What does this skill do, and when should you use it?
This skill is for developers, cloud architects, and operators who need to understand Azure infrastructure topology. It discovers resources in a resource group, examines configuration, networking, identity, and dependencies, and converts the findings into Mermaid diagrams. It also produces Markdown documentation containing an inventory, relationship details, and notes. The workflow is read-only and is not intended to modify or delete Azure resources.
Lists available resource groups and locations when no group is supplied; uses Azure MCP tools or the Azure CLI to query every resource in the selected group; captures names, types, SKUs or tiers, regions, key configuration, network settings, managed identity, RBAC, and dependencies; uses Azure Resource Graph for bulk cross-subscription discovery; maps network connections, data flows, identity links, configuration references, and parent-child dependencies; generates Mermaid diagrams grouped by logical layers such as Network, Compute, Data, Security, and Monitoring; and creates a Markdown file named [resource-group-name]-architecture.md. Secrets, keys, connection strings, and Key Vault secrets must be represented only with placeholders.
- A cloud architect needs to map compute, networking, and data resources in an Azure resource group.
- An operations team inherits an Azure environment and needs an inventory plus architecture documentation.
- A development team wants to review dependencies among applications, databases, storage, Key Vault, and network resources before deployment.
- An Azure administrator needs bulk resource discovery across subscriptions followed by an infrastructure topology diagram.
How do you install this skill?
- Before use, confirm that Azure MCP or Azure CLI is installed and authenticated with sufficient but read-only RBAC permissions.
- Never place connection strings, keys, tokens, or Key Vault secret values in Mermaid, Markdown, or logs; confirm the output path and overwrite behavior before creating files.
- Complex or cross-resource-group relationships may not be inferable from in-group properties alone; label external and unverified dependencies explicitly.
- Chinese output conventions and mainland-China network reachability are unspecified, requiring manual review for FollowSkills users.
- Shell / CLI
- Network access
- Local filesystem
- MCP Server
Azure CLIAzure MCP tools
Install the collection with npx skills add microsoft/skills, then select the required skills in the wizard. Alternatively, in Copilot CLI run /plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills, followed by /plugin install azure-skills@skills. The source does not provide a standalone installation command for this individual skill.
tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/skills.git "$tmp"
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -R "$tmp/.github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/azure-resource-visualizer" ~/.claude/skills/
rm -rf "$tmp"Generated from the source repository and skill path; it copies only this skill's folder. If the author's install steps above differ, follow those first. To scope it to one project, replace ~/.claude/skills with that project's .claude/skills.
How do you use this skill?
Once installed, send your agent any of these to trigger it:
- Analyze my Azure resource group and generate a Mermaid architecture diagram
- visualize Azure resources and show resource relationships.
Use a request such as “Analyze my Azure resource group and generate a Mermaid architecture diagram” or “visualize Azure resources and show resource relationships.” If no resource group is named, the skill should list groups with their locations and wait for selection by number or name. After selection, it validates the group, analyzes its resources, and creates the architecture Markdown document.
What are this skill's strengths and limitations?
- Covers discovery, configuration analysis, relationship mapping, Mermaid generation, and Markdown documentation in one workflow.
- Explicitly addresses network, data-flow, identity, configuration, and parent-child relationships.
- Uses a read-only operating model and prohibits exposing secret values in diagrams.
- Supports Azure Resource Graph for bulk discovery across subscriptions.
- Requires Azure MCP tools or Azure CLI and permission to query Azure resources.
- For architectures with more than 50 resources, the source only recommends multiple layer-specific diagrams and does not describe automatic splitting.
- The source provides no skill-specific test results or rendering-validation report.
- The source does not specify the required RBAC roles or whether Azure queries incur costs.
How does this skill compare with similar options?
Side by side with related skills; every score comes from the same FSRS standard.
| Skill | FS score | Stars | Last updated | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Resource Architecture Visualizer this page ✓ Microsoft · Official | 56 · Use with care | ★ 2.7k | 3mo ago | MIT |
| Azure Resource Lookup ✓ Microsoft · Official | 54 · Use with care | ★ 2.7k | 3mo ago | MIT |
| Azure Reliability Advisor ✓ Microsoft · Official | 57 · Use with care | ★ 2.7k | 3mo ago | MIT |
| Azure Quota Manager ✓ Microsoft · Official | 48 · Use with care | ★ 2.7k | 3mo ago | MIT |
| Azure Deployment Runner ✓ Microsoft · Official | 54 · Use with care | ★ 2.7k | 3mo ago | MIT |
How did FollowSkills review this skill?
The skill requires resource-group selection confirmation, read-only analysis, prohibits Azure mutations, and mandates placeholders for secrets, reducing destructive and exfiltration risk. It does not define least-privilege RBAC, complete data-flow disclosure, external-service boundaries, or overwrite/recovery handling for generated files, so 6 points are deducted.
The workflow, discovery, relationship mapping, and edge cases are reasonably specified, with Azure CLI and ARG query patterns. However, MCP availability, resource-type coverage, Mermaid validation, and diagnosable permission-failure behavior lack reproducible evidence; the static ceiling therefore limits the score.
Triggers, input conditions, resource-group selection, and output formats are clear for Azure topology visualization. Non-fit boundaries, subscription/identity prerequisites, Chinese-language interaction, and mainland-China network reachability are not addressed, so 5 points are deducted.
The skill includes a version, MIT licensing, references, an example diagram, and an output template with sensible workflow layering. It lacks a skill-specific changelog, explicit maintenance owner/update path, complete dependency-install notes, FAQ coverage, and fuller parameter-stability guidance, so 6 points are deducted.
The intended deliverable includes an inventory, Mermaid diagram, relationship explanations, and recommendations, giving it direct practical value. However, completeness and accuracy depend on live Azure query capability; the example is only typical and no skill-specific usable output is verified, so 9 points are deducted under the static ceiling.
ARG KQL, CLI examples, a template, and a Mermaid example provide limited auditable methodology. The supplied material contains no skill-specific tests, real execution results, or independent reproduction evidence, so 6 points are deducted under the static ceiling.
Open a dimension to read why it scored that way
Evidence confidence：Low — Mostly static review, author material or a limited demo; useful for discovery, not high-risk decisions.
See the full review method →