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Azure Container Instances

Organization
MicrosoftDocs
azure-container-instances

Expert knowledge for Azure Container Instances development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, and deployment. Use when configuring ACI standby pools, static IP networking, GPU containers, secure ACR pulls, or GitHub Actions deploys, and other Azure Container Instances related development tasks. Not for Azure Container Apps (use azure-container-apps), Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) (use azure-kubernetes-service), Azure App Service (use azure-app-service), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines).

Overview

PublisherMicrosoftDocs
RepositoryAgent-Skills
Skill nameazure-container-instances
Stars
778
Forks
126
Bundled files
Instructions only
LicenseCC-BY-4.0
Links
Skill sourceRepositoryHomepage
  • Markdown instructions

    A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

  • Works with any LLM

    AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

  • Self-contained

    Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.

  • Open source

    Published by MicrosoftDocs on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Azure Container Instances AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

1

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

  1. Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
  2. Choose "Install from GitHub".
  3. Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
    https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills/tree/main/skills/azure-container-instances
  4. Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.
Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.
2

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills.git /tmp/Agent-Skills
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/Agent-Skills/skills/azure-container-instances .claude/skills/azure-container-instances
Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Azure Container Instances in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Azure Container Instances on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Azure Container Instances is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

  • Loaded only when it is needed

    The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

  • Switch models mid-chat

    Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Azure Container Instances Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Container Instances. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

  • Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
  • Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

CategoryLinesDescription
TroubleshootingL36-L42Diagnosing ACI issues using logs/events, understanding provisioning/runtime states, and troubleshooting deployment failures and container startup problems.
Best PracticesL43-L47Guidance on designing and running ACI workloads reliably: resource sizing, networking, storage, security, scaling, image management, and operational best practices.
Decision MakingL48-L53Guidance on cost-optimizing ACI with Spot containers and using prediction-based sizing to configure and right-size Azure Container Instances standby pools.
Architecture & Design PatternsL54-L60Design patterns for giving ACI containers static inbound/outbound IPs using Application Gateway, firewalls, and NAT Gateway for controlled, predictable network egress/ingress.
Limits & QuotasL61-L69ACI limits, quotas, and behaviors: max CPU/memory (Big Containers), per‑region quotas, standby pool limits, VNet constraints, and FAQs on scaling, performance, and resource usage.
SecurityL70-L84Securing Azure Container Instances: TLS/HTTPS setup, secrets and CMK encryption, managed identities/RBAC, secure ACR pulls, DNS reuse protection, and Azure Policy for compliance.
ConfigurationL85-L116Configuring ACI container groups: env vars, DNS, volumes, GPUs, probes, logging/monitoring, standby pools, restarts, entrypoints, updates, and runtime command execution.
DeploymentL117-L120Using GitHub Actions to build, push, and automatically deploy container images to Azure Container Instances, including workflow YAML setup and authentication configuration.

Troubleshooting

TopicURL
Retrieve Azure Container Instances logs and events for troubleshootinghttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-get-logs
Troubleshoot Azure Container Instances deployment issueshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-troubleshooting
Interpret Azure Container Instances provisioning and runtime stateshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-state

Best Practices

TopicURL
Apply Azure Container Instances workload best practiceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-best-practices-and-considerations

Decision Making

TopicURL
Decide when to use ACI Spot containers for cost savingshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-spot-containers-overview
Use prediction results to right-size Azure Container Instances standby poolshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-prediction-results

Architecture & Design Patterns

TopicURL
Expose Azure Container Instances via Application Gateway static IPhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-application-gateway
Configure static outbound IP for Azure Container Instances with firewallhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-egress-ip-address
Configure Azure Container Instances egress via NAT Gatewayhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-nat-gateway

Limits & Quotas

TopicURL
Use Big Containers with ACI vCPU and memory limitshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/big-containers
Azure Container Instances FAQs on limits and behaviorhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-faq
Check Azure Container Instances resource and quota limitshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-resource-and-quota-limits
FAQ and limits for Azure Container Instances standby poolshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-faq
Understand ACI virtual network scenarios and limitshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-virtual-network-concepts

Security

TopicURL
Configure automatic HTTPS for Azure Container Instances using Caddyhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-container-group-automatic-ssl
Enable TLS for Azure Container Instances with Nginx sidecarhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-container-group-ssl
Encrypt Azure Container Instances deployment data with customer-managed keyshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-encrypt-data
Secure images and secrets for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-image-security
Configure managed identities for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-managed-identity
Configure RBAC permissions for Azure Container Instances standby poolshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-configure-permissions
Secure ACI pulls from Azure Container Registry with service principalshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-using-azure-container-registry
Mount secret volumes in Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-volume-secret
Set ACI DNS name reuse policy to prevent subdomain takeoverhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/how-to-reuse-dns-names
Use built-in Azure Policy definitions for Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/policy-reference
Use managed identities for ACI access to Azure Container Registryhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/using-azure-container-registry-mi

Configuration

TopicURL
Use config maps to manage settings in Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-config-map
Configure custom DNS for Azure Container Instances container groupshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-custom-dns
Configure environment variables for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-environment-variables
Execute commands in running Azure Container Instances containershttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-exec
Deploy GPU-enabled workloads on Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-gpu
Configure init containers in Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-init-container
Configure liveness probes for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-liveness-probe
Configure Azure Container Instances log collectionhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-log-analytics
Configure readiness probes for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-readiness-probe
Configure Azure Container Instances with YAML referencehttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-reference-yaml
Configure restart policies for run-once tasks in ACIhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-restart-policy
Create standby pools for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-create
Retrieve details of Azure Container Instances standby poolshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-get-details
Understand and query health state of Azure Container Instances standby poolshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-health-state
Use standby pools to reduce Azure Container Instances scale-out latencyhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-overview
Request container groups from Azure Container Instances standby poolshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-request-container
Update or delete Azure Container Instances standby poolshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pool-update-delete
Monitor Azure Container Instances standby pool events with Log Analyticshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-standby-pools-monitor-pool-events
Override container entrypoint command in Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-start-command
Manually stop and start Azure Container Instances container groupshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-stop-start
Update running container groups in Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-update
Mount Azure Files volumes in Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-volume-azure-files
Use emptyDir volumes to share data in Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-volume-emptydir
Mount gitRepo volumes in Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-volume-gitrepo
Configure monitoring and alerts for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/monitor-azure-container-instances
Configure monitoring and alerts for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/monitor-azure-container-instances
Monitoring data reference for Azure Container Instanceshttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/monitor-azure-container-instances-reference
View Azure Container Instances logs in Log Analytics via portalhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/viewing-logs-in-portal

Deployment

TopicURL
Automate ACI deployments with GitHub Actions workflow configurationhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-instances/container-instances-github-action

Frequently asked questions

What does the Azure Container Instances AI skill do?

Expert knowledge for Azure Container Instances development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, and deployment. Use when configuring ACI standby pools, static IP networking, GPU containers, secure ACR pulls, or GitHub Actions deploys, and other Azure Container Instances related development tasks. Not for Azure Container Apps (use azure-container-apps), Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) (use azure-kubernetes-service), Azure App Service (use azure-app-service), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtu...

Why use Azure Container Instances on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Azure Container Instances is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Azure Container Instances in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills/tree/main/skills/azure-container-instances. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Azure Container Instances?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Azure Container Instances?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Azure Container Instances with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Azure Container Instances AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by MicrosoftDocs under the CC-BY-4.0 license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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