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Azure Canvases are interactive, task-specific workspaces inside the GitHub Copilot app. Microsoft announced three on September 29, 2026: one for building and operating hosted skills with Azure Functions, one for read-only resource discovery, and one for viewing Azure cost and governance information. Choose by the job you need done; these canvases are not interchangeable dashboards.
Microsoft says each canvas gives you and an agent a shared view alongside Copilot chat, where you can inspect progress, make changes, and approve next steps. The announcement explains how to install one, but does not establish regional availability, eligible Copilot plans, required Azure roles, or Azure charges.
What Azure Canvases are—and what the shared workspace changes
Microsoft describes canvas extensions as interactive tools, including dashboards, editors, and guided workflows, that run inside the GitHub Copilot app. A canvas appears alongside chat, rather than requiring you to reconstruct an agent’s work from a long conversation. The intended interaction is a shared workspace: you and the agent can view progress, make changes, and approve next steps.
That distinction matters when a task has visible state to inspect or choices to make. A resource listing, cost dashboard, or workflow editor can present information and controls in the context of the task. Microsoft’s description does not mean the agent automatically has permission to perform every action shown in a canvas; the announcement does not define a general permission model for canvases.
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Microsoft also says routine interface actions—such as filtering a table or selecting an option—can run in code without another model call. It presents this as a way to reduce waiting and AI-credit use. The September 29 announcement gives no measured savings, benchmark, or figure, so treat that as Microsoft’s qualitative claim rather than a guaranteed speedup or credit reduction.
Matt Hernandez, identified as the author of the Microsoft for Developers announcement, described the shared-workspace idea this way: “You and your agent share a workspace where you can see progress, make changes, and approve next steps without digging through chat history.”
Choose a canvas by the work you need to do
The three canvases announced address different tasks. The clearest way to choose is to start with the outcome: creating or operating a hosted skill, finding Azure resources, or reviewing cost and governance information.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches| Canvas | Microsoft-described purpose | Best fit | Scope established in the announcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Functions Hosted Skills | Build, run, and deploy hosted skills with Azure Functions. | A workflow for creating and operating hosted skills. | The announcement describes the workflow but does not specify its permission or mutation behavior. |
| Azure Resources Query | Browse a view of resources across selected subscriptions. | Discovering resources across subscriptions. | Explicitly described as read-only. |
| Azure Cost Health Check | Analyze cost, forecast, budget, governance, and AI billing in a shared dashboard. | Reviewing cost and governance information. | The announcement does not specify its permission or mutation behavior. |
Azure Functions Hosted Skills: a build-and-operate workflow
Choose this canvas when your task is to create, run, or deploy hosted skills using Azure Functions. Microsoft’s example is “Create a daily GitHub digest with Azure Functions Hosted Skills.” That wording identifies the kind of task to start with; it does not establish a particular implementation, schedule configuration, integration, or deployment result.
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The purpose is operational workflow, not simply browsing existing resources. The announcement does not describe what deployment approvals or Azure permissions this canvas requires, nor does it say which operations are automatic. Treat the canvas as a task-specific interface and review the actions and approvals presented in your own session.
Azure Resources Query: read-only resource discovery
Choose Azure Resources Query when you want a view of resources across selected subscriptions. Microsoft explicitly characterizes it as read-only, making it the distinct option for discovery rather than a canvas described as creating or deploying resources.
Microsoft’s example prompt is “Show my Function Apps in Development.” It illustrates a resource-finding request; the announcement does not define how the word “Development” is interpreted, how subscriptions are selected, or which resource fields will appear. Verify the returned scope and results in the canvas rather than assuming the example specifies a filter configuration.
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Azure Cost Health Check: cost and governance visibility
Choose Azure Cost Health Check for a shared dashboard intended to analyze cost, forecast, budget, governance, and AI billing. Its focus is cost and governance visibility, rather than the hosted-skill workflow or read-only resource browsing.
