Microsoft Docs
Tools
| Tool | Use For |
|---|
microsoft_docs_search | Find documentation—concepts, guides, tutorials, configuration |
microsoft_docs_fetch | Get full page content (when search excerpts aren't enough) |
When to Use
- Understanding concepts — "How does Cosmos DB partitioning work?"
- Learning a service — "Azure Functions overview", "Container Apps architecture"
- Finding tutorials — "quickstart", "getting started", "step-by-step"
- Configuration options — "App Service configuration settings"
- Limits & quotas — "Azure OpenAI rate limits", "Service Bus quotas"
- Best practices — "Azure security best practices"
Query Effectiveness
Good queries are specific:
# ❌ Too broad
"Azure Functions"
# ✅ Specific
"Azure Functions Python v2 programming model"
"Cosmos DB partition key design best practices"
"Container Apps scaling rules KEDA"
Include context:
- Version when relevant (
.NET 8, EF Core 8) - Task intent (
quickstart, tutorial, overview, limits) - Platform for multi-platform docs (
Linux, Windows)
When to Fetch Full Page
Fetch after search when:
- Tutorials — need complete step-by-step instructions
- Configuration guides — need all options listed
- Deep dives — user wants comprehensive coverage
- Search excerpt is cut off — full context needed
Why Use This
- Accuracy — live docs, not training data that may be outdated
- Completeness — tutorials have all steps, not fragments
- Authority — official Microsoft documentation
CLI Alternative
If the Learn MCP server is not available, use the mslearn CLI from the command line instead:
# Run directly (no install needed)
npx @microsoft/learn-cli search "azure functions timeout"
# Or install globally, then run
npm install -g @microsoft/learn-cli
mslearn search "azure functions timeout"
| MCP Tool | CLI Command |
|---|
microsoft_docs_search(query: "...") | mslearn search "..." |
microsoft_docs_fetch(url: "...") | mslearn fetch "..." |
The fetch command also supports --section <heading> to extract a single section and --max-chars <number> to truncate output.
