Azure Arc Jumpstart Template for Hybrid Logic Apps Deployment
Today I’m sharing a new Azure Arc Jumpstart template (Jumpstart Drop) that implements a hybrid deployment for Azure Logic Apps (Standard) on Azure Arc-enabled AKS cluster which enables deployment with a single command that sets up a complete, working environment for testing your scenarios. Jumpstart Drop link: Azure Arc Jumpstart Hybrid deployment model allows you to run Logic Apps workloads on your own infrastructure, providing you with the option to host your integration solutions on premises, in a private cloud, or even in a third-party public cloud. You can find more information in this article:Set up your own infrastructure for Standard logic app workflows - Azure Logic Apps | Microsoft Learn Demo video: Given that Hybrid Logic Apps is designed to support mission-critical, enterprise-level integration scenarios, with provision to configure on custom infrastructure across both Azure and Kubernetes environments—the setup can naturally be complex. This Jumpstart template addresses these intricacies by simplifying onboarding and providing an all-in-one script for comprehensive testing and validation. This Jumpstart template deploys the following components and verifies each deployment stage. You can customize each step as per your requirements by modifying the script. An AKS cluster as the Kubernetes substrate for the scenario. Azure Arc enablement for Kubernetes to onboard the cluster into Azure for centralized governance and operations. ACA extension, Custom location and Connected Environment. Azure SQL Server for runtime storage. Azure storage account for SMB artifacts storage. A hybrid logic Apps resource. Getting started : Visit the Jumpstart URL Azure Arc Jumpstart and follow the steps below. Check prerequisites and permissions (see Prerequisites tab). Download the GitHub repo and run the deployment command (see Quick Start tab). After deployment, run test commands to confirm everything works (see Testing tab). Feedback and contributions Jumpstart templates are built for the community and improved with community input. If you try this drop and have suggestions (documentation clarity, additional validation, new scenarios, or fixes), please share feedback through the https://github.com/ShreeDivyaMV/LogicApps_Jumpstart_Templates repository associated with the drop. References: Announcement: General Availability of Logic Apps Hybrid Deployment Model | Microsoft Community Hub Create Standard logic app workflows for hybrid deployment - Azure Logic Apps | Microsoft Learn https://github.com/ShreeDivyaMV/LogicApps_Jumpstart_Templates Azure Arc JumpstartAutomated Test Framework - Missing Tests in Test Explorer
Have your tests created using the Logic Apps Standard Automated Test Framework disappeared from the Test Explorer in VS Code all of a sudden? The answer is a mismatch between the MSTest versions used. A recent update in the C# DevKit extension changed the minimum requirements for the MSTest library - it now requires the minimum of 3.7.*. The project scaffolding created byt the Logic Apps Standard extension uses 3.0.2. The good news is that you can fix this by just changing package versions on your project. Follow the instructions below to have this fixed: Open the .csproj that the extension created (e.g. LogicApps.csproj). Find the ItemGroup containing your package references. It should look like this: <ItemGroup> <PackageReference Include="MSTest" Version="3.2.0"/> <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.8.0"/> <PackageReference Include="MSTest.TestAdapter" Version="3.2.0"/> <PackageReference Include="MSTest.TestFramework" Version="3.2.0"/> <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Azure.Workflows.WebJobs.Tests.Extension" Version="1.0.0"/> <PackageReference Include="coverlet.collector" Version="3.1.2"/> </ItemGroup> Replace the package references with this new version: <ItemGroup> <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Azure.Workflows.WebJobs.Tests.Extension" Version="1.*" /> <PackageReference Include="MSTest" Version="4.0.2" /> <PackageReference Include="coverlet.collector" Version="3.2.0" /> </ItemGroup> Once you make this change, restart VSCode window and rebuild your project - Test Explorer will start showing your tests again. Notice that this package reference is simplified as some of the previous references are already in the dependency chain, so don't need to be explicitly added. ℹ️ We are updating our extension to make sure that new projects are being generated with the new values, but you should make those changes manually on existing projects.Logic Apps Aviators Newsletter - February 2026
In this issue: Ace Aviator of the Month News from our product group News from our community Ace Aviator of the Month February 2026’s Ace Aviator: Camilla Bielk What's your role and title? What are your responsibilities? I’m a developer and solution architect, working as a consultant (at XLENT) in teams involved across the integration lifecycle—from understanding business needs and building new solutions to operations. Previously I worked a lot with BizTalk and with customers using both Azure and BizTalk. In my current role, I work exclusively with Azure. Can you give us some insights into your day-to-day activities and what a typical day in your role looks like? A typical day starts by syncing operational status with the team to ensure everything is running as expected (Logic Apps, Service Bus, Functions, API Management, etc.) and discussing any findings from the previous day. Then I continue with ongoing work, ranging from stakeholder meetings and designing new integration flows to C# development, operations, and maintenance of the existing landscape. I enjoy being involved across the entire chain. Working closely with operational issues provides valuable input into design decisions, and vice versa, which strengthens me as a designer and architect. What motivates and inspires you to be an active member of the Aviators/Microsoft community? The openness to feedback and knowledge sharing