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Microsoft’s example is “Analyze Azure costs for subscription <subscription name or ID>.” Replace the example variable with the relevant subscription name or ID when entering a task. The post does not state that the dashboard changes budgets or governance settings, nor does it establish a particular billing calculation, forecast method, or cost-saving recommendation.
Install an Azure canvas in the GitHub Copilot app
Microsoft’s stated prerequisite is the Azure CLI and signing in with az login. The stated reason is that the canvases can use your Azure identity. The announcement does not provide a minimum CLI version, enumerate Azure roles, or explain how to resolve every sign-in or access failure.
- Install Azure CLI. The announcement names this as a prerequisite, but does not give an operating-system-specific installation procedure or minimum version.
- Sign in to Azure. Run
az loginand complete the sign-in flow. This is the identity setup Microsoft specifies for canvas use. - Open the plugin catalog in the app. In the GitHub Copilot app, open the sidebar’s Customize section and choose Plugins.
- Find and install a canvas. Find the Azure canvas you want in the Awesome Copilot marketplace and install its plugin.
- Start a new session. Microsoft says to start a new session after installation. Use a request appropriate to the canvas, such as one of the examples above.
There is also a featured-canvas route described in the announcement: open Customize > Canvas, select a canvas, install its plugin, and start a new session. Microsoft says the canvas opens beside chat when Copilot starts an appropriate workflow. The post does not say that every prompt will open every canvas automatically, or define the matching rules behind “appropriate workflow.”
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For decisions about access, eligibility, and expense, the limits of the September 29, 2026 announcement matter as much as the feature descriptions. It names the installation path and Azure CLI sign-in prerequisite, but it is not a complete access or billing specification.
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- Up to 15.5hours of battery life[3] - The new Surface Pro is designed for long days, late nights and everything in between.
- Productivity. All Day. Every Day. – Built with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus (10 Core) processors, Surface Pro delivers fast, responsive performance with built-in AI acceleration—so you can handle everything from everyday tasks to demanding workloads with ease.
- The ports you need – Charge on-the-go, transfer data fast, or create the ultimate desktop set up with two USB-C / USB4[4] ports.
- Built-in AI Companion – Work smarter, create freely, and communicate with confidence—Copilot[5] on Windows 11 is always there to help.
- Permission scope: Azure Resources Query is explicitly read-only. The announcement does not establish comparable permission or mutation behavior for Azure Functions Hosted Skills or Azure Cost Health Check.
- Azure roles: No specific Azure role requirements are stated. A successful
az loginis the stated identity step, not evidence that a user has permission to access every subscription or perform every operation. - Copilot eligibility: The post does not identify eligible Copilot plans or editions.
- Regional availability: No supported regions or rollout schedule are given.
- Charges: The announcement does not specify Azure charges, Copilot pricing, or whether using a canvas changes either. It gives no cost estimate.
- Measured performance or credit savings: Microsoft says code-run interactions can mean less waiting and fewer AI credits, but publishes no measurement or quantified saving.
Before relying on a canvas in a particular account or environment, check current official product documentation for plan eligibility, regional availability, role requirements, and applicable charges. The announcement alone cannot answer those account-specific questions.
Use the canvas as a visible workflow, not a blanket permission grant
The practical value described by Microsoft is that task state and interaction sit beside the agent conversation. That can make it easier to see what is being reviewed, adjust an option, or approve a next step without hunting through chat history. It does not remove the need to examine the subscription, resource scope, or proposed action relevant to your task.
For a discovery request, start with Azure Resources Query and inspect the subscriptions and results represented in the view. For a hosted-skill task, choose Azure Functions Hosted Skills and pay attention to the workflow steps it presents. For a cost review, use Azure Cost Health Check and treat the dashboard as analysis rather than evidence that a budget or governance configuration has been changed. These are distinctions in the announced purposes; the post does not specify all underlying controls or guarantee particular outputs.
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