Welcome to Microsoft Agent Framework!

Welcome to Microsoft's comprehensive multi-language framework for building, orchestrating, and deploying AI agents with support for both .NET and Python implementations. This framework provides everything from simple chat agents to complex multi-agent workflows with graph-based orchestration.

Watch the full Agent Framework introduction (30 min)

📋 Getting Started

📦 Installation

Python

pip install agent-framework --pre

This will install all sub-packages, see python/packages for individual packages.

It may take a minute on first install on Windows.`

.NET

dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI

📚 Documentation

• Overview - High level overview of the framework

• Quick Start - Get started with a simple agent

• Tutorials - Step by step tutorials

• User Guide - In-depth user guide for building agents and workflows

• Migration from Semantic Kernel - Guide to migrate from Semantic Kernel

• Migration from AutoGen - Guide to migrate from AutoGen

Still have questions? Join our weekly office hours or ask questions in our Discord channel to get help from the team and other users.

✨ Highlights

• Graph-based Workflows: Connect agents and deterministic functions using data flows with streaming, checkpointing, human-in-the-loop, and time-travel capabilities

Python workflows | .NET workflows

• AF Labs: Experimental packages for cutting-edge features including benchmarking, reinforcement learning, and research initiatives

Labs directory

• DevUI: Interactive developer UI for agent development, testing, and debugging workflows

DevUI package

See the DevUI in action (1 min)

• Python and C#/.NET Support: Full framework support for both Python and C#/.NET implementations with consistent APIs

Python packages | .NET source

• Observability: Built-in OpenTelemetry integration for distributed tracing, monitoring, and debugging

Python observability | .NET telemetry

• Multiple Agent Provider Support: Support for various LLM providers with more being added continuously

Python examples | .NET examples

• Middleware: Flexible middleware system for request/response processing, exception handling, and custom pipelines

Python middleware | .NET middleware

💬 We want your feedback!

• For bugs, please file a GitHub issue.

Quickstart

Basic Agent - Python

Create a simple Azure Responses Agent that writes a haiku about the Microsoft Agent Framework

# pip install agent-framework --pre

Use az login to authenticate with Azure CLI

import os import asyncio from agent_framework import Agent from agent_framework.foundry import FoundryChatClient from azure.identity import AzureCliCredential

async def main():

Initialize a chat agent with Microsoft Foundry

the endpoint, deployment name, and api version can be set via environment variables

or they can be passed in directly to the FoundryChatClient constructor

agent = Agent( client=FoundryChatClient( credential=AzureCliCredential(),

project_endpoint=os.environ["FOUNDRY_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],

model=os.environ["FOUNDRY_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],

), name="HaikuBot", instructions="You are an upbeat assistant that writes beautifully.", )

print(await agent.run("Write a haiku about Microsoft Agent Framework."))

if name == "main": asyncio.run(main())`

Basic Agent - .NET

Create a simple Agent, using OpenAI Responses, that writes a haiku about the Microsoft Agent Framework

// dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.OpenAI --prerelease using Microsoft.Agents.AI; using OpenAI; using OpenAI.Responses;

// dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.OpenAI --prerelease using Microsoft.Agents.AI; using OpenAI; using OpenAI.Responses;

// Replace the with your OpenAI API key. var agent = new OpenAIClient("") .GetResponsesClient("gpt-4o-mini") .AsAIAgent(name: "HaikuBot", instructions: "You are an upbeat assistant that writes beautifully.");

Console.WriteLine(await agent.RunAsync("Write a haiku about Microsoft Agent Framework."));`

Create a simple Agent, using Microsoft Foundry with token-based auth, that writes a haiku about the Microsoft Agent Framework

// dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.AzureAI --prerelease // dotnet add package Azure.Identity // Use 

// dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.AzureAI --prerelease // dotnet add package Azure.Identity // Use 

 to authenticate with Azure CLI using Azure.AI.Projects; using Azure.Identity; using Microsoft.Agents.AI;

 to authenticate with Azure CLI using Azure.AI.Projects; using Azure.Identity; using Microsoft.Agents.AI;

var endpoint = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT") ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT is not set."); var deploymentName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME") ?? "gpt-4o-mini";

var agent = new AIProjectClient(new Uri(endpoint), new DefaultAzureCredential()) .AsAIAgent(model: deploymentName, name: "HaikuBot", instructions: "You are an upbeat assistant that writes beautifully.");

Console.WriteLine(await agent.RunAsync("Write a haiku about Microsoft Agent Framework."));`

More Examples & Samples

Python

• Getting Started: progressive tutorial from hello-world to hosting

• Agent Concepts: deep-dive samples by topic (tools, middleware, providers, etc.)

• Workflows: workflow creation and integration with agents

• Hosting: A2A, Azure Functions, Durable Task hosting

• End-to-End: full applications, evaluation, and demos

.NET

• Getting Started: progressive tutorial from hello agent to hosting

• Agent Concepts: basic agent creation and tool usage

• Agent Providers: samples showing different agent providers

• Workflows: advanced multi-agent patterns and workflow orchestration

• Hosting: A2A, Durable Agents, Durable Workflows

• End-to-End: full applications and demos

Troubleshooting

Authentication

Problem Cause Fix

Authentication errors when using Azure credentials Not signed in to Azure CLI Run az login before starting your app

API key errors Wrong or missing API key Verify the key and ensure it's for the correct resource/provider

Tip: DefaultAzureCredential is convenient for development but in production, consider using a specific credential (e.g., ManagedIdentityCredential) to avoid latency issues, unintended credential probing, and potential security risks from fallback mechanisms.

Environment Variables

The samples typically read configuration from environment variables. Common required variables:

Variable Used by Purpose

AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT Azure OpenAI samples Your Azure OpenAI resource URL

AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME Azure OpenAI samples Model deployment name (e.g. gpt-4o-mini)

AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT Microsoft Foundry samples Your Microsoft Foundry project endpoint

AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME Microsoft Foundry samples Model deployment name

OPENAI_API_KEY OpenAI (non-Azure) samples Your OpenAI platform API key

Contributor Resources

• Contributing Guide

• Python Development Guide

• Design Documents

• Architectural Decision Records

Important Notes

If you use the Microsoft Agent Framework to build applications that operate with third-party servers or agents, you do so at your own risk. We recommend reviewing all data being shared with third-party servers or agents and being cognizant of third-party practices for retention and location of data. It is your responsibility to manage whether your data will flow outside of your organization's Azure compliance and geographic boundaries and any related implications.