from both community developers and the product team motivates me to stay active, continuously learn, and become the best consultant I can be. Passing knowledge to new team members is rewarding and completes the circle. Integration conferences are inspiring - networking with amazing people and discussing the technology we use every day. That’s also why we started the Nordic Integration Summit: to give more people the chance to take part in such an inspiring event. Looking back, what advice do you wish you had been given earlier that you'd now share with those looking to get into STEM/technology? Your social skills are more valuable than you might think. Teamwork is everything, and understanding business needs—even from non-technical colleagues—is just as important as technology. Listen to your heart and find environments where you can thrive. Programming languages change over time; the real takeaway is mastering common concepts and patterns and developing the ability to learn continuously. Stay curious and embrace new things as they come! What has helped you grow professionally? 100% of my professional growth comes from working with kind, humble, and collaborative people—teams where knowledge is shared freely in all directions, mistakes are allowed, and learning from them is encouraged. If you had a magic wand that could create a feature in Logic Apps, what would it be and why? Better cost transparency—clearly showing which actions drive costs (executions, retries, data volume, logging) with visibility before production deployment. Design-time guidance that warns about expensive operations, anti-patterns, and inefficient configurations. News from our product group Introducing Unit Test Agent Profiles for Logic Apps & Data Maps Focused unit test agent profiles help Logic Apps Standard teams discover workflows and data maps, write reusable specifications, generate typed mocks/test data, and implement MSTest suites against the Automated Test SDK. The approach promotes spec-first testing, consistent artifacts, and reliable validations across scenarios (happy path, error handling, boundaries). The project demonstrates how GitHub Copilot custom agents and prompts can accelerate unit test authoring while enforcing constraints for maintainability in enterprise integrations. Automated Test Framework - Missing Tests in Test Explorer If Logic Apps Standard tests disappear from VS Code’s Test Explorer, the cause is typically a MSTest version mismatch introduced by a recent C# DevKit update. The fix is to update package references in the project (MSTest, Test SDK, and related dependencies) to supported versions. After adjusting packages and restarting VS Code, tests reappear and run as expected. The extension is being updated, but existing projects should apply the manual changes to restore a stable testing experience. Upcoming Agentic Azure Logic Apps Workshops Free workshops introduce Agentic Business Processes in Azure Logic Apps, including MCP Server integrations and agent loop patterns. Sessions cover connecting the enterprise with MCP Servers from Copilot Studio and building agentic workflows in a day using Logic Apps (Standard). Registration links are provided, with dates set in January. These events help practitioners explore agent tools, orchestration patterns, and practical scenarios for intelligent automation in modern integration landscapes. News from our community Enterprise AI ≠ Copilot Post by Al Ghoniem, MBA Deploying Copilot is not the same as building an enterprise AI strategy. This article distinguishes between adopting a product versus developing a core organizational capability. It explores why many AI rollouts stall when treated as point solutions and outlines what it takes to embed AI as a strategic, scalable function across the enterprise. For leaders evaluating their AI roadmaps, this piece offers a framework for thinking beyond tools toward sustainable transformation. BizTalk Server and WinSCP Error Post by Sandro Pereira A common SFTP adapter issue resurfaces when BizTalk Server cumulative updates are applied. This troubleshooting guide explains why the WinSCPnet assembly fails to load after upgrading from CU5 to CU6 and provides a version compatibility matrix for BizTalk Server 2020. It includes step-by-step instructions to resolve the error by copying the correct WinSCP binaries to the BizTalk installation folder, along with an automated PowerShell script for streamlined remediation. More on finding application registrations used by Logic Apps Post by Mikael Sand Building on earlier work around API connection discovery, this post extends KQL queries to find Logic Apps that authenticate via Client ID and secret in HTTP actions. Using Azure Resource Graph Explorer, the technique scans workflow parameters to identify application registration references. While the approach assumes parameters are used for credentials, it provides a practical method for auditing which Logic Apps depend on a given app registration across subscriptions. MCP Servers in Azure Logic Apps Agent Loops (Step-by-Step) Video by Stephen W. Thomas This walkthrough demonstrates how to move tool logic out of Logic App Agent loops and into reusable Model Context Protocol servers. The video covers setting up an MCP server, registering tools, and invoking them from within an agent workflow. By decoupling tool definitions from orchestration logic, developers can build modular, maintainable agentic systems that scale across multiple workflows and scenarios. From Rigid Choreography to Intelligent Collaboration: Agentic Orchestration as the Evolution of SOA Post by Steef-Jan Wiggers Integration has evolved from rigid, deterministic workflows to adaptive, goal-driven orchestrations powered by intelligent agents. This article traces the journey from BizTalk-era SOA composites to modern agentic patterns, explaining how AI-enabled orchestrators dynamically plan, self-correct, and communicate intent rather than follow fixed sequences. With examples from Azure Logic Apps Agent Loop, it shows how integration professionals