Aspire skill: run, debug and deploy Aspire distributed apps with Claude

Teaches your AI assistant the Aspire CLI, AppHost and deployment steps for building distributed apps.

Installs: 9K; on skills.sh
Stars: 40.7K; on GitHub
Files: 9; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

aspire gives your assistant an overview of Aspire, a code-first toolchain that starts and connects containers, executables and cloud resources from one AppHost project. It covers the CLI, project templates, a polyglot AppHost example, core concepts, common patterns and 9 reference files on topics like the dashboard, testing and deployment. It also sets an order for looking up docs: Aspire's MCP docs tools first, then Context7, then GitHub. It needs the .NET SDK 10.0 or newer and a container runtime. It sits in the community awesome-copilot repo, not in an Aspire team repo.

Good for

Developers creating or running an Aspire app with .NET, Python, JavaScript, Go or other services
Teams moving from Docker Compose to an Aspire AppHost
Developers debugging Aspire apps with the dashboard, logs and traces

Install aspire

Claude Code

1
Download the skill folder from https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/tree/HEAD/skills/aspire.
2
Put it at ~/.claude/skills/aspire/ so that SKILL.md sits directly inside.
3
Start a new session; the skill loads when its description matches the task.

Requires .NET SDK 10.0+, Aspire CLI.

Install the Aspire CLI and the .NET SDK 10.0 or newer first. SKILL.md section 2 gives curl -sSL https://aspire.dev/install.sh | bash (Linux, macOS) and irm https://aspire.dev/install.ps1 | iex (Windows PowerShell), then aspire --version. You also need Docker Desktop, Podman or Rancher Desktop.

Built from the package data we hold. Not yet tested by us.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Aspire skill covering the Aspire CLI, AppHost orchestration, service discovery, integrations, MCP server, VS Code extension, Dev Containers, GitHub Codespaces, templates, dashboard, and deployment. Use when the user asks to create, run, debug, configure, deploy, or troubleshoot an Aspire distributed application.

Sections in SKILL.md

References
1. Researching Aspire Documentation
Aspire CLI 13.2+ (recommended — has built-in docs search)
Aspire CLI 13.1 (integration tools only)
Fallback: Context7
Fallback: GitHub search (when Context7 is also unavailable)
2. Prerequisites & Install
3. Project Templates
4. AppHost Quick Start (Polyglot)
5. Core Concepts (Summary)
6. CLI Quick Reference
7. Common Patterns
Adding a new service
Migrating from Docker Compose
8. Key URLs

Key facts

Author: (awesome-copilot) community repo; no author named in the skill folder
Repo: github/awesome-copilot
License: MIT
Installs on skills.sh: 8,985 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 40,666 for the whole github/awesome-copilot repo, 2026-11-02
Last repo commit: 2026-10-30
What is inside: 10 files including SKILL.md (9 reference files); it bundles no scripts
Needs: .NET SDK 10.0+ (even for non-.NET services), Docker Desktop, Podman or Rancher Desktop
CLI versions: Command table is for Aspire CLI 13.1; docs search tools need 13.2 or later

