Installation

clawhub install thegovind/azure-ai-agents-py

Summary

Build agents hosted on Azure AI Foundry using the azure-ai-agents SDK.

SKILL.md

Azure AI Agents Python SDK

Build agents hosted on Azure AI Foundry using the azure-ai-agents SDK.

Installation

bash
pip install azure-ai-agents azure-identity
# Or with azure-ai-projects for additional features
pip install azure-ai-projects azure-identity

Environment Variables

bash
PROJECT_ENDPOINT="https://<resource>.services.ai.azure.com/api/projects/<project>"
MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME="gpt-4o-mini"

Authentication

python
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.agents import AgentsClient

credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
client = AgentsClient(
    endpoint=os.environ["PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=credential,
)

Core Workflow

The basic agent lifecycle: create agent → create thread → create message → create run → get response

Minimal Example

python
import os
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.agents import AgentsClient

client = AgentsClient(
    endpoint=os.environ["PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
)

# 1. Create agent
agent = client.create_agent(
    model=os.environ["MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
    name="my-agent",
    instructions="You are a helpful assistant.",
)

# 2. Create thread
thread = client.threads.create()

# 3. Add message
client.messages.create(
    thread_id=thread.id,
    role="user",
    content="Hello!",
)

# 4. Create and process run
run = client.runs.create_and_process(thread_id=thread.id, agent_id=agent.id)

# 5. Get response
if run.status == "completed":
    messages = client.messages.list(thread_id=thread.id)
    for msg in messages:
        if msg.role == "assistant":
            print(msg.content[0].text.value)

# Cleanup
client.delete_agent(agent.id)

Tools Overview

ToolClassUse Case
Code InterpreterCodeInterpreterToolExecute Python, generate files
File SearchFileSearchToolRAG over uploaded documents
Bing GroundingBingGroundingToolWeb search
Azure AI SearchAzureAISearchToolSearch your indexes
Function CallingFunctionToolCall your Python functions
OpenAPIOpenApiToolCall REST APIs
MCPMcpToolModel Context Protocol servers

See references/tools.md for detailed patterns.

Adding Tools

python
from azure.ai.agents import CodeInterpreterTool, FileSearchTool

agent = client.create_agent(
    model=os.environ["MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
    name="tool-agent",
    instructions="You can execute code and search files.",
    tools=[CodeInterpreterTool()],
    tool_resources={"code_interpreter": {"file_ids": [file.id]}},
)

Function Calling

python
from azure.ai.agents import FunctionTool, ToolSet

def get_weather(location: str) -> str:
    """Get weather for a location."""
    return f"Weather in {location}: 72F, sunny"

functions = FunctionTool(functions=[get_weather])
toolset = ToolSet()
toolset.add(functions)

agent = client.create_agent(
    model=os.environ["MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
    name="function-agent",
    instructions="Help with weather queries.",
    toolset=toolset,
)

# Process run - toolset auto-executes functions
run = client.runs.create_and_process(
    thread_id=thread.id,
    agent_id=agent.id,
    toolset=toolset,  # Pass toolset for auto-execution
)

Streaming

python
from azure.ai.agents import AgentEventHandler

class MyHandler(AgentEventHandler):
    def on_message_delta(self, delta):
        if delta.text:
            print(delta.text.value, end="", flush=True)

    def on_error(self, data):
        print(f"Error: {data}")

with client.runs.stream(
    thread_id=thread.id,
    agent_id=agent.id,
    event_handler=MyHandler(),
) as stream:
    stream.until_done()

See references/streaming.md for advanced patterns.

File Operations

Upload File

python
file = client.files.upload_and_poll(
    file_path="data.csv",
    purpose="assistants",
)

Create Vector Store

python
vector_store = client.vector_stores.create_and_poll(
    file_ids=[file.id],
    name="my-store",
)

agent = client.create_agent(
    model=os.environ["MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
    tools=[FileSearchTool()],
    tool_resources={"file_search": {"vector_store_ids": [vector_store.id]}},
)

Async Client

python
from azure.ai.agents.aio import AgentsClient

async with AgentsClient(
    endpoint=os.environ["PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
) as client:
    agent = await client.create_agent(...)
    # ... async operations

See references/async-patterns.md for async patterns.

Response Format

JSON Mode

python
agent = client.create_agent(
    model=os.environ["MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
    response_format={"type": "json_object"},
)

JSON Schema

python
agent = client.create_agent(
    model=os.environ["MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
    response_format={
        "type": "json_schema",
        "json_schema": {
            "name": "weather_response",
            "schema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "temperature": {"type": "number"},
                    "conditions": {"type": "string"},
                },
                "required": ["temperature", "conditions"],
            },
        },
    },
)

Thread Management

Continue Conversation

python
# Save thread_id for later
thread_id = thread.id

# Resume later
client.messages.create(
    thread_id=thread_id,
    role="user",
    content="Follow-up question",
)
run = client.runs.create_and_process(thread_id=thread_id, agent_id=agent.id)

List Messages

python
messages = client.messages.list(thread_id=thread.id, order="asc")
for msg in messages:
    role = msg.role
    content = msg.content[0].text.value
    print(f"{role}: {content}")

Best Practices

  1. Use context managers for async client
  2. Clean up agents when done: client.delete_agent(agent.id)
  3. Use create_and_process for simple cases, streaming for real-time UX
  4. Pass toolset to run for automatic function execution
  5. Poll operations use *_and_poll methods for long operations

Reference Files

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