/azure-answer — Verified Azure Q&A

Answer factual questions about Azure services — pricing, capabilities, SKU comparisons, and service selection — using live web search data and optional Azure CLI verification. Every claim is backed by a cited source so the user can trust and forward the answer.

Platform Compatibility

This skill runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. The only shell command is az (Azure CLI), which works identically across OSes once installed. See _shared/PLATFORM.md for the full reference.

Default to POSIX commands; use PowerShell on Windows native (not WSL/Git Bash).

Core Principles

• Never fabricate Azure information. Every pricing figure, SKU name, capability claim, and service limit must be backed by a cited source (URL or CLI output). Do not rely on training data alone for facts that change frequently (pricing, quotas, region availability).
• Verify before answering. Always search the web or query the CLI before composing the answer. Training data may be months out of date — Azure pricing and features change constantly.
• Refuse gracefully when data cannot be verified. If web search returns nothing relevant and CLI is unavailable, do NOT guess. Provide a direct link to the relevant Azure documentation or pricing page instead.
• Preserve source language. Section headings are always English. If the user asks in Hebrew, respond in Hebrew — but keep technical terms (service names, SKU identifiers, CLI commands) in their original English form. Do not translate content between languages.
• Scope boundary. This skill answers: pricing questions, service capability checks, service comparisons, SKU recommendations, region availability, and quota/limit lookups. It does NOT provide: implementation guidance, architecture reviews, debugging help, or deployment instructions — redirect those to appropriate skills or general assistance.

Prerequisite Auto-Install

Before running, verify all dependencies are present. Install anything missing automatically.

No Required Sibling Skills

This skill is standalone — it has no required sibling skill dependencies. However, it is part of the customer skills repository. If any other skills are needed later, they can be installed from https://github.com/roie9876/clawpilot-skills.

Optional Tools

If az is not installed or not logged in, the skill degrades gracefully to web-search-only mode with a note that CLI verification was skipped.

If az is installed but not logged in, run az login before proceeding.

Step 1: Classify the Question

Categorize the user's question into one of these types:

If out of scope: Respond with a brief explanation: "This is an implementation/architecture question — /azure-answer covers pricing, capabilities, and service comparisons. I can help with this directly as a general question instead." Then stop.

Step 2: Search for Current Data

Use web search to find current, authoritative data. Prefer Microsoft sources.

Primary: Web Search

Run one or more targeted searches using search-the-web or google_search:

Query templates by category:

Source quality rules:

• Require at least one result from microsoft.com, learn.microsoft.com, or azure.microsoft.com. These are the authoritative sources for Azure information.
• Accept supplementary data from reputable tech sites (e.g., techcommunity.microsoft.com, devblogs.microsoft.com) but always cross-reference against official docs.
• Reject results older than 12 months for pricing data — Azure pricing changes frequently.
• If results are thin, use fetch_page to read the most promising URL and extract specific figures.

If no relevant results are found:

Do NOT proceed to composing an answer. Skip to Step 5 (Handle Failure Gracefully).

Step 3: Verify with CLI (Optional)

When the az CLI is available on the system, supplement web data with live queries for higher confidence. This step is optional — the skill works without CLI access.

Check CLI availability first:

# macOS / Linux / WSL / Git Bash
az version 2>/dev/null && echo "CLI available" || echo "CLI not available"

# Windows PowerShell
if (Get-Command az -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) { az version; "CLI available" } else { "CLI not available" }

If available, use targeted commands based on question category:

CLI Error Handling

Step 4: Compose the Answer

Format the answer with these required sections:

Answer Body

• Lead with a direct answer to the user's question in 1-3 sentences.
• Follow with supporting detail — tables for pricing/comparisons, bullet points for capabilities.
• Use tables for any comparison or pricing data — they are easier to scan and forward.

Sources Section (Required)

List all sources that contributed to the answer:

**Sources:**
1. [Azure {Service} Pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/...) — accessed {date}
2. [Learn: {Service} Overview](https://learn.microsoft.com/...) — accessed {date}
3. `az vm list-sizes --location westeurope` — queried {date}

Every factual claim in the answer must trace back to a numbered source.

Freshness Disclaimer (Required)

Always include at the end:

> ⚠️ **Verified on {YYYY-MM-DD}.** Azure pricing and features change frequently.
> Confirm current figures at the [Azure Pricing Calculator](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/calculator/)
> before making commitments.

Confidence Indicator (Required)

Rate the answer confidence:

If confidence is Low, prepend a prominent warning: "⚠️ I could not verify this against current sources. The information below is from training data and may be outdated."

Step 5: Handle Failure Gracefully

If web search returns nothing relevant AND CLI is unavailable or unhelpful:

Do NOT guess or rely on training data without flagging it.

Instead, respond with:

I couldn't verify current Azure data for this question.

**Check these resources directly:**
- [{Most relevant Azure docs page}]({URL})
- [Azure Pricing Calculator](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/calculator/)
- [Azure Updates](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/) — for recent changes

If you can share a more specific service name or scenario, I can try a narrower search.

Choose the most relevant docs page URL based on the question category:

Error Handling