can leverage existing connectors and APIs as tools within reasoning-based architectures. Azure Integrations That Actually Work in Production Post by Devarajan Gurusamy Architecture diagrams often look perfect in presentations but fail under real-world conditions. This article examines what it takes to build Azure integrations that survive production workloads, covering resilience patterns, error handling strategies, and operational considerations that separate proof-of-concepts from enterprise-grade solutions. It offers practical guidance for teams moving beyond demos toward reliable, maintainable integration implementations. Configuring BizTalk Server Backup Jobs for Azure Blob Storage Post by Sandro Pereira Modernizing BizTalk infrastructure can start with small, targeted improvements. This guide shows how to redirect native BizTalk backup jobs to Azure Blob Storage using SQL Server’s BACKUP TO URL feature. It covers generating SAS tokens, creating SQL credentials, updating job steps, and validating backups. The approach improves disaster recovery posture with geo-redundant cloud storage while keeping the BizTalk environment unchanged—no new components or custom code required. Building an AI Agent with Logic Apps Consumption and Agent Loop Post by Stephen W. Thomas Logic Apps Consumption with AgentLoop offers a fast path to practical AI agents, particularly for experimentation and low-volume workloads. This post walks through building a stateful poker-playing agent, demonstrating tool orchestration, agent instructions, and execution tracing. It compares Consumption and Standard tiers, explores cost efficiency, and shows how to offload reasoning to external models. At roughly a dollar for 25 runs, it’s an accessible entry point for agentic development. Microsoft Agent Framework Post by Al Ghoniem, MBA Microsoft’s open-source Agent Framework provides a comprehensive toolkit for building, orchestrating, and deploying AI agents in Python and .NET. It features graph-based workflows with streaming and checkpointing, multi-agent patterns, built-in observability via OpenTelemetry, and support for multiple LLM providers. The repository includes quickstart samples, migration guides from Semantic Kernel and AutoGen, and experimental labs for benchmarking and reinforcement learning. Storage Account: You do not have permissions to list the data using your user account with Entra ID Post by Sandro Pereira Being an Owner of an Azure Storage Account does not automatically grant access to its data. This common confusion trips up many developers working with Logic Apps and blob storage. The article explains the distinction between management roles and data-plane permissions, then walks through assigning Storage Blob Data roles via Access Control (IAM) to resolve the “You do not have permissions” error when authenticating with Microsoft Entra ID. Using Office 365 Outlook Connector in Logic Apps Standard Post by Srikanth Gunnala When configuring Office 365 Outlook (V2) with Managed Identity in Logic Apps Standard, the workflow designer may fail to auto-bind existing API connections—even when runtime works correctly. This post details the issue, explaining how a null referenceName in the workflow JSON causes the trigger to appear unbound. The fix involves manually setting the connection reference name in the workflow definition, after which the designer immediately recognizes the connection. Inside Logic Apps Standard: Understanding Compute Units (CU) for Storage Scaling Post by Daniel Jonathan High-volume Logic Apps can hit Azure Storage throttling limits. This deep-dive explains how Compute Units enable horizontal storage scaling by distributing workflow execution data across up to 32 storage accounts. It covers CU routing via Run ID suffixes, table distribution patterns, and configuration via host.json. Understanding this architecture is essential for building monitoring tools, querying run histories programmatically, or troubleshooting performance at scale. E59 - Roles & Personas Video by Sebastian Meyer This episode recaps highlights from SAP TechEd and Microsoft Ignite, with a focus on the SAP Innovation Guide and Logic Apps announcements. It explores roles and personas in the integration space, discussing how different team members contribute to enterprise integration projects. The conversation provides context for practitioners following both SAP and Microsoft ecosystems and offers insights into recent platform developments relevant to hybrid integration scenarios. Architecting Trust: Leveraging Microsoft Foundry to Solve AI Governance Challenges Post by Kent Weare As organizations scale AI deployments, governance becomes critical. This article explores how Microsoft Foundry addresses common AI governance challenges including model management, access controls, auditability, and compliance. It outlines architectural patterns for building trust into AI systems from the ground up and provides guidance for teams navigating the balance between innovation velocity and responsible AI practices in enterprise environments.Data Mapper Test Executor: A New Addition to Logic Apps Standard Test Framework
Why Does It Matter? Testing complex data transformations has always been a challenge for Logic Apps developers. With workflows relying on XSLT, Liquid templates, and custom maps, validating these transformations often required manual steps or external tools. The Data Mapper Test Executor changes that by bringing first-class support for map testing directly into the Logic Apps Standard Automated Test Framework. This means faster feedback loops, improved reliability, and a more streamlined developer experience. Key Highlights Native Support for Data Mapper Testing Execute unit tests for XSLT 1.0/2.0/3.0 and Logic Apps Data Mapper (.lml) files without leaving your development environment. Integrated with Automated Test Framework SDK Leverages the latest SDK capabilities for consistent test execution and reporting. Enhanced Validation Supports schema validation and transformation checks, ensuring your maps behave