What it includes

Aspire MCP docs tools, then Context7, then GitHub
On CLI 13.2 or later it uses list_docs, search_docs and get_doc. On 13.1 it uses list_integrations and get_integration_docs, then Context7 libraries, then the docs repo on GitHub.
Try: “Use the aspire skill to add a Redis cache and a Python service to my AppHost.”
Network · 1. Researching Aspire documentation
Installs the Aspire CLI and project templates
Shows the install script for Linux and macOS (curl to bash), a PowerShell one-liner for Windows, `aspire --version`, and `dotnet new install Aspire.ProjectTemplates`.
Runs code · 2. Prerequisites and install
4 templates via aspire new
aspire-starter, aspire-ts-cs-starter, aspire-py-starter and aspire-apphost-singlefile.
Runs code · 3. Project templates
C# AppHost with Redis, Postgres, Python, Vite and Go
One example wires an API, a Python ML service, a React front end and a Go worker with WithReference and WithHttpEndpoint.
Write · 4. AppHost quick start
Run vs publish, service discovery, lifecycle, dashboard
A summary table: aspire run for local dev, aspire publish for deployment manifests, automatic service discovery, and WaitFor health gating.
Read · 5. Core concepts
12 commands
new, init, run, add, publish, config, cache, deploy, do, update, mcp init and mcp start.
Runs code · 6. CLI quick reference
Add a service; migrate from Docker Compose
Five steps to add a service, and a mapping from compose concepts (depends_on, ports, environment) to Aspire calls.
Write · 7. Common patterns
Docs, repos, samples and the dashboard image
Links to aspire.dev, the runtime and docs repos, samples, Community Toolkit and the dashboard container image.
Read · 8. Key URLs
Loaded on demand: CLI, MCP, integrations, deployment, testing, troubleshooting
Loaded on demand for flags, MCP setup, method signatures, deployment targets, integration tests and error fixes.
Read · 9 reference files

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

The skill has your assistant install a CLI with a downloaded script, start containers, and run deploy commands. Approve each command, and keep deploys pointed at a test target first.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It installs software by piping a web script into bash
Section 2 shows `curl -sSL https://aspire.dev/install.sh | bash` for Linux and macOS and an irm | iex line for Windows. Read the script or install the CLI yourself instead. github.com
Deploy commands are in the CLI table
aspire deploy ("Deploy to defined targets") and aspire publish are listed, both marked Preview. Check the target before approving. github.com
The MCP server can stop and restart resources
The MCP reference lists execute_resource_command and shows prompts like "Restart the API service" and "Stop the worker while I debug the queue". github.com
mcp init writes config files
aspire mcp init asks which assistants to configure, writes config files such as .vscode/mcp.json and creates an AGENTS.md if none exists. github.com

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only mode.
Talks to	aspire.dev (install scripts and docs). github.com (docs repo search fallback). Context7 (docs fallback). mcr.microsoft.com (dashboard image, listed under Key URLs)
Scopes	Installs the Aspire CLI and project templates aspire run starts your resources locally; aspire publish and aspire deploy produce or push deployments aspire mcp init writes MCP config files and an AGENTS.md Via the Aspire MCP server, can list logs and traces and run resource commands

Questions

What does the aspire skill do?

It gives your assistant working knowledge of Aspire: the CLI, templates, AppHost code, service discovery, integrations, the dashboard, testing and deployment. It also tells the assistant where to look up current docs.

How do I install it?

Use the install box at the top for Claude Code, Codex or the skills CLI. You also need the Aspire CLI, the .NET SDK 10.0 or newer, and a container runtime. The box has no Claude app upload because the skill runs the aspire command on your machine.

Is it from Microsoft or the Aspire team?

No. Aspire is a Microsoft product, but this skill sits in GitHub's awesome-copilot repo, not in an Aspire repo, and the folder names no author. SKILL.md points to the Aspire team's docs (aspire.dev, microsoft/aspire.dev) and MCP server for current details.

Does it need the Aspire MCP server?

It prefers it. On Aspire CLI 13.2 or later the MCP server has docs search tools. Without it, the skill falls back to Context7, then to searching GitHub repos.

Does it only work for .NET?

No. The AppHost example runs Python, JavaScript, Go and other services, but the AppHost itself is .NET, so the SDK is required.

Does it need an API key?

The skill names no key and bundles no scripts. The Context7 fallback is a separate tool you would connect yourself.

Is it safe?

It has your assistant install a CLI with a downloaded script, start containers and possibly deploy. Our advice: approve each command and test against a non-production target. See the permissions section.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: github/awesome-copilot
Folder: skills/aspire

github/awesome-copilot skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 4

aspire SKILL.md · github.com
references/mcp-server.md · github.com
references/cli-reference.md · github.com
references/deployment.md · github.com