Microsoft has opened the developer preview of Work IQ Developer Tools (WIQD), a new CLI and agentic interface designed to unify the entire lifecycle of Microsoft 365 Copilot plugins, from initial scaffolding through production monitoring. The tool is available now for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and targets developers building skills, connectors, and declarative agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Announcing the preview of the Work IQ Developer Tools
Until now, extending Copilot has required jumping between multiple disconnected systems: scaffolding code, registering manifests, validating packages, submitting for certification, and monitoring usage in separate portals. WIQD collapses that sequence into a single command surface. It provides a CLI, a Copilot CLI agent plugin, and a Visual Studio Code extension, all built on one core so behavior stays consistent whether a developer types a command, describes a task in chat, or wires the tool into a CI/CD pipeline. The lifecycle verbs are standardized as create, configure, validate, provision, package, share, ask, eval, publish, and monitor. Work IQ Developer Tools – Microsoft 365 Blog
During the build phase, WIQD discovers dependencies such as MCP tools, API plugins, and skills, wires their schemas into the plugin manifest, and configures a language server for live diagnostics on manifest and adaptive-card files. The same tooling also generates targeted evaluation tests as YAML files so teams can measure regressions across runs rather than relying on ad hoc manual checks. Getting Started with Work IQ Dev Tools
For deployment, WIQD lets teams submit packages to the Microsoft Marketplace through Partner Center or to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for line-of-business scenarios without leaving the project. After publish, the wiqd agent monitor command pulls usage, health, and adoption telemetry from the Work IQ platform directly into the terminal. Microsoft says developers will need Node.js 24 or later, a Microsoft 365 tenant with a Copilot license, and an Azure subscription to provision agents. Announcing the preview of the Work IQ Developer Tools
The launch coincides with broader Microsoft efforts to make agent development more accessible through Copilot-driven tooling. Developers interested in trying the preview can install WIQD with a single command and access documentation at the project’s start page.
For related coverage on developer tooling from Microsoft, see Microsoft PowerToys Rolls Out Free Windows Power Tools.