as expected across scenarios. Performance Optimizations Built-in caching and resource management for efficient test runs. How to Get Started Install and reference the Latest Automated Test Framework SDK Make sure you’re referencing the version 1.0.1 or higher of the framework to access the new executor class. You can find the latest version in the NuGet gallery. <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Azure.Workflows.WebJobs.Tests.Extension" Version="1.0.1" /> Add the Data Mapper Test Executor to Your Test Project Include the new class in your unit test suite for Logic Apps workflows. Write Your First Test Check the sample code below with three different methods, highlighting the options that can be used with the DataMapTestExecutor using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Threading.Tasks; using Microsoft.Azure.Workflows.UnitTesting.Definitions; using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting; using la1.Tests.Mocks.Stateful1; using Microsoft.Azure.Workflows.UnitTesting; using System.IO; using System.Text; using Microsoft.Azure.Workflows.Data.Entities; using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq; namespace la1.Tests { /// <summary> /// The unit test class. /// </summary> [TestClass] public class DataMapTest { /// <summary> /// The map to test. /// </summary> public const string MapName = "source_order_to_canonical_order"; public string PathToMapDefinition { get; private set; } public string PathToCompiledXslt { get; private set; } public string PathToXsltTestInputs { get; private set; } /// <summary> /// The data map test executor. /// </summary> public TestExecutor TestExecutor; [TestInitialize] public void Setup() { this.TestExecutor = new TestExecutor("Stateful1/testSettings.config"); this.PathToMapDefinition = Path.Combine(this.TestExecutor.rootDirectory, this.TestExecutor.logicAppName, "Artifacts", "MapDefinitions", $"{DataMapTest.MapName}.lml"); this.PathToCompiledXslt = Path.Combine(this.TestExecutor.rootDirectory, this.TestExecutor.logicAppName, "Artifacts", "Maps", $"{DataMapTest.MapName}.xslt"); this.PathToXsltTestInputs = Path.Combine(this.TestExecutor.rootDirectory, "Tests", "la1", "Stateful1", "DataMapTest", "test-input.json"); } /// <summary> /// Sample comparing compiled XSLT to generated XSLT using map name. /// </summary> [TestMethod] public async Task DataMapTest_GenerateXslt() { var dataMapTestExecutor = this.TestExecutor.CreateMapExecutor(); var xsltBytes = await dataMapTestExecutor .GenerateXslt(mapName: DataMapTest.MapName) .ConfigureAwait(continueOnCapturedContext: false); Assert.IsNotNull(xsltBytes); Assert.AreEqual(expected: File.ReadAllText(this.PathToCompiledXslt), actual: Encoding.UTF8.GetString(xsltBytes)); } /// <summary> /// Sample comparing compiled XSLT to generated XSLT using map content. /// </summary> [TestMethod] public async Task DataMapTest_GenerateXsltWithMapContent() { var mapContent = File.ReadAllText(this.PathToMapDefinition); var generateXsltInput = new GenerateXsltInput { MapContent = mapContent }; var dataMapTestExecutor = this.TestExecutor.CreateMapExecutor(); var xsltBytes = await dataMapTestExecutor .GenerateXslt(generateXsltInput: generateXsltInput) .ConfigureAwait(continueOnCapturedContext: false); Assert.IsNotNull(xsltBytes); Assert.AreEqual(expected: File.ReadAllText(this.PathToCompiledXslt), actual: Encoding.UTF8.GetString(xsltBytes)); } /// <summary> /// Sample running data map using map name and test inputs. /// </summary> [TestMethod] public async Task DataMapTest_RunMap() { var dataMapTestExecutor = this.TestExecutor.CreateMapExecutor(); var mapOutput = await dataMapTestExecutor .RunMapAsync( mapName: DataMapTest.MapName, inputContent: File.ReadAllBytes(this.PathToXsltTestInputs)) .ConfigureAwait(continueOnCapturedContext: false); Assert.IsNotNull(mapOutput); Assert.IsTrue(mapOutput.Type == JTokenType.Object); Assert.AreEqual(expected: "FC-20250603-001", actual: mapOutput["orderId"]); Assert.AreEqual(expected: "VIP-789456", actual: mapOutput["customerId"]); Assert.AreEqual(expected: "NEW", actual: mapOutput["status"]); } /// <summary> /// Sample running data map using generated XSLT content and test inputs. /// </summary> [TestMethod] public async Task DataMapTest_RunMapWithXsltContentBytes() { var dataMapTestExecutor = this.TestExecutor.CreateMapExecutor(); var mapContent = File.ReadAllText(this.PathToMapDefinition); var generateXsltInput = new GenerateXsltInput { MapContent = mapContent }; var xsltContent = await dataMapTestExecutor .GenerateXslt(generateXsltInput: generateXsltInput) .ConfigureAwait(continueOnCapturedContext: false); var mapOutput = await dataMapTestExecutor .RunMapAsync( xsltContent: xsltContent, inputContent: File.ReadAllBytes(this.PathToXsltTestInputs)) .ConfigureAwait(continueOnCapturedContext: false); Assert.IsNotNull(mapOutput); Assert.IsTrue(mapOutput.Type == JTokenType.Object); Assert.AreEqual(expected: "FC-20250603-001", actual: mapOutput["orderId"]); Assert.AreEqual(expected: "VIP-789456", actual: mapOutput["customerId"]); Assert.AreEqual(expected: "NEW", actual: mapOutput["status"]); } } } The default TestExecutor should be updated with a new method, so you can use the same class to create UnitTestExecutor and DataMapTestExecutor instances: public DataMapTestExecutor CreateMapExecutor() { // Set the path for workflow-related input files in the workspace and build the full paths to the required JSON files. var appDirectoryPath = Path.Combine(this.rootDirectory, this.logicAppName); return new DataMapTestExecutor(appDirectoryPath: appDirectoryPath); } Note: This feature is available starting with the latest SDK release. Update your dependencies before making changes to your code, to get full intelisense support. Limitations Loop Structures: Dynamic execution within repeating structures is not yet supported. Non-Mocked Connectors: All actions in the execution path should be mocked. Unsupported Actions: Integration Account maps, custom code actions, and EDI encode/decode remain out of scope for this release. Preview Caveats: If you’re using private preview components, expect limited testing compared to GA releases. Learn More Logic Apps Standard Automated Test Framework SDKIntroducing Unit Test Agent Profiles for Logic Apps & Data Maps
