[Skill]: build-app-on-azure-sql misses DAB plus Functions hybrid for small business apps #85

Which plugin

microsoft-sql

Which skill

build-app-on-azure-sql

What kind of problem

The skill was missing something it needed to say

Which agent or host

GitHub Copilot (CLI)

How did you install the plugin or skills

GitHub Copilot plugin marketplace

Plugin and host versions

microsoft-sql version not surfaced by the host; GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.84-5

What happened

I asked the agent to plan a low-cost mobile ordering application for one artisan pizza store. The application needed ordinary menu and staff CRUD plus a small number of transactional operations for pickup-slot capacity and Stripe payment.

The router correctly identified Data API builder for REST/GraphQL CRUD and Azure Functions for serverless or event-driven work. However, it presented these as alternative data-layer choices and did not identify the obvious hybrid:

• Data API builder for read-oriented menu, pickup-slot, order-status, and staff CRUD surfaces.
• Azure Functions only for capacity reservation, Stripe Checkout, and signed payment webhooks.

The agent chose a purpose-built Functions API for nearly everything and produced a much larger custom application architecture than the business needed.

What the skill said, and what worked instead

The routing table effectively says:

• REST or GraphQL over tables and views -> Data API builder.
• Serverless endpoints or row-change code -> Azure Functions bindings.
• Rich domain model -> ORM.

It does not include a row for "mostly CRUD plus a few transactional commands," nor a worked hybrid with Azure Static Web Apps.

What would have helped:

Add a first-class recommendation:

Mostly read/CRUD surfaces plus a few transactional or payment commands: use Data API builder for explicit safe entities and Azure Functions for the small command boundary.

Include a minimal reference architecture:

• Azure Static Web Apps.
• Data API builder with explicit entities and narrow roles.
• Azure Functions for transactions and webhooks.
• Azure SQL Database.

Also state that choosing Functions for one transactional path does not imply hand-writing the whole API.

Steps to reproduce

1. Ask for a low-cost single-store web ordering app.
2. Include menu CRUD, pickup slots, order tracking, and Stripe.
3. Ask the agent to use Microsoft SQL skills.
4. Observe that the routing guidance can push the agent toward one data-layer choice rather than a hybrid.

Additional context

The technical warnings in the neighboring skills were valuable. The defect is architecture composition and proportionality, not factual Azure SQL guidance.

Confirmation

• This is about a plugin or agent skill published by this repository.
• I removed passwords, connection strings, tokens, customer data, and other secrets.