Agentcamp Expense Agent

1. Install Visual Studio Code (v1.80+) from code.visualstudio.com. Open the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X), search for Copilot Studio, and install the Microsoft Copilot Studio extension.
2. Install an AI CLI (pick one):
   • Claude Code (recommended): needs Node.js 18+ (nodejs.org). Run npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code, then verify with claude. Requires an Anthropic API key or Max subscription.
   • GitHub Copilot CLI: install from github.com/copilot. Requires a GitHub Copilot subscription.
3. Install the Skills for Copilot Studio plugin (open source, by the Microsoft Copilot Studio CAT team):

   /plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio
   /plugin install copilot-studio@skills-for-copilot-studio
   

   Enable auto-updates when prompted.
4. Sign up for the Power Apps Developer Plan (free) at aka.ms/PowerAppsDevPlan. Sign in with your work or school account and wait for the environment to provision (2 to 5 minutes).
5. Start a Copilot Studio trial (free, 30 days) at copilotstudio.microsoft.com using the same account.
6. Enable Managed Environment. In the Power Platform Admin Center, open Environments, select your developer environment, and toggle Managed Environment to On.
7. Enable Dataverse Intelligence. In the same environment settings, turn Dataverse Intelligence On and save. This setting appears only after Managed Environment is enabled.
8. Create a test agent. In Copilot Studio, create a solution, then a new agent named Expense Approval Agent, and accept the defaults. You will build it out during the workshop.

• VS Code installed with the Copilot Studio extension
• Claude Code or GitHub Copilot CLI installed
• Skills for Copilot Studio plugin installed
• Developer environment provisioned
• Copilot Studio trial active
• Managed Environment enabled
• Dataverse Intelligence enabled
• Test agent created

• Lab 1.1 - Install Extension & Sign In. Install the Microsoft Copilot Studio extension, click the Agents icon in the Activity Bar, and sign in with your Microsoft 365 account. Your developer environment should appear in the Agents panel.
• Lab 1.2 - Create the Agent and Add Knowledge. In Copilot Studio, create a solution and set it as preferred, create the agent inside it, then upload docs/Contoso-Expense-Policy.pdf as knowledge and publish.
• Lab 1.2b - Clone Locally. Right-click the agent in the Agents panel and choose Clone to Local. Explore agent.mcs.yaml, topics/, actions/, knowledge/, and .mcsignore.
• Lab 1.3 - Build the Expense Approval Topic. Create expenseApproval.mcs.yaml in topics/. Add a greeting, three Question nodes (amount, category, description), and a ConditionGroup that escalates when the amount is over $500. Use Ctrl+Space for IntelliSense and Ctrl+Shift+M for the Problems pane.
• Lab 1.4 - Sync & Test. Click Apply to push the diff, refresh Copilot Studio, and test in chat.

✅ Checkpoint: $250 for a team lunch auto-approves (under $500). Submit expense report for $750 for conference travel escalates to manager approval (over $500).

• Lab 2.1 - Install the Plugin. In your AI CLI:

  /plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-copilot-studio
  /plugin install copilot-studio@skills-for-copilot-studio
  

  Walkthrough video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES8HnvcLEWU
• Lab 2.2 - Author with Natural Language. From your cloned agent folder, run:

  @copilot-studio:author Add a new topic that handles expense report submissions.
  The topic should collect the expense amount, category (Travel, Meals,
  Office Supplies, Training, Other), and description. If the amount is over
  $500, send a message saying manager approval is required. If over $2000,
  escalate to VP. Otherwise auto-approve. Add a final confirmation message
  summarizing the submission.
  

  Compare the generated YAML with what you wrote by hand in Part 1.
• Lab 2.3 - Test & Troubleshoot from the Terminal. Apply and publish, then:

  @copilot-studio:test Test with: "I need to submit a $350 expense for office supplies"
  @copilot-studio:troubleshoot The agent is routing the wrong topic when I ask about expenses
  

• Lab 2.4 - Explore Advanced Authoring. Try a richer request (mind your token usage):

  @copilot-studio:author Add a knowledge source that references our expense
  policy document. Also add an adaptive card that shows a formatted expense
  summary with amount, category, description, and approval status.
  

✅ Checkpoint: The plugin generates valid YAML and the agent routes expense requests to the correct topic.

• Lab 3.1 - Verify Dataverse Intelligence. In the Power Platform Admin Center, confirm Managed Environment is enabled and Dataverse Intelligence is active. Turn on MCP Clients to interact with Dataverse (preview).

• Lab 3.2 - Create the Expense Approval Business Skill. In Power Apps, go to More > Business Skills (preview) > + New business skills. Copy the Name, Description, and Instructions from skills/expense-approval-policy.md. Set Visibility to Organization, then Save and Activate.

• Lab 3.3 - Connect the Dataverse MCP Server. In your agent, open Tools (or Actions), add the Dataverse MCP Server (preview), and select your developer environment. The agent then auto-discovers every Active skill.

• Lab 3.4 - Test the Complete Solution. Run these four prompts in the test chat:

  #	Test Prompt	Expected Behavior	Policy Rule
  1	I need to submit a $350 expense for office supplies	Auto-approves (under $500)	Under $500: Auto-approve
  2	Submit $1,200 expense for conference registration	Requires manager approval	$500 to $2,000: Manager approval
  3	Process a $3,500 team event expense	Escalates to VP	Over $2,000: VP approval
  4	I need to submit a $5,000 expense for international travel to London	Applies BOTH VP approval AND the international travel rule	VP approval + International travel

✅ Checkpoint: The agent applies all four scenarios correctly, including both rules at once for prompt 4.

🎁 Bonus: Change a threshold in the skill (for example, auto-approval from $500 to $300), save, and reactivate. The agent picks up the change with no republish.

Still stuck? Open a Workshop help issue or start a Discussion.

No. The Power Apps Developer Plan, the Copilot Studio trial, VS Code, and the Skills for Copilot Studio plugin are all free. You only need an AI CLI subscription (Anthropic or GitHub Copilot) for Part 2.

Either works. The Skills for Copilot Studio plugin behaves identically on both. Claude Code is the recommended path in this workshop.

A topic is conversational logic that lives in your agent's code (YAML). A Business Skill is plain-language policy stored in Dataverse that the agent discovers and applies at runtime. You can change a skill and reactivate it without republishing the agent, which keeps business rules separate from code.

Yes. Your developer environment and agent persist. Extend them with more skills, flows, and integrations. See Going further.