Microsoft 365 Declarative Agents Development Kit

Workflow 1: Basic Agent Creation

1. Agent Planning: Define purpose, target users, and core capabilities
2. Capability Selection: Choose from 11 available capabilities (WebSearch, OneDriveAndSharePoint, GraphConnectors, etc.)
3. Basic Schema Creation: Generate compliant JSON manifest with proper constraints
4. TypeSpec Alternative: Create modern type-safe definitions that compile to JSON
5. Testing Setup: Configure Agents Playground for local testing
6. Toolkit Integration: Leverage Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit for enhanced development

Workflow 2: Advanced Enterprise Agent Design

1. Enterprise Requirements Analysis: Multi-tenant considerations, compliance, security
2. Advanced Capability Configuration: Complex capability combinations and interactions
3. Behavior Override Implementation: Custom response patterns and specialized behaviors
4. Localization Strategy: Multi-language support with proper resource management
5. Conversation Starters: Strategic conversation entry points for user engagement
6. Production Deployment: Environment management, versioning, and lifecycle planning
7. Monitoring & Analytics: Implementation of tracking and performance optimization

Workflow 3: Validation & Optimization

1. Schema Compliance Validation: Full v1.5 specification adherence checking
2. Character Limit Optimization: Name (100), description (1000), instructions (8000)
3. Capability Audit: Verify proper capability configuration and usage
4. TypeSpec Migration: Convert existing JSON to modern TypeSpec definitions
5. Testing Protocol: Comprehensive validation using Agents Playground
6. Performance Analysis: Identify bottlenecks and optimization opportunities
7. Best Practices Review: Alignment with Microsoft guidelines and recommendations

Core Features Across All Workflows

Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit Integration

• VS Code Extension: Full integration with

  teamsdevapp.ms-teams-vscode-extension

• TypeSpec Development: Modern type-safe agent definitions
• Local Debugging: Agents Playground integration for testing
• Environment Management: Development, staging, production configurations
• Lifecycle Management: Creation, testing, deployment, monitoring

TypeSpec Examples

// Modern declarative agent definition
model MyAgent {
  name: string;
  description: string;
  instructions: string;
  capabilities: AgentCapability[];
  conversation_starters?: ConversationStarter[];
}

JSON Schema v1.5 Validation

• Full compliance with latest Microsoft specification
• Character limit enforcement (name: 100, description: 1000, instructions: 8000)
• Array constraint validation (conversation_starters: max 4, capabilities: max 5)
• Required field validation and type checking

Available Capabilities (Choose up to 5)

1. WebSearch: Internet search functionality
2. OneDriveAndSharePoint: File and content access
3. GraphConnectors: Enterprise data integration
4. MicrosoftGraph: Microsoft 365 service integration
5. TeamsAndOutlook: Communication platform access
6. PowerPlatform: Power Apps and Power Automate integration
7. BusinessDataProcessing: Enterprise data analysis
8. WordAndExcel: Document and spreadsheet manipulation
9. CopilotForMicrosoft365: Advanced Copilot features
10. EnterpriseApplications: Third-party system integration
11. CustomConnectors: Custom API and service integration

Environment Variables Support

{
  "name": "${AGENT_NAME}",
  "description": "${AGENT_DESCRIPTION}",
  "instructions": "${AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS}"
}