dotnet

.NET Router Skill

Trigger On

• the user asks for general .NET help without naming a narrower framework or tool
• implementing, debugging, reviewing, or refactoring C# or .NET code in a repo with multiple app models or frameworks
• deciding which .NET skill should own a task before editing code
• tasks that combine platform work with testing, quality, architecture, setup, or migration decisions

Workflow

1. Detect the real stack first:
   • target frameworks and SDK version
   • LangVersion
   • project SDKs and workload hints
   • hosting model and app entry points
   • test framework and runner
   • analyzers, formatters, coverage, and CI quality gates
2. Route to the narrowest platform skill as soon as the stack is known:
   • Web: aspnet-core, aspnet-mvc, minimal-apis, web-api, blazor, signalr, grpc
   • Cloud and hosting: aspire, azure-functions, worker-services
   • Desktop and client: maui, wpf, winforms, winui
   • Data and distributed: entity-framework-core, entity-framework6, orleans
   • AI and agentic: semantic-kernel, microsoft-extensions-ai, microsoft-agent-framework, mlnet, mixed-reality
   • Legacy: legacy-aspnet, wcf, workflow-foundation
3. Route cross-cutting work to the companion skill instead of keeping it inside generic .NET advice:
   • project bootstrap or repo shape: project-setup, architecture
   • frontend asset analysis in mixed .NET plus Node repos: eslint, stylelint, htmlhint, webhint, biome, sonarjs, metalint, chous
   • code review: code-review
   • language features: modern-csharp
   • logging / observability: aspnet-logging
   • caching: aspnet-caching
   • health checks: aspnet-health-checks
   • background jobs / scheduled tasks: background-jobs
   • advanced auth (OAuth/OIDC/Identity/refresh tokens): aspnet-auth-advanced
   • testing runner (v2/v3, VSTest/MTP): xunit, tunit, mstest
   • testing design (mocks, integration, fixtures): dotnet-testing-patterns
   • format, analyzers, coverage, and CI: format, code-analysis, quality-ci, coverlet, reportgenerator
   • maintainability and architecture rules: complexity, netarchtest, archunitnet
4. If more than one specialized skill applies, prefer the one closest to the user-visible behavior first, then pull in the quality or tooling skill second.
5. Do not stop at this skill once a narrower match exists. This skill should classify and hand off, not become a generic dumping ground.
6. After code changes, validate with the repository's actual build, test, and quality workflow instead of generic .NET commands.

Routing Heuristics

• If the repo contains Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web, start from a web skill, not generic .NET.
• If the repo contains Blazor, Razor Components, or .razor pages, prefer blazor.
• If the repo has Views/ folder + Controllers returning View() (Razor Views), prefer aspnet-mvc.
• If the repo contains package.json, frontend lint configs, or browser-facing asset pipelines inside the .NET solution, prefer the dedicated frontend analysis skills instead of generic .NET.
• If the repo contains Orleans grains or silo hosting, prefer orleans.
• If the repo is mostly analyzers, CI, or coverage work, prefer the quality skill directly.
• If the user asks about “which skill should I use?”, answer with the narrowest matching skill and explain why in one short sentence.
• If no narrower skill matches, keep the work here and stay explicit about the missing specialization.

Deliver

• the correct specialized skill choice for the task
• repo-compatible code or documentation changes that stay aligned with the detected stack
• validation evidence that matches the real project runner and quality toolchain

Validate

• the chosen downstream skill actually exists in the catalog
• platform assumptions match project SDKs, packages, and workloads
• generic guidance has been replaced by framework-specific guidance whenever possible
• runner-specific commands are not mixed incorrectly
• language or runtime features are only used when the repo supports them

Documentation

References

• references/routing.md - Decision tree for routing tasks to specialized .NET skills, including app model classification and cross-cutting concern handling.
• references/detection.md - Project detection patterns for identifying SDK types, target frameworks, workloads, language versions, and app models.