/microsoft-events

name: microsoft-events
description: >-
  Your companion for Microsoft events, defaulting to Ignite 2026. Helps you
  find sessions relevant to your project, discover what's new for your tech
  stack, scaffold projects from sessions, and plan your event schedule. Activate
  when users mention sessions, schedule, what's new, Build, Ignite,
  Microsoft event, conference, or reference a session code (BRK, DEM, LAB, KEY,
  LTG, THR). Supports Ignite 2026 and Build 2026
  catalogs. Uses the msevents CLI for fast local search and Learn MCP Server for
  docs.
license: Apache-2.0
compatibility: >-
  Prefers the msevents CLI (`npx -y @microsoft/events-cli`) for session catalog
  access — provides local search, caching, and multi-event support. Falls back
  to direct HTTP fetch if the CLI is not available. For documentation, prefers
  the Microsoft Learn MCP Server (https://learn.microsoft.com/api/mcp); if MCP
  tools are unavailable, falls back to the mslearn CLI
  (`npx @microsoft/learn-cli`). No Azure subscription required.
metadata:
  author: Microsoft Learn team
  version: "0.6"
  domain: microsoft-events
allowed-tools: microsoft_docs_search microsoft_docs_fetch microsoft_code_sample_search

Microsoft Events CLI

> This skill supports multiple Microsoft events. Ignite 2026 is the default. When the user asks about a different event, use the appropriate event ID and endpoint from the table below.

Event context

Default event

| Setting | Value | |---------|-------| | Event | Ignite 2026 | | Event ID | `ignite-2026` | | Dates | November 17-20, 2026 (optional pre-day: November 16) | | Location | San Francisco, CA (Moscone Center) | | Timezone | Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles) | | Catalog endpoint | `https://aka.ms/ignite2026-session-info` | | News & Announcements | Check Key resources; if missing, search `news.microsoft.com` | | Default CLI flag | `--event ignite-2026` |

Supported events

| Event | Event ID | Catalog Endpoint | Location | Timezone | |-------|----------|-----------------|----------|----------| | Ignite 2026 | `ignite-2026` | `https://aka.ms/ignite2026-session-info` | San Francisco, CA (Moscone Center) | PT (America/Los_Angeles) | | Build 2026 | `build-2026` | `https://aka.ms/build2026-session-info` | San Francisco, CA | PDT (UTC-7) |

Recognized event names (not yet configured)

| Event name | Status | Behavior | |---|---|---| | Frontier Tour | Recognized, not configured | Recognize the event name, but do not search or return event facts. |

For recognized-but-not-configured event names, never invent dates, locations, sessions, schedule, or availability.

Time display

Always present session times in the event's local timezone (e.g., "2:30 PM PDT" when the event timezone is PDT). If `startDateTime` is null for an upcoming event, note that day assignments aren't available yet and show time slots only.

When the user mentions a specific event by name, use its event ID for CLI commands (`--event <id>`) and its endpoint for direct fetch. If no event is specified, default to Ignite 2026.

Use these values throughout. CLI commands should include `--event ignite-2026` by default unless the user specifies another event.

Event and content availability

• A configured catalog can represent upcoming, current, or historical content. Do not infer lifecycle state from catalog presence alone.
• Use catalog fields to distinguish scheduled, live, recorded, on-demand, self-paced, and unavailable content.
• For upcoming sessions, describe them as scheduled and do not imply recordings, transcripts, or replay unless explicitly indicated.
• Treat missing availability fields as unavailable or unknown. Do not upgrade availability based on assumptions.

Schedule authority

• Treat `startDateTime` and `endDateTime` as UTC when present.
• Treat `TimeSlot` as display text only, not timezone authority.
• Convert times only when timezone authority is explicit (catalog-provided or user-provided IANA timezone/UTC offset).
• If UTC boundaries conflict with `TimeSlot`, preserve both and flag the conflict; do not reconcile.

Helps developers and IT pros find event sessions relevant to their projects, discover what's new for their tech stack, scaffold projects from session content, and plan their event schedule — all based on what they're actually building.

The "what's new for me" workflow works year-round — Learn MCP Server always has current documentation, SDK updates, and what's-new pages. During active events, the session catalog adds session recommendations on top of the documentation layer.

Two live data sources, no static files:

1. Learn MCP Server — current SDK docs, API references, what's-new pages, quickstarts, code samples (always available) 2. Event session catalog — accessed via the msevents CLI for local search, caching, and multi-event support

> Golden rule: session metadata comes from the live catalog (via CLI or endpoint); SDK docs, API references, and code samples come from Learn MCP Server. Never fabricate session IDs, speaker names, or schedule data.

Source boundary

• **Catalog facts**: session IDs, titles, abstracts, speakers, schedules, locations, formats, availability, and links.
• **Learn facts**: current product, SDK/API behavior, lifecycle, implementation, quickstart, and tutorial facts.
• **Authorized context**: project files, architecture, policies, role, technologies, interests, and learning goals the user explicitly authorizes.
• **Agent judgment**: relevance categories, comparisons, suggested learning order, and next-step recommendations.

For recommendations, clearly separate facts from judgment and cite the concrete signal behind each recommendation.

When to use this skill

Activate when the user:

• Mentions sessions, schedule, or anything about Build or Ignite
• Asks about a Microsoft flagship event or conference
• Asks what's new for their project or tech stack
• Asks what changed in their dependencies or what updates are rele