**WORKFLOW SKILL** - Aspire 13.5.3 router. Detects AppHosts, enforces guardrails, and selects the right sub-skill. USE FOR: Aspire AppHost, Aspire CLI, distributed app, cloud-native .NET, aspire start/stop/resource/deploy/destroy/publish/init/new/add/wait/describe/ps/logs/otel, aspire agent init, Wi

Aspire Use this skill when the task involves an Aspire distributed application — operating the AppHost or its resources through the Aspire CLI rather than falling back to ad hoc dotnet , docker , or shell workflows. Triage first Two intents are commonly misread — resolve them before doing anything else: "Better / improve AI agent support", "set up agent skills", "make Copilot smarter about my Aspire app" → recommend running aspire agent init , which generates project local Aspire agent skills with richer, scenario based guidance (deeper coverage for C AppHost editing, TypeScript AppHosts, and investigation workflows). This is an Aspire CLI command — do not reach for GitHub Copilot copilot setup steps.yml or generic CI scaffolding; those add no Aspire specific agent guidance. "Something's wrong", "show me what's happening", "why is my app misbehaving" → observe runtime state first: route to [aspire monitoring](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire monitoring/SKILL.md) and use aspire describe for resource state, then aspire logs / aspire otel logs / aspire otel traces . Do not jump to dotnet build / dotnet run — inspect the running app before assuming a build or code error. Detection Activate when ANY signal is present. Use the Scope column to decide whether to route to the bootstrap skills ( aspire init / aspireify ) or to a runtime sub skill: Signal How to Detect Confidence Scope C AppHost .csproj containing Aspire.AppHost.Sdk ✅ Definitive AppHost present → orchestration / deployment / monitoring File based C AppHost apphost.cs with :sdk Aspire.AppHost.Sdk ✅ Definitive AppHost present → orchestration / deployment / monitoring TypeScript AppHost Current apphost.mts or legacy apphost.ts file in project ✅ Definitive AppHost present → orchestration / deployment / monitoring Aspire config without AppHost aspire.config.json present and no AppHost above High Bootstrap → aspireify (skeleton dropped, needs wiring) Aspire config with AppHost aspire.config.json present and AppHost above High AppHost present → orchestration / deployment / monitoring Aspire settings .aspire/ directory present High AppHost present (usually) Generated TS modules .aspire/modules/ directory present High AppHost present (TS) Service defaults Aspire.ServiceDefaults in project references Medium AppHost present No AppHost, no aspire.config.json None of the above and user asks to add Aspire n/a Bootstrap → aspire init (skeleton drop) Default Workflow 0. Bootstrap branch — if no AppHost exists in the repo, route to [ aspire init ](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire init/SKILL.md) for the skeleton drop. If an AppHost stub exists but is unwired (no resources declared), route to [ aspireify ](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspireify/SKILL.md). Only continue with the steps below once a wired AppHost is present. 1. Confirm workspace is Aspire — identify the AppHost 2. Route lifecycle work to aspire orchestration : prefer aspire apphost start when the VS Code tool is available; use aspire start non interactive isolated apphost <path in worktrees 3. aspire wait <resource before interacting with any resource 4. Inspect state with aspire describe , aspire otel logs , aspire logs , aspire otel traces , and aspire export before making code changes 5. Before adding integrations, use aspire integration search <query when the package is unknown, then aspire add <package when ready to mutate the AppHost 6. When code changes, decide whether the AppHost model changed or only one resource changed. Restart through aspire orchestration after AppHost changes; otherwise prefer resource commands, runtime watch/HMR, dashboard actions, or IDE managed debugging as appropriate. Key Rules For agent AppHost lifecycle requests, identify one exact AppHost and route to aspire orchestration . New 13.5 C templates can make dotnet run delegate through the CLI bundle, but agents still use the editor lifecycle tool or aspire start for detached, noninteractive, exact target, and worktree isolated execution. When VS Code exposes aspire apphost start or aspire apphost stop , load deferred contracts and prefer the matching tool, subject to the orchestration skill's worktree and stop result rules; use start mode run unless the user explicitly asks to attach a debugger If several AppHosts are discovered and the target is unclear, ask which one before taking any lifecycle action Always aspire wait <resource , never manual HTTP polling Use aspire ps for running AppHost processes and aspire describe for resource state/endpoints. Never generate removed 13.5 forms such as aspire ps resources or aspire ps include hidden . Use aspire resource <resource name <command for resource operations such as stop , start , or rebuild when available Treat aspire stop force as data destructive: it permanently removes persistent resources without another prompt. Use it only after explicit confirmation for one exact AppHost. Do not stop or restart the whole AppHost just because one resource changed Use features.defaultWatchEnabled only for Aspire default watch; do not treat it as per resource rebuild, restart, or hot reload Prefer a resource's own framework/runtime hot reload, HMR, or watch workflow when it already handles the change Always aspire docs search <topic before editing unfamiliar AppHost APIs Always aspire docs api search <query language csharp typescript for API reference before editing AppHost code Always non interactive for agent