Best skills for Operate (2026)
improve-codebase-architecture is the best skill for the Operate phase - 550k installs and 190k GitHub stars. Strong alternatives: azure-diagnostics and appinsights-instrumentation.
4034 skills for developers in Operate phase, ranked by real adoption (installs, then GitHub stars). Every pick links to install commands and trust signals.
Ranked by Skillselion · adoption from the skills.sh registry & GitHub · data refreshed July 28, 2026.
The top 10 skills for operate
| # | Skill | Stars | Installs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Safely deepen clusters of shallow modules into cohesive, testable units while respecting their external dependencies. | 190k | 550k |
| 2 |  azure-diagnosticscollectionmicrosoft · microsoft/azure-skillsSystematically diagnose and resolve production issues on Microsoft Azure using official Microsoft guidance. | 1.3k | 479k |
| 3 | appinsights-instrumentationcollectionmicrosoft · microsoft/azure-skills Automatically instrument web applications running on Azure App Service with Application Insights for observability without manual configuration. | 1.3k | 478k |
| 4 | azure-resource-lookupcollectionmicrosoft · microsoft/azure-skills Instantly list, query, and discover any Azure resources across subscriptions without leaving the agent chat. | 1.3k | 478k |
| 5 | azure-kustocollectionmicrosoft · microsoft/azure-skills Run fast KQL queries against Azure Data Explorer for log analytics, telemetry, and time-series data. | 1.3k | 477k |
| 6 | azure-resource-visualizercollectionmicrosoft · microsoft/azure-skills Instantly generate accurate Mermaid architecture diagrams from any live Azure resource group. | 1.3k | 477k |
| 7 | azure-messagingcollectionmicrosoft · microsoft/azure-skills Quickly diagnose and fix connection, authentication, and message-processing failures when using Azure Event Hubs or Service Bus SDKs. | 1.3k | 467k |
| 8 |  triagecollectionmattpocock · mattpocock/skillsMove issues and external PRs through a state machine of triage roles: categorise, verify claims against the codebase, grill if needed, and write agent-ready briefs. | 190k | 448k |
| 9 | azure-computecollectionmicrosoft · microsoft/azure-skills Get accurate Azure VM and VMSS recommendations, pricing, troubleshooting steps, and orchestration guidance directly from an AI coding agent. | 1.3k | 421k |
| 10 | azure-cloud-migratecollectionmicrosoft · microsoft/azure-skills Migrate an existing Google App Engine application to Azure App Service with minimal downtime and correct service mapping. | 1.3k | 411k |
Why these skills rank for operate
1. improve-codebase-architecture
improve-codebase-architecture ranks #1 of the 4034 skills for Operate by adoption, with 550k installs and 190k GitHub stars. It safely deepen clusters of shallow modules into cohesive, testable units while respecting their external dependencies.
2. azure-diagnostics
azure-diagnostics ranks #2 of the 4034 skills for Operate by adoption, with 479k installs and 1.3k GitHub stars. It systematically diagnose and resolve production issues on Microsoft Azure using official Microsoft guidance.
3. appinsights-instrumentation
appinsights-instrumentation ranks #3 of the 4034 skills for Operate by adoption, with 478k installs and 1.3k GitHub stars. It automatically instrument web applications running on Azure App Service with Application Insights for observability without manual configuration.
4. azure-resource-lookup
azure-resource-lookup ranks #4 of the 4034 skills for Operate by adoption, with 478k installs and 1.3k GitHub stars. It instantly list, query, and discover any Azure resources across subscriptions without leaving the agent chat.
5. azure-kusto
azure-kusto ranks #5 of the 4034 skills for Operate by adoption, with 477k installs and 1.3k GitHub stars. It run fast KQL queries against Azure Data Explorer for log analytics, telemetry, and time-series data.
Common questions
What is the best skill for the Operate phase?
improve-codebase-architecture is the top-ranked skill for Operate, with 550k installs and 190k GitHub stars - Safely deepen clusters of shallow modules into cohesive, testable units while respecting their external dependencies..
What are the best alternatives to improve-codebase-architecture for operate?
Strong alternatives ranked just behind improve-codebase-architecture are azure-diagnostics and appinsights-instrumentation. All 4034 options are compared in the table above, ranked by real adoption.
How do I install improve-codebase-architecture?
Run: npx skills add https://github.com/mattpocock/skills --skill improve-codebase-architecture
How are these skills ranked?
By real adoption - installs first, then GitHub stars - across the 4034 skills tagged to the Operate phase. Data from the skills.sh registry and GitHub.
More in Operate phase
See every tool on the Operate phase hub, browse all skills, or see every best-of shortlist.