canvas-authoring

Create a canvas app with the Microsoft Canvas Toolkit. This plugin adds toolkit setup and a counter or read-only Azure resource-group starter to the host's native create-canvas workflow.

Requirements

• A canvas-capable GitHub Copilot host with its installed create-canvas skill. The plugin does not replace or install that host skill.
• Node.js 22+ (24 recommended) and npm.
• The exact @microsoft/canvas-toolkit@0.1.0-preview.2 release exporting @microsoft/canvas-toolkit/build, once published, or an approved local .tgz containing that API. Do not treat a missing /build export as success.
• For live Azure reads: Azure CLI 2.61+ and permission to read the subscription.

Install

Install from the released private microsoft/azure-dev-tools plugin distribution after the 0.1.1 package is published:

copilot plugin install microsoft/azure-dev-tools:plugins/canvas-authoring

To try a local export instead:

copilot --plugin-dir "<export-directory>/plugins/canvas-authoring"

The private 0.1.0 release remains available; this patch does not change its immutable tag. Native App/CLI installation of 0.1.1 is not yet verified. Use the exported plugin, not the source folder build/canvas-authoring/. This page describes the installed plugin; its bundled documentation links resolve after export. Installing it adds a skill, not a running canvas app.

Create an app

Ask your agent:

Build a read-only Azure canvas that lists resource groups.
Use the native create-canvas skill and the create-canvas-app companion's
Azure starter. Help me choose a compatible toolkit version.

The agent creates the native scaffold, generates the source app, and connects the copied host entry. You choose the project location and toolkit package. For a non-Azure example, ask for the counter starter.

Setup accepts one exact npm version or one local tarball. It does not install dependencies or contact Azure, and it refuses existing output directories rather than overwriting files. For command-line setup, see the skill instructions.

Build and run

In the generated app:

npm install
npm run build
npm test
npm run smoke

smoke is available in the Azure starter. It uses installed Chrome, or the executable specified by CANVAS_BROWSER, with labelled synthetic data. Keep package-lock.json and use npm ci for later installs.

Follow the generated README and host skill to install the complete dist/ directory and reload the provider. A browser refresh does not load rebuilt provider code; a build-ID warning indicates a mismatch.

The Azure app does nothing until you act: load the CLI profile, select a subscription, then choose List resource groups. It never signs in, chooses a subscription, or writes Azure resources automatically. Browser checks do not replace trying the app in the native host with your Azure account.

Customize

Start with the generated README's source map and the Azure quickstart. Keep the shared UI/agent actions, explicit scope and cancellation when changing the reader or display. The integration reference covers the host adapter and build settings.

Toolkit guides are included in the plugin and generated from the toolkit sources. Their provenance records versions and checksums; it does not establish npm availability.