I did some experimentation this week with GitHub Copilot custom agents and custom prompts. The result was a couple of agents to help with creation of unit tests for Logic Apps Standard workflows and data maps. These agent profiles are designed to keep test artifacts consistent and maintainable by separating discovery, specification, data generation, and implementation. Specifications serve as the single source of truth; generated code and data follow from the specs. Discover: Enumerate workflows/maps, triggers/actions, dependencies, and control flow to build a testability inventory. Spec (Speckit): Write reusable test specifications (intent, inputs/mocks, expected outcomes) stored in a predictable location. Cases: Design scenario catalogs with categories (Happy Path, Error Handling, Boundary Conditions, etc.). Test Data: Generate typed mocks (Logic Apps) or input/expected data files (Data Maps) per scenario. Implement: Produce MSTest code against the Automated Test SDK on net8.0, enforcing strict constraints for reliability. Project Batch: Run operations across all workflows/maps with pre-checks, scaffolding verification, and summary reporting. ℹ️ You can find this project on GitHub: https://github.com/wsilveiranz/logicapps-unittest-custom-agent. This is an example of how those agents can be created using what is available in GitHub Copilot, so feel free to fork it and adjust it to your own requirements. Agent Profiles Available Logic Apps Workflow Unit Test Author Specialist agent for authoring Logic Apps Standard workflow unit tests using MSTest (net8.0) and the Automated Test SDK. Produces spec-first test cases, typed mocks, and runnable MSTest implementations. How It Works Discover workflows: Locate workflow.json, summarize triggers/actions, and identify external dependencies to mock. Spec-first: Write reusable specs capturing intent, mock plan, inputs, and expected outcomes. Create cases: Build scenario catalogs (Happy Path, Error Handling, Boundary Conditions, etc.). Generate test data: Produce typed MockOutput and ActionMock classes instances mapped to action names. This step is optional, as implementation will create test data if not available. Implement tests: Generate MSTest code enforcing SDK constraints and required annotations. Validate: Build and run tests; refine specs and data as needed. Batch (optional): Apply the flow across all workflows once scaffolding is verified. Skill Description Prompt File Discover Workflows Discover workflow definitions, summarize triggers/actions, and produce a mock inventory. .github/prompts/la-unit-tests-discover.prompt.md Create Test Cases Create unit test cases from a workflow definition; define intent, inputs, mock plan, and expected outcomes. .github/prompts/la-unit-tests-create-cases.prompt.md Write Speckit Specs Write and maintain Speckit-style specification documents for reusable scenarios. .github/prompts/la-unit-tests-speckit-specs.prompt.md Implement Tests Implement MSTest unit tests using the Automated Test SDK with enforced constraints. .github/prompts/la-unit-tests-implement.prompt.md Generate Test Data Generate trigger/action mock payloads and typed outputs for success and failure variants. .github/prompts/la-unit-tests-generate-test-data.prompt.md Project Batch Execute project-wide operations with scaffolding verification and roll-up reporting. .github/prompts/la-unit-tests-project-batch.prompt.md Logic Apps Data Map Unit Test Author Specialist agent for authoring Data Map unit tests from LML or XSLT using MSTest (net8.0). Produces spec-first test cases, sample input/expected data, and MSTest implementations. How It Works Discover data maps: Locate Artifacts/MapDefinitions/*.lml and Artifacts/Maps/*.xslt; summarize transformations and schema requirements. Spec-first: Write reusable specs capturing intent, input data, expected output, and validation criteria. Create cases: Build scenario catalogs (Happy Path, Empty/Missing, Boundary Values, Special Characters, Large Data, etc.). Generate test data: Produce representative input files and expected output files aligned to schemas and mapping rules. This step is optional, as implementation will create test data if not available. Implement tests: Generate MSTest classes using DataMapTestExecutor. Validate: Build and run tests; refine specs and data as needed. Batch (optional): Apply the flow across all maps; verify project scaffolding first. Skill Description Prompt File Discover Data Maps Discover LML/XSLT maps and schemas; summarize transformation structure and complexity. .github/prompts/dm-unit-tests-discover.prompt.md Create Test Cases Design scenarios covering happy path, edge cases, and error handling. .github/prompts/dm-unit-tests-create-cases.prompt.md Write Speckit Specs Write and maintain Speckit-style specs with mapping rules and validations. .github/prompts/dm-unit-tests-speckit-specs.prompt.md Implement Tests Implement MSTest suites using DataMapTestExecutor with required defaults. .github/prompts/dm-unit-tests-implement.prompt.md Generate Test Data Generate input and expected output files matched to map rules and schemas. .github/prompts/dm-unit-tests-generate-test-data.prompt.md Project Batch Execute project-wide operations with scaffolding and summary reporting. .github/prompts/dm-unit-tests-project-batch.prompt.md FAQ Why Speckit-style specs? Specs are human-readable contracts that drive consistent test implementation across teams and time. They decouple scenario design from code generation, improving reuse. Can I run batch operations? Yes. Use the project-batch profiles to orchestrate discovery and implementation across all workflows/maps once scaffolding is verified. What if scaffolding is missing? The Implement and Project Batch agents will stop and report the exact folders/files you need to create (via the Logic Apps Designer’s Create Unit Test command or manual steps).
