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Azure AI Openai Dotnet

MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Software development
  • MIT
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From the author

Azure OpenAI SDK for .NET. Client library for Azure OpenAI and OpenAI services. Use for chat completions, embeddings, image generation, audio transcription, and assistants. Triggers: "Azure OpenAI", "AzureOpenAIClient", "ChatClient", "chat completions .NET", "GPT-4", "embeddings", "DALL-E", "Whisper", "OpenAI .NET".
— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The Azure.AI.OpenAI SDK for .NET provides a comprehensive interface for interacting with Azure OpenAI services. It enables developers to integrate advanced AI capabilities such as chat completions, text embeddings, image generation via DALL-E, and audio processing with Whisper directly into their .NET projects. The library supports various authentication methods, including API keys and Microsoft Entra ID, and provides structured access to model deployments, function calling, and RAG patterns using Azure AI Search.

What it does

  • Provides a unified client hierarchy for chat, embeddings, images, audio, and assistants.
  • Supports streaming responses for chat completions to improve user experience.
  • Enables structured output generation using JSON schema definitions.
  • Facilitates function calling and tool integration within chat workflows.
  • Integrates with Azure AI Search for Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) scenarios.
  • Offers robust error handling for API request failures and rate limits.

When to use it

  • When building .NET applications that require integration with Azure OpenAI models.
  • When implementing chat interfaces or AI-powered assistants in C#.
  • When performing text embedding tasks for search or vector database applications.
  • When generating images or processing audio files using OpenAI models.
  • When enforcing structured data formats in AI model responses.

Advantages

  • Official Microsoft-supported library for .NET developers.
  • Supports modern authentication standards like Microsoft Entra ID.
  • Provides consistent client patterns across different AI modalities.
  • Includes built-in support for advanced features like reasoning models and RAG.
  • Facilitates easy migration and compatibility with standard OpenAI SDK patterns.

Usage examples

“How do I initialize the Azure OpenAI client in .NET?”
The user receives code demonstrating the instantiation of AzureOpenAIClient using an endpoint and AzureKeyCredential or DefaultAzureCredential.
“Show me how to perform a chat completion with streaming.”
The user receives a code snippet using CompleteChatStreamingAsync to iterate through streaming updates.
“How can I use DALL-E for image generation in my app?”
The user receives an example using ImageClient to generate an image with specific size, quality, and style options.
“How do I implement function calling in my chat assistant?”
The user receives a guide on defining ChatTool objects and handling tool calls within the chat completion response.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-ai-openai-dotnet/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-ai-openai-dotnet.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Azure.AI.OpenAI (.NET)

Client library for Azure OpenAI Service providing access to OpenAI models including GPT-4, GPT-4o, embeddings, DALL-E, and Whisper.

Installation

dotnet add package Azure.AI.OpenAI

# For OpenAI (non-Azure) compatibility
dotnet add package OpenAI

Current Version: 2.1.0 (stable)

Environment Variables

AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://<resource-name>.openai.azure.com  # Required: Azure OpenAI endpoint
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=<api-key>  # Only required for AzureKeyCredential auth
AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-4o-mini  # Required: model deployment name
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod  # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Client Hierarchy

AzureOpenAIClient (top-level)
├── GetChatClient(deploymentName)      → ChatClient
├── GetEmbeddingClient(deploymentName) → EmbeddingClient
├── GetImageClient(deploymentName)     → ImageClient
├── GetAudioClient(deploymentName)     → AudioClient
└── GetAssistantClient()               → AssistantClient

Authentication

API Key Authentication
using Azure;
using Azure.AI.OpenAI;

AzureOpenAIClient client = new(
    new Uri(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT")!),
    new AzureKeyCredential(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY")!));
Microsoft Entra Token Credential
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.AI.OpenAI;

// Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(
    DefaultAzureCredential.DefaultEnvironmentVariableName
);
// Or use a specific credential directly in production:
// See https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-dotnet#credential-classes
// var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential();
AzureOpenAIClient client = new(
    new Uri(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT")!),
    credential);
Using OpenAI SDK Directly with Azure
using Azure.Identity;
using OpenAI;
using OpenAI.Chat;
using System.ClientModel.Primitives;

