribution challenge for makers, allowing them to author a skill in one place and serve it to multiple agents. For enterprise leaders, it enables central governance and versioning of domain expertise, such as expense policies or compliance workflows, ensuring consistent rollout without modifying application code.

Why It Matters

This update changes how developers and organizations manage and deploy agent capabilities, shifting from embedded or copied skills to a centrally governed, on-demand distribution model. It allows for more consistent application of organizational policies and expertise across various agents.

What To Do

  • Review the Microsoft.Agents.AI.Mcp NuGet package documentation for implementation details.
  • Test the UseMcpSkills extension method to connect agents to an MCP server for skill discovery.
  • Note how to compose MCP-sourced skills with local skills using AgentSkillsProviderBuilder.
  • Watch for guidance on managing and securing skills distributed via MCP servers, especially for archive extraction and script execution.

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