Moving the Logic Apps Designer Forward
Today, we're excited to announce a major redesign of the Azure Logic Apps designer experience, now entering Public Preview for Standard workflows. While these improvements are currently Standard-only, our vision is to quickly extend them across all Logic Apps surfaces and SKUs. ⚠️ Important: As this is a Public Preview release, we recommend using these features for development and testing workflows rather than production workloads. We're actively stabilizing the experience based on your feedback. This Is Just the Beginning This is not us declaring victory and moving on. This is Phase I of a multi-phase journey, and I'm committed to sharing our progress through regular blog posts as we continue iterating. More importantly, we want to hear from you. Your feedback drives these improvements, and it will continue to shape what comes next. This redesign comes from listening to you—our customers—watching how you actually work, and adapting the designer to better fit your workflows. We've seen the pain points, heard the frustrations, and we're addressing them systematically. Our Roadmap: Three Phases Phase I: Perfecting the Development Loop (What we're releasing today) We're focused on making it cleaner and faster to edit your workflow, test it, and see the results. The development loop should feel effortless, not cumbersome. Phase II: Reimagining the Canvas Next, we'll rethink how the canvas works—introducing new shortcuts and workflows that make modifications easier and more intuitive. Phase III: Unified Experiences Across All Surfaces We'll ensure VS Code, Consumption, and Standard all deliver similarly powerful flows, regardless of where you're working. Beyond these phases, we have several standalone improvements planned: a better search experience, streamlined connection creation and management, and removing unnecessary overhead when creating new workflows. We're also tackling fundamental questions that shouldn't be barriers: What do stateful and stateless mean? Why can't you switch between them? Why do you have to decide upfront if something is an agent? You shouldn't. We're working toward making these decisions dynamic—something you can change directly in the designer as you build, not rigid choices you're locked into at creation time. We want to make it easier to add agentic capabilities to any workflow, whenever you need them. What's New in Phase I Let me walk you through what we're shipping at Ignite. Faster Onboarding: Get to Building Sooner We're removing friction from the very beginning. When you create a new workflow, you'll get to the designer before having to choose stateful, stateless, or agentic. Eventually, we want to eliminate that upfront choice entirely—making it a decision you can defer until after your workflow is created. This one still needs a bit more work, but it's coming soon. One View to Rule Them All We've removed the side panel. Workflows now exist in a single, unified view with all the tooling you need. No more context switching. You can easily hop between run history, code view, or visual editor, and change your settings inline—all without leaving your workflow. Draft Mode: Auto-Save Without the Risk Here's one of our biggest changes: draft mode with auto-save. We know the best practice is to edit locally in VS Code, store workflows in GitHub, and deploy properly to keep editing separate from production. But we also know that's not always possible or practical for everyone. It sucks to get your workflow into the perfect state, then lose everything if something goes wrong before you hit save. Now your workflow auto-saves every 10 seconds in draft mode. If you refresh the window, you're right back where you were—but your changes aren't live in production. There's now a separate Publish action that promotes your draft to production. This means you can work, test your workflow against the draft using the designer tools, verify everything works, and then publish to production—even when editing directly on the resource. Another benefit: draft saves won't restart your app. Your app keeps running. Restarts only happen when you publish. Smarter, Faster Search We've reorganized how browsing works—no more getting dropped into an endless list of connectors. You now get proper guidance as you explore and can search directly for what you need. Even better, we're moving search to the backend in the coming weeks, which will eliminate the need to download information about thousands of connectors upfront and deliver instant results. Our goal: no search should ever feel slow. Document Your Workflows with Notes You can now add sticky notes anywhere in your workflow. Drop a post-it note, add markdown (yes, even YouTube videos), and document your logic right on the canvas. We have plans to improve this with node anchoring and better stability features, but for now, you can visualize and explain your workflows more clearly than ever. Unified Monitoring and Run History Making the development loop smoother means keeping everything in one place. Your run history now lives on the same page as your designer. Switch between runs without waiting for full blade reloads. We've also added the ability to view both draft and published runs—a powerful feature that lets you test and validate your changes before they go live. We know there's a balance between developer and operator personas. Developers need quick iteration and testing capabilities, while operators need reliable monitoring and production visibility. This unified view serves both: developers can test draft runs and iterate quickly, while the clear separation between draft and published runs ensures operators maintain full visibility into what's actually running in production. New Timeline View for Better Debugging We experimented with a timeline concept in Agentic Apps to explain handoff—Logic Apps' first foray into cyclic graphs. But it was confusing and didn't work well with other Logic App types. We've refined it. On the left-hand side, you'll now see a hierarchical view of every action your Logic App ran, in execution order. This makes navigation and debugging dramatically easier when you're trying to understand exactly what happened during a run. What's Next This is Phase I. We're shipping these improvements, but we're not stopping here. As we move into Phase II and beyond, I'll continue sharing updates through blog posts like this one. How to Share Your Feedback We're actively listening and want to hear from you: Use the feedback button in the Azure Portal designer Join the discussion in GitHub/Community Forum – https://github.com/Azure/LogicAppsUX Comment below with your thoughts and suggestions Your input directly shapes our roadmap and priorities. Keep the feedback coming. It's what drives these changes, and it's what will shape the future of Azure Logic Apps. Let's build something great together.Microsoft BizTalk Server Product Lifecycle Update