#pragma warning disable OPENAI001

BearerTokenPolicy tokenPolicy = new(
    new DefaultAzureCredential(),
    "https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default");

ChatClient client = new(
    model: "gpt-4o-mini",
    authenticationPolicy: tokenPolicy,
    options: new OpenAIClientOptions()
    {
        Endpoint = new Uri("https://YOUR-RESOURCE.openai.azure.com/openai/v1")
    });

Chat Completions

Basic Chat
using Azure.AI.OpenAI;
using OpenAI.Chat;

AzureOpenAIClient azureClient = new(
    new Uri(endpoint),
    new DefaultAzureCredential());

ChatClient chatClient = azureClient.GetChatClient("gpt-4o-mini");

ChatCompletion completion = chatClient.CompleteChat(
[
    new SystemChatMessage("You are a helpful assistant."),
    new UserChatMessage("What is Azure OpenAI?")
]);

Console.WriteLine(completion.Content[0].Text);
Async Chat
ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
[
    new SystemChatMessage("You are a helpful assistant."),
    new UserChatMessage("Explain cloud computing in simple terms.")
]);

Console.WriteLine($"Response: {completion.Content[0].Text}");
Console.WriteLine($"Tokens used: {completion.Usage.TotalTokenCount}");
Streaming Chat
await foreach (StreamingChatCompletionUpdate update 
    in chatClient.CompleteChatStreamingAsync(messages))
{
    if (update.ContentUpdate.Count > 0)
    {
        Console.Write(update.ContentUpdate[0].Text);
    }
}
Chat with Options
ChatCompletionOptions options = new()
{
    MaxOutputTokenCount = 1000,
    Temperature = 0.7f,
    TopP = 0.95f,
    FrequencyPenalty = 0,
    PresencePenalty = 0
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(messages, options);
Multi-turn Conversation
List<ChatMessage> messages = new()
{
    new SystemChatMessage("You are a helpful assistant."),
    new UserChatMessage("Hi, can you help me?"),
    new AssistantChatMessage("Of course! What do you need help with?"),
    new UserChatMessage("What's the capital of France?")
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(messages);
messages.Add(new AssistantChatMessage(completion.Content[0].Text));

Structured Outputs (JSON Schema)

using System.Text.Json;

ChatCompletionOptions options = new()
{
    ResponseFormat = ChatResponseFormat.CreateJsonSchemaFormat(
        jsonSchemaFormatName: "math_reasoning",
        jsonSchema: BinaryData.FromBytes("""
            {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "steps": {
                        "type": "array",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "object",
                            "properties": {
                                "explanation": { "type": "string" },
                                "output": { "type": "string" }
                            },
                            "required": ["explanation", "output"],
                            "additionalProperties": false
                        }
                    },
                    "final_answer": { "type": "string" }
                },
                "required": ["steps", "final_answer"],
                "additionalProperties": false
            }
            """u8.ToArray()),
        jsonSchemaIsStrict: true)
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
    [new UserChatMessage("How can I solve 8x + 7 = -23?")],
    options);

using JsonDocument json = JsonDocument.Parse(completion.Content[0].Text);
Console.WriteLine($"Answer: {json.RootElement.GetProperty("final_answer")}");

Reasoning Models (o1, o4-mini)

ChatCompletionOptions options = new()
{
    ReasoningEffortLevel = ChatReasoningEffortLevel.Low,
    MaxOutputTokenCount = 100000
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
[
    new DeveloperChatMessage("You are a helpful assistant"),
    new UserChatMessage("Explain the theory of relativity")
], options);

Azure AI Search Integration (RAG)

using Azure.AI.OpenAI.Chat;

#pragma warning disable AOAI001

ChatCompletionOptions options = new();
options.AddDataSource(new AzureSearchChatDataSource()
{
    Endpoint = new Uri(searchEndpoint),
    IndexName = searchIndex,
    Authentication = DataSourceAuthentication.FromApiKey(searchKey)
});

