Microsoft Graph is a very powerful API developer platform that connects various services and devices for better integration and collaboration opportunities across the Microsoft ecosystem and beyond. Now, the Redmond tech giant has announced that it is ending support for certain Graph components.
First up is the Microsoft Graph Command Line Interface (CLI), which allows developers and IT personnel to interact with Graph APIs through terminal commands. This is being retired in favor of "modern" experiences in PowerShell. The company has highlighted numerous reasons behind this deprecation, including limited extensibility, a narrower ecosystem, and developers preferring other tools with overlapping but deeper functionalities.
As such, Microsoft feels that there is more value in improving the Graph experience in PowerShell because of broad API coverage, better automation workflows, alignment with Microsoft"s longer servicing commitments, and improved documentation.
The other tool on the chopping block is the Microsoft Graph Toolkit (MGT), which was initially designed to simplify the developer experience when building web applications through helpers and reusable web components. It also reduced the complexity associated with authentication and data binding processes. However, Microsoft has highlighted similar reasons for the retirement of MGT as Graph CLI, but interestingly, it has recommended no direct modern replacement for all components. On the UI side, it has encouraged developers to leverage Fluent UI Web Components and Microsoft Graph SDKs, and the latter for authentication mechanisms too.
The deprecation phase for both Graph CLI and Graph Toolkit will kick off on September 1, 2025, while full retirement will be complete on August 28, 2026. During this period, Microsoft will release no new features, security updates, or actively maintain or support the open-source repositories either. You can find out more details in Microsoft"s blog posts for Microsoft Graph CLI and Microsoft Graph Toolkit here and here, respectively.