For more than 25 years, Microsoft BizTalk Server has supported mission-critical integration workloads for organizations around the world. From business process automation and B2B messaging to connectivity across industries such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and government, BizTalk Server has played a foundational role in enterprise integration strategies. To help customers plan confidently for the future, Microsoft is sharing an update to the BizTalk Server product lifecycle and long-term support timelines. BizTalk Server 2020 will be the final version of BizTalk Server. Guidance to support long-term planning for mission-critical workloads This announcement does not change existing support commitments. Customers can continue to rely on BizTalk Server for many years ahead, with a clear and predictable runway to plan modernization at a pace that aligns with their business and regulatory needs. Lifecycle Phase End Date What’s Included Mainstream Support April 11, 2028 Security + non-security updates and Customer Service & Support (CSS) support Extended Support April 9, 2030 CSS support, Security updates, and paid support for fixes (*) End of Support April 10, 2030 No further updates or support (*) Paid Extended Support will be available for BizTalk Server 2020 between April 2028 and April 2030 for customers requiring hotfixes for non-security updates. CSS will continue providing their typical support. BizTalk Server 2016 is already out of mainstream support, and we recommend those customers evaluate a direct modernization path to Azure Logic Apps. Continued Commitment to Enterprise Integration Microsoft remains fully committed to supporting mission-critical integration, including hybrid connectivity, future-ready orchestration, and B2B/EDI modernization. Azure Logic Apps, part of Azure Integration Services — which includes API Management, Service Bus, and Event Grid — delivers the comprehensive integration platform for the next decade of enterprise connectivity. Host Integration Server: Continued Support for Mainframe Workloads Host Integration Server (HIS) has long provided essential connectivity for organizations with mainframe and midrange systems. To ensure continued support for those workloads, Host Integration Server 2028 will ship as a standalone product with its own lifecycle, decoupled from BizTalk Server. This provides customers with more flexibility and a longer planning horizon. Recognizing Mainframe modernization customers might be looking to integrate with their mainframes from Azure, Microsoft provides Logic Apps connectors for mainframe and midrange systems, and we are keen on adding more connectors in this space. Let us know about your HIS plans, and if you require specific features for Mainframe and midranges integration from Logic Apps at: https://aka.ms/lamainframe Azure Logic Apps: The Successor to BizTalk Server Azure Logic Apps, part of Azure Integration Services, is the modern integration platform that carries forward what customers value in BizTalk while unlocking new innovation, scale, and intelligence. With 1,400+ out-of-box connectors supporting enterprise, SaaS, legacy, and mainframe systems, organizations can reuse existing BizTalk maps, schemas, rules, and custom code to accelerate modernization while preserving prior investments including B2B/EDI and healthcare transactions. Logic Apps delivers elastic scalability, enterprise-grade security and compliance, and built-in cost efficiency without the overhead of managing infrastructure. Modern DevOps tooling, Visual Studio Code support, and infrastructure-as-code (ARM/Bicep) ensure consistent, governed deployments with end-to-end observability using Azure Monitor and OpenTelemetry. Modernizing Logic Apps also unlocks agentic business processes, enabling AI-driven routing, predictive insights, and context-aware automation without redesigning existing integrations. Logic Apps adapts to business and regulatory needs, running fully managed in Azure, hybrid via Arc-enabled Kubernetes, or evaluated for air-gapped environments. Throughout this lifecycle transition, customers can continue to rely on the BizTalk investments they have made while moving toward a platform ready for the next decade of integration and AI-driven business. Charting Your Modernization Path Microsoft remains fully committed to supporting customers through this transition. We recognize that BizTalk systems support highly customized and mission-critical business operations. Modernization requires time, planning, and precision. We hope to provide: Proven guidance and recommended design patterns A growing ecosystem of tooling supporting artifact reuse Unified Support engagements for deep migration assistance A strong partner ecosystem specializing in BizTalk modernization Potential incentive programs to help facilitate migration for eligible customers (details forthcoming) Customers can take a phased approach — starting with new workloads while incrementally modernizing existing BizTalk deployments. We’re Here to Help Migration resources are available today: Overview: https://aka.ms/btmig Best practices: https://aka.ms/BizTalkServerMigrationResources Video series: https://aka.ms/btmigvideo Feature request survey: https://aka.ms/logicappsneeds Reactor session: Modernizing BizTalk: Accelerate Migration with Logic Apps - YouTube We encourage customers to engage their Microsoft accounts team early to assess readiness, identify modernization opportunities, and explore assistance programs. Your Modernization Journey Starts Now BizTalk Server has played a foundational role in enterprise integration success for more than two decades. As you plan ahead, Microsoft is here to partner with you every step of the way, ensuring operational continuity today while unlocking innovation tomorrow. To begin your transition, please contact your Microsoft account team or visit our migration hub. Thank you for your continued trust in Microsoft and BizTalk Server. We look forward to partnering closely with you as you plan the future of your integration platforms. Frequently Asked Questions Do I need to migrate now? No. BizTalk Server 2020 is fully supported through April 11, 2028, with paid Extended Support available through April 9, 2030, for non-security hotfixes. CSS will continue providing their typical support. You have a long and predictable runway to plan your transition. Will there be a new BizTalk Server version? No. BizTalk Server 2020 is the final version of the product. What happens after April 9, 2030? BizTalk Server will reach End of Support, and security updates or technical assistance will no longer be provided. Workloads will continue running but without Microsoft servicing. Is paid support available past 2028? Yes. Paid extended support will be available through April 2030 for BizTalk Server 2020 customers looking for non-security hotfixes. CSS will continue to provide the typical support. What about BizTalk Server 2016 or earlier versions? Those versions are already out of mainstream support. We strongly encourage moving directly to Logic Apps rather than upgrading to BizTalk Server 2020. Will Host Integration Server continue? Yes. Host Integration Server (HIS) 2028 will be released as a standalone product with its own lifecycle and support commitments. Can I reuse BizTalk Server artifacts in Logic Apps? Yes. Most of BizTalk maps, schemas, rules, assemblies, and custom code can be reused with minimal effort using Microsoft and partner migration tooling. We welcome feature requests here: https://aka.ms/logicappsneeds Does modernization require moving fully to the cloud? No. Logic Apps supports hybrid deployments for scenarios requiring local processing or regulatory compliance, and fully disconnected environments are under evaluation. More information of the Hybrid deployment model here: https://aka.ms/lahybrid. Does modernization unlock AI capabilities? Yes. Logic Apps enables AI-driven automations through Agent Loop, improving routing, decisioning, and operational intelligence. Where do I get planning support? Your Microsoft account team can assist with assessment and planning. Migration resources are also linked in this announcement to help you get started. Microsoft CorporationUpcoming Agentic Azure Logic Apps Workshops