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
    [new UserChatMessage("What health plans are available?")],
    options);

ChatMessageContext context = completion.GetMessageContext();
if (context?.Intent is not null)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Intent: {context.Intent}");
}
foreach (ChatCitation citation in context?.Citations ?? [])
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Citation: {citation.Content}");
}

Embeddings

using OpenAI.Embeddings;

EmbeddingClient embeddingClient = azureClient.GetEmbeddingClient("text-embedding-ada-002");

OpenAIEmbedding embedding = await embeddingClient.GenerateEmbeddingAsync("Hello, world!");
ReadOnlyMemory<float> vector = embedding.ToFloats();

Console.WriteLine($"Embedding dimensions: {vector.Length}");
Batch Embeddings
List<string> inputs = new()
{
    "First document text",
    "Second document text",
    "Third document text"
};

OpenAIEmbeddingCollection embeddings = await embeddingClient.GenerateEmbeddingsAsync(inputs);

foreach (OpenAIEmbedding emb in embeddings)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Index {emb.Index}: {emb.ToFloats().Length} dimensions");
}

Image Generation (DALL-E)

using OpenAI.Images;

ImageClient imageClient = azureClient.GetImageClient("dall-e-3");

GeneratedImage image = await imageClient.GenerateImageAsync(
    "A futuristic city skyline at sunset",
    new ImageGenerationOptions
    {
        Size = GeneratedImageSize.W1024xH1024,
        Quality = GeneratedImageQuality.High,
        Style = GeneratedImageStyle.Vivid
    });

Console.WriteLine($"Image URL: {image.ImageUri}");

Audio (Whisper)

Transcription
using OpenAI.Audio;

AudioClient audioClient = azureClient.GetAudioClient("whisper");

AudioTranscription transcription = await audioClient.TranscribeAudioAsync(
    "audio.mp3",
    new AudioTranscriptionOptions
    {
        ResponseFormat = AudioTranscriptionFormat.Verbose,
        Language = "en"
    });

Console.WriteLine(transcription.Text);
Text-to-Speech
BinaryData speech = await audioClient.GenerateSpeechAsync(
    "Hello, welcome to Azure OpenAI!",
    GeneratedSpeechVoice.Alloy,
    new SpeechGenerationOptions
    {
        SpeedRatio = 1.0f,
        ResponseFormat = GeneratedSpeechFormat.Mp3
    });

await File.WriteAllBytesAsync("output.mp3", speech.ToArray());

Function Calling (Tools)

ChatTool getCurrentWeatherTool = ChatTool.CreateFunctionTool(
    functionName: "get_current_weather",
    functionDescription: "Get the current weather in a given location",
    functionParameters: BinaryData.FromString("""
        {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "location": {
                    "type": "string",
                    "description": "The city and state, e.g. San Francisco, CA"
                },
                "unit": {
                    "type": "string",
                    "enum": ["celsius", "fahrenheit"]
                }
            },
            "required": ["location"]
        }
        """));

ChatCompletionOptions options = new()
{
    Tools = { getCurrentWeatherTool }
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
    [new UserChatMessage("What's the weather in Seattle?")],
    options);

if (completion.FinishReason == ChatFinishReason.ToolCalls)
{
    foreach (ChatToolCall toolCall in completion.ToolCalls)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Function: {toolCall.FunctionName}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Arguments: {toolCall.FunctionArguments}");
    }
}

Key Types Reference

TypePurpose
AzureOpenAIClientTop-level client for Azure OpenAI
ChatClientChat completions
EmbeddingClientText embeddings
ImageClientImage generation (DALL-E)
AudioClientAudio transcription/TTS
ChatCompletionChat response
ChatCompletionOptionsRequest configuration
StreamingChatCompletionUpdateStreaming response chunk
ChatMessageBase message type
SystemChatMessageSystem prompt
UserChatMessageUser input
AssistantChatMessageAssistant response
DeveloperChatMessageDeveloper message (reasoning models)
ChatToolFunction/tool definition
ChatToolCallTool invocation request