execution Use aspire integration list format Json and aspire integration search <query format Json for read only integration discovery Never install the obsolete Aspire workload Never edit .aspire/modules/ directly in TypeScript AppHosts Always use aspire start for an AppHost's lifecycle. When diagnosing or repairing a TypeScript AppHost's package manager toolchain, defer to [ aspireify ](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspireify/SKILL.md) and its package manager rules; do not substitute a raw package manager launcher for aspire start . Routing Task Route To Start, stop, wait, restart, rebuild → [aspire orchestration](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire orchestration/SKILL.md) Create a new Aspire project from a template ( aspire new ) → [aspire init](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire init/SKILL.md) (in plugin) Add Aspire to an existing repo ( aspire init , drop skeleton) → [aspire init](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire init/SKILL.md) (in plugin) Wire AppHost / scaffold resource graph / add integrations after aspire init → [aspireify](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspireify/SKILL.md) (in plugin) Migrate legacy TypeScript apphost.ts ( aspire update migrate ) → [aspire orchestration](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire orchestration/SKILL.md); hand back to aspireify only if source authoring remains Deploy, publish, destroy, pipeline steps → [aspire deployment](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire deployment/SKILL.md) Logs, traces, metrics, dashboard, browser logs → [aspire monitoring](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire monitoring/SKILL.md) Diagnose a running app — "something's wrong", "show me what's happening", investigate errors / health / unexpected behavior → [aspire monitoring](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire skills/blob/main/skills/aspire monitoring/SKILL.md) — start with aspire describe for resource state, then aspire logs / aspire otel logs / aspire otel traces ; investigate before editing code Improve AI agent support / generate project local Aspire agent skills → run aspire agent init (see below) Deployed app monitoring (Azure) → azure diagnostics skill (azure skills plugin) Improving AI agent support ( aspire agent init ) When the user asks for better AI agent support for their Aspire project (or to set up / refresh project local agent guidance), recommend running aspire agent init . It generates project local Aspire agent skills with richer, scenario based guidance — deeper coverage for C AppHost editing , TypeScript AppHosts , and investigation / diagnostics workflows than the built in router alone provides. Sub Skills aspire init First run flow only. Owns the skeleton drop for repos that do not yet have an AppHost — picks aspire new <template (greenfield) or aspire init (existing repo), runs the CLI, and hands off to aspireify for the actual wiring. Self deactivates once the skeleton is in place. Do not use it on a repo that already contains an AppHost. aspireify Agentic AppHost wiring after aspire init lands the skeleton. Scans the repo, proposes a resource graph (Postgres / Redis / Rabbit / etc.), edits the AppHost (C , file based C , or TypeScript), wires Aspire.ServiceDefaults + OTel, validates with aspire start , then self deactivates. Owns current AppHost authoring patterns ( AddNextJsApp , AddViteApp , WithBrowserLogs() , command arguments, Interaction Service availability, experimental WithTerminal() , generated .aspire/modules/ , unified TS withEnvironment , endpoint references, and config/secret migration). aspire orchestration Lifecycle management: start, stop, wait, resource commands, default watch/HMR guidance, and file lock recovery. Safety guardrails that prevent agent self harm. Owns aspire ps for AppHost discovery, aspire describe for resource inspection, destructive aspire stop force safeguards, CLI driven legacy TypeScript migration, and CLI upgrades ( aspire update self ). It hands back to aspireify only when AppHost source authoring remains after migration. aspire deployment Multi target deployment and tear down: aspire deploy , aspire publish , aspire destroy , aspire do <step . Targets: Azure Container Apps, App Service, AKS, Kubernetes (Helm), Docker Compose, AWS, and preview Radius. Owns current deployment surfaces (persistent Kubernetes volumes, delegated Azure subnets, cross scope Azure references, deterministic Container Apps naming, Foundry hosted agents, JS PublishAs , and pipeline log level ) and 13.5 API naming. aspire monitoring Observability: aspire logs , aspire otel , aspire describe , aspire export , aspire dashboard run . Routes between local Aspire CLI diagnostics, AKS workload tooling, and deployed Azure platform tools. Surfaces dashboard features (notification center, Rebuild command, terminal sessions, richer filtering, browser logs telemetry) without assuming the removed dashboard AI Assistant or automatic VS Code dashboard launch. Project Local Skill Override If any of the following exist project locally (from aspire agent init or Aspire aspire init ), warn the user and defer to the project local copy — repo specific guidance there should not be overridden by the in plugin sibling: Project local file Precedence .agents/skills/aspire/SKILL.md This file (top level router) defers to it for deeper C / TS AppHost editing, Playwright handoff, investigation workflows. .agents/skills/aspireify/SKILL.md The in plugin aspireify sibling defers to it for AppHost wiring. .agents/skills/aspire init/SKILL.md The in plugin aspire init sibling defers to it for the skeleton/first run flow. Safety guardrails from this plugin always apply even when project local skills are active.