Join me for a couple of upcoming workshops where you can learn about Logic Apps MCP Servers and building Agentic Business Processes Topic: Connecting the enterprise, using MCP Servers from Copilot Studio When: Tuesday, January 13th at 2PM CET/6 AM Mountain Registration link Topic: Building Agentic Business Processes in a Day, using Azure Logic Apps Agent Loop When: Friday, January 16th at 2pm CET/6 AM Mountain Registration LinkLogic Apps Aviators Newsletter - January 2026
In this issue: Ace Aviator of the Month News from our product group Community Playbook News from our community Ace Aviator of the Month January's Ace Aviator: Sagar Sharma What's your role and title? What are your responsibilities? I’m a cross-domain Business Solution Architect specializing in delivering new business capabilities to customers. I design end-to-end architectures specially on Azure platforms and also in the Integration domain using azure integration services. My role involves marking architectural decisions, defining standards, ensuring platform reliability, guiding teams, and helping organizations transition from legacy integration systems to modern cloud-native patterns. Can you give us some insights into your day-to-day activities and what a typical day in your role looks like? My day usually blends architecture work with hands-on collaboration. I review integration designs, refine patterns, help teams troubleshoot integration flows, and ensure deployments run smoothly through DevOps pipelines. A good part of my time is spent translating business needs into integration patterns and making sure the overall platform stays secure, scalable, and maintainable. What motivates and inspires you to be an active member of the Aviators/Microsoft community? The community has shaped a big part of my career. Many of my early breakthroughs came from blogs, samples, and talks shared by others. Contributing back feels like closing the loop. I enjoy sharing real-world lessons, learning from peers, and helping others adopt integration patterns with confidence. The energy of the community and the conversations it creates keep me inspired. Looking back, what advice do you wish you had been given earlier that you'd now share with those looking to get into STEM/technology? Focus on core concepts—messaging, APIs, security, and distributed systems—because tools evolve, but fundamentals stay relevant. Share your learning early, even if it feels small. Be curious about the “why” behind patterns. Build side projects, not just follow tutorials. And don’t fear a nonlinear career path—diverse experience is an asset in technology. What has helped you grow professionally? Hands-on customer work, strong mentors, and consistent learning habits have been key. Community involvement—writing, speaking, and collaborating—has pushed me to structure my knowledge and stay current. And working in environments that encourage experimentation has helped me develop faster and with more confidence. If you had a magic wand that could create a feature in Logic Apps, what would it be and why? I’d love to see a unified, out-of-the-box business transaction tracing experience across Logic Apps, Service Bus, APIM, Functions, and downstream services. Something that automatically correlates events, visualizes the full journey of a transaction, and simplifies root-cause analysis. This would make operational troubleshooting dramatically easier in enterprise environments. News from our product group Microsoft BizTalk Server Product Lifecycle Update BizTalk Server 2020 will be the final release, with support extending through 2030. Microsoft encourages a gradual transition to Azure Logic Apps, offering migration tooling, hybrid deployment options, and reuse of existing BizTalk artifacts. Customers can modernize at their own pace while maintaining operational continuity. Data Mapper Test Executor: A New Addition to Logic Apps Standard Test Framework The Data Mapper Test Executor adds native support for testing XSLT and Data Mapper transformations directly within the Logic Apps Standard test framework. It streamlines validation, improves feedback cycles, and integrates with the latest SDK to enable reliable, automated testing of map generation and execution. Announcing General Availability of AI & RAG Connectors in Logic Apps (Standard) Logic Apps Standard AI and RAG connectors are now GA333, enabling native document processing, semantic search, embeddings, and agentic workflows. These capabilities let teams build intelligent, context‑aware automations using their own data, reducing complexity and enhancing decisioning across enterprise integrations. Logic Apps Labs The Logic Apps Labs, which introduces Azure Logic Apps agentic workflows learning path, offering guided modules on building conversational and autonomous agents, extending capabilities with MCP tools, and orchestrating multi‑agent workflows. It serves as a starting point for hands‑on labs covering design, deployment, and advanced patterns for intelligent automation. News from our community Handling Empty SQL Query Results in Azure Logic Apps Post by Anitha Eswaran If a SQL stored procedure returns no rows, you can detect the empty result set in Logic Apps by checking whether the output’s ResultSets object is {}. When empty, the workflow can be cleanly terminated or used to trigger alerts, ensuring predictable behavior and more resilient integrations. Azure Logic Apps MCP Server Post by Laveesh Bansal Our own Laveesh Bansal spent some time creating an Azure Logic Apps MCP Server that enables natural‑language debugging, workflow inspection, and updates without using the portal. It supports both Standard and Consumption apps, integrates with AI clients like Copilot and Claude, and offers tools for local or cloud‑hosted setups, testing, and workflow lifecycle operations. Azure Logic Apps: Change Detection in JSON Objects and Arrays Post by Suraj Somani Logic Apps offers native functions to detect changes in JSON objects and arrays without worrying about field or item order. Using equals() for objects and intersection() for arrays, you can determine when data has truly changed and trigger workflows only when updates occur, improving efficiency and reducing unnecessary processing. Logic Apps Standard: A clever hack to use JSON schemas in your Artifacts folder for JSON message validation (Part 1) Post by Şahin Özdemir Şahin outlines a workaround for using JSON schemas stored in the Artifacts folder to validate messages in Logic Apps Standard. It revisits integration needs from BizTalk migrations and shows how to bring structured validation into modern workflows without relying on Integration Accounts. This is a two part series and you can find part two here. Let's integrate SAP with Microsoft Video by Sebastian Meyer Sebastian has a new video out, and in this episode he and Martin Pankraz break down SAP GROW and RISE for Microsoft integration developers, covering key differences and integration options across IDoc, RFC, BAPI, SOAP, HTTPS, and OData, giving a concise overview of today’s SAP landscape and what it means for building integrations on Azure. Logic Apps Initialize variables action has a max limit of 20 variables Post by Sandro Pereira Logic Apps allows only 20 variables per Initialize variables action, and exceeding it triggers a validation error. This limit applies per action, not per workflow. Using objects, parameters, or Compose actions often reduces the need for many scalars and leads to cleaner, more maintainable workflows. Did you know that? It is a Friday Fact!