Best Practices

  1. Use Entra ID in production — Avoid API keys; use DefaultAzureCredential

  2. Reuse client instances — Create once, share across requests

  3. Handle rate limits — Implement exponential backoff for 429 errors

  4. Stream for long responses — Use CompleteChatStreamingAsync for better UX

  5. Set appropriate timeouts — Long completions may need extended timeouts

  6. Use structured outputs — JSON schema ensures consistent response format

  7. Monitor token usage — Track completion.Usage for cost management

  8. Validate tool calls — Always validate function arguments before execution

Error Handling

using Azure;

try
{
    ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(messages);
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 429)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Rate limited. Retry after delay.");
    await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 400)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Bad request: {ex.Message}");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Azure OpenAI error: {ex.Status} - {ex.Message}");
}
SDKPurposeInstall
Azure.AI.OpenAIAzure OpenAI client (this SDK)dotnet add package Azure.AI.OpenAI
OpenAIOpenAI compatibilitydotnet add package OpenAI
Azure.IdentityAuthenticationdotnet add package Azure.Identity
Azure.Search.DocumentsAI Search for RAGdotnet add package Azure.Search.Documents

Files

SKILL.md

Azure.AI.OpenAI (.NET)

Client library for Azure OpenAI Service providing access to OpenAI models including GPT-4, GPT-4o, embeddings, DALL-E, and Whisper.

Installation

dotnet add package Azure.AI.OpenAI

# For OpenAI (non-Azure) compatibility
dotnet add package OpenAI

Current Version: 2.1.0 (stable)

Environment Variables

AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://<resource-name>.openai.azure.com  # Required: Azure OpenAI endpoint
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=<api-key>  # Only required for AzureKeyCredential auth
AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-4o-mini  # Required: model deployment name
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod  # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Client Hierarchy

AzureOpenAIClient (top-level)
├── GetChatClient(deploymentName)      → ChatClient
├── GetEmbeddingClient(deploymentName) → EmbeddingClient
├── GetImageClient(deploymentName)     → ImageClient
├── GetAudioClient(deploymentName)     → AudioClient
└── GetAssistantClient()               → AssistantClient

Authentication

API Key Authentication
using Azure;
using Azure.AI.OpenAI;

AzureOpenAIClient client = new(
    new Uri(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT")!),
    new AzureKeyCredential(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY")!));
Microsoft Entra Token Credential
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.AI.OpenAI;

// Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(
    DefaultAzureCredential.DefaultEnvironmentVariableName
);
// Or use a specific credential directly in production:
// See https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-dotnet#credential-classes
// var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential();
AzureOpenAIClient client = new(
    new Uri(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT")!),
    credential);
Using OpenAI SDK Directly with Azure
using Azure.Identity;
using OpenAI;
using OpenAI.Chat;
using System.ClientModel.Primitives;

#pragma warning disable OPENAI001

BearerTokenPolicy tokenPolicy = new(
    new DefaultAzureCredential(),
    "https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default");

ChatClient client = new(
    model: "gpt-4o-mini",
    authenticationPolicy: tokenPolicy,
    options: new OpenAIClientOptions()
    {
        Endpoint = new Uri("https://YOUR-RESOURCE.openai.azure.com/openai/v1")
    });

Chat Completions

Basic Chat
using Azure.AI.OpenAI;
using OpenAI.Chat;

AzureOpenAIClient azureClient = new(
    new Uri(endpoint),
    new DefaultAzureCredential());

ChatClient chatClient = azureClient.GetChatClient("gpt-4o-mini");

ChatCompletion completion = chatClient.CompleteChat(
[
    new SystemChatMessage("You are a helpful assistant."),
    new UserChatMessage("What is Azure OpenAI?")
]);

Console.WriteLine(completion.Content[0].Text);
Async Chat
ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
[
    new SystemChatMessage("You are a helpful assistant."),
    new UserChatMessage("Explain cloud computing in simple terms.")
]);

