feat: Improve user experience of az aks agent with aks-mcp

Enhance the user experience of az aks agent, including:

1. Use aks-mcp by default, offering an opt-out flag --no-aks-mcp.
2. Disable duplicated built-in toolsets when using aks-mcp.
3. Manage the lifecycle of aks-mcp binary, including downloading,
updating, health checking and gracefully stopping.
4. Offer status subcommand to display the system status.
Refine system prompt.
5. Smart toolset refreshment when switching between mcp and traditional
mode.

Author: nilo19

src/aks-agent/HISTORY.rst

@@ -12,6 +12,17 @@ To release a new version, please select a new version number (usually plus 1 to
 Pending
 +++++++
 
+1.0.0b2
++++++++
+
+- Add MCP integration for `az aks agent` with aks-mcp binary management and local server lifecycle (download, version validation, start/stop, health checks).
+- Introduce dual-mode operation: MCP mode (enhanced) and Traditional mode (built-in toolsets), with mode-specific system prompts.
+- Implement smart toolset refresh strategy with persisted mode state to avoid unnecessary refresh on repeated runs.
+- Add `--no-aks-mcp` flag to force Traditional mode when desired.
+- Add `az aks agent status` command to display MCP binary availability/version, server health, and overall mode/readiness.
+- Add structured error handling with user-friendly messages and actionable suggestions for MCP/binary/server/config errors.
+- Port and adapt comprehensive unit tests covering binary manager, MCP manager, configuration generation/validation, status models/collection, error handling, user feedback, parameters, smart refresh, MCP integration, and status command.
+
 1.0.0b1
 +++++++
 * Add interactive AI-powered debugging tool `az aks agent`.

src/aks-agent/azext_aks_agent/_consts.py

@@ -8,3 +8,11 @@
 CONST_AGENT_NAME = "AKS AGENT"
 CONST_AGENT_NAME_ENV_KEY = "AGENT_NAME"
 CONST_AGENT_CONFIG_FILE_NAME = "aksAgent.yaml"
+
+# MCP Integration Constants (ported from previous change)
+CONST_MCP_BINARY_NAME = "aks-mcp"
+CONST_MCP_DEFAULT_PORT = 8003
+CONST_MCP_DEFAULT_URL = "http://localhost:8003/sse"
+CONST_MCP_MIN_VERSION = "0.0.7"
+CONST_MCP_GITHUB_REPO = "Azure/aks-mcp"
+CONST_MCP_BINARY_DIR = "bin"

src/aks-agent/azext_aks_agent/_help.py

@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@
         - name: --refresh-toolsets
           type: bool
           short-summary: Refresh the toolsets status.
+        - name: --no-aks-mcp
+          type: bool
+          short-summary: Disable AKS MCP integration and use traditional toolsets.
 
     examples:
         - name: Ask about pod issues in the cluster with Azure OpenAI
@@ -104,3 +107,15 @@
                 enabled: false
               ```
 """
+
+helps[
+    "aks agent status"
+] = """
+    type: command
+    short-summary: Show AKS agent configuration and readiness (MCP binary, server, and mode).
+    long-summary: |-
+      Displays MCP binary availability and version, MCP server running/healthy state (if applicable), and overall mode.
+    examples:
+        - name: Show agent status
+          text: az aks agent status
+"""

src/aks-agent/azext_aks_agent/_params.py

@@ -77,3 +77,9 @@ def load_arguments(self, _):
             help="Refresh the toolsets status.",
             action="store_true",
         )
+        c.argument(
+            "no_aks_mcp",
+            options_list=["--no-aks-mcp"],
+            help="Disable AKS MCP integration and use traditional toolsets.",
+            action="store_true",
+        )