Console.WriteLine($"Response: {completion.Content[0].Text}");
Console.WriteLine($"Tokens used: {completion.Usage.TotalTokenCount}");
Streaming Chat
await foreach (StreamingChatCompletionUpdate update 
    in chatClient.CompleteChatStreamingAsync(messages))
{
    if (update.ContentUpdate.Count > 0)
    {
        Console.Write(update.ContentUpdate[0].Text);
    }
}
Chat with Options
ChatCompletionOptions options = new()
{
    MaxOutputTokenCount = 1000,
    Temperature = 0.7f,
    TopP = 0.95f,
    FrequencyPenalty = 0,
    PresencePenalty = 0
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(messages, options);
Multi-turn Conversation
List<ChatMessage> messages = new()
{
    new SystemChatMessage("You are a helpful assistant."),
    new UserChatMessage("Hi, can you help me?"),
    new AssistantChatMessage("Of course! What do you need help with?"),
    new UserChatMessage("What's the capital of France?")
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(messages);
messages.Add(new AssistantChatMessage(completion.Content[0].Text));

Structured Outputs (JSON Schema)

using System.Text.Json;

ChatCompletionOptions options = new()
{
    ResponseFormat = ChatResponseFormat.CreateJsonSchemaFormat(
        jsonSchemaFormatName: "math_reasoning",
        jsonSchema: BinaryData.FromBytes("""
            {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "steps": {
                        "type": "array",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "object",
                            "properties": {
                                "explanation": { "type": "string" },
                                "output": { "type": "string" }
                            },
                            "required": ["explanation", "output"],
                            "additionalProperties": false
                        }
                    },
                    "final_answer": { "type": "string" }
                },
                "required": ["steps", "final_answer"],
                "additionalProperties": false
            }
            """u8.ToArray()),
        jsonSchemaIsStrict: true)
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
    [new UserChatMessage("How can I solve 8x + 7 = -23?")],
    options);

using JsonDocument json = JsonDocument.Parse(completion.Content[0].Text);
Console.WriteLine($"Answer: {json.RootElement.GetProperty("final_answer")}");

Reasoning Models (o1, o4-mini)

ChatCompletionOptions options = new()
{
    ReasoningEffortLevel = ChatReasoningEffortLevel.Low,
    MaxOutputTokenCount = 100000
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
[
    new DeveloperChatMessage("You are a helpful assistant"),
    new UserChatMessage("Explain the theory of relativity")
], options);

Azure AI Search Integration (RAG)

using Azure.AI.OpenAI.Chat;

#pragma warning disable AOAI001

ChatCompletionOptions options = new();
options.AddDataSource(new AzureSearchChatDataSource()
{
    Endpoint = new Uri(searchEndpoint),
    IndexName = searchIndex,
    Authentication = DataSourceAuthentication.FromApiKey(searchKey)
});

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
    [new UserChatMessage("What health plans are available?")],
    options);

ChatMessageContext context = completion.GetMessageContext();
if (context?.Intent is not null)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Intent: {context.Intent}");
}
foreach (ChatCitation citation in context?.Citations ?? [])
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Citation: {citation.Content}");
}

Embeddings

using OpenAI.Embeddings;

EmbeddingClient embeddingClient = azureClient.GetEmbeddingClient("text-embedding-ada-002");

OpenAIEmbedding embedding = await embeddingClient.GenerateEmbeddingAsync("Hello, world!");
ReadOnlyMemory<float> vector = embedding.ToFloats();

Console.WriteLine($"Embedding dimensions: {vector.Length}");
Batch Embeddings
List<string> inputs = new()
{
    "First document text",
    "Second document text",
    "Third document text"
};

OpenAIEmbeddingCollection embeddings = await embeddingClient.GenerateEmbeddingsAsync(inputs);

foreach (OpenAIEmbedding emb in embeddings)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Index {emb.Index}: {emb.ToFloats().Length} dimensions");
}

Image Generation (DALL-E)

using OpenAI.Images;

ImageClient imageClient = azureClient.GetImageClient("dall-e-3");

GeneratedImage image = await imageClient.GenerateImageAsync(
    "A futuristic city skyline at sunset",
    new ImageGenerationOptions
    {
        Size = GeneratedImageSize.W1024xH1024,
        Quality = GeneratedImageQuality.High,
        Style = GeneratedImageStyle.Vivid
    });

Console.WriteLine($"Image URL: {image.ImageUri}");

Audio (Whisper)

Transcription
using OpenAI.Audio;

AudioClient audioClient = azureClient.GetAudioClient("whisper");

AudioTranscription transcription = await audioClient.TranscribeAudioAsync(
    "audio.mp3",
    new AudioTranscriptionOptions
    {
        ResponseFormat = AudioTranscriptionFormat.Verbose,
        Language = "en"
    });

Console.WriteLine(transcription.Text);
Text-to-Speech
BinaryData speech = await audioClient.GenerateSpeechAsync(
    "Hello, welcome to Azure OpenAI!",
    GeneratedSpeechVoice.Alloy,
    new SpeechGenerationOptions
    {
        SpeedRatio = 1.0f,
        ResponseFormat = GeneratedSpeechFormat.Mp3
    });

await File.WriteAllBytesAsync("output.mp3", speech.ToArray());

Function Calling (Tools)

ChatTool getCurrentWeatherTool = ChatTool.CreateFunctionTool(
    functionName: "get_current_weather",
    functionDescription: "Get the current weather in a given location",
    functionParameters: BinaryData.FromString("""
        {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "location": {
                    "type": "string",
                    "description": "The city and state, e.g. San Francisco, CA"
                },
                "unit": {
                    "type": "string",
                    "enum": ["celsius", "fahrenheit"]
                }
            },
            "required": ["location"]
        }
        """));

ChatCompletionOptions options = new()
{
    Tools = { getCurrentWeatherTool }
};

ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(
    [new UserChatMessage("What's the weather in Seattle?")],
    options);

if (completion.FinishReason == ChatFinishReason.ToolCalls)
{
    foreach (ChatToolCall toolCall in completion.ToolCalls)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Function: {toolCall.FunctionName}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Arguments: {toolCall.FunctionArguments}");
    }
}

Key Types Reference

TypePurpose
AzureOpenAIClientTop-level client for Azure OpenAI
ChatClientChat completions
EmbeddingClientText embeddings
ImageClientImage generation (DALL-E)
AudioClientAudio transcription/TTS
ChatCompletionChat response
ChatCompletionOptionsRequest configuration
StreamingChatCompletionUpdateStreaming response chunk
ChatMessageBase message type
SystemChatMessageSystem prompt
UserChatMessageUser input
AssistantChatMessageAssistant response
DeveloperChatMessageDeveloper message (reasoning models)
ChatToolFunction/tool definition
ChatToolCallTool invocation request

Best Practices

  1. Use Entra ID in production — Avoid API keys; use DefaultAzureCredential

  2. Reuse client instances — Create once, share across requests

  3. Handle rate limits — Implement exponential backoff for 429 errors

  4. Stream for long responses — Use CompleteChatStreamingAsync for better UX

  5. Set appropriate timeouts — Long completions may need extended timeouts

  6. Use structured outputs — JSON schema ensures consistent response format

  7. Monitor token usage — Track completion.Usage for cost management

  8. Validate tool calls — Always validate function arguments before execution

Error Handling

using Azure;

try
{
    ChatCompletion completion = await chatClient.CompleteChatAsync(messages);
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 429)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Rate limited. Retry after delay.");
    await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 400)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Bad request: {ex.Message}");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Azure OpenAI error: {ex.Status} - {ex.Message}");
}
SDKPurposeInstall
Azure.AI.OpenAIAzure OpenAI client (this SDK)dotnet add package Azure.AI.OpenAI
OpenAIOpenAI compatibilitydotnet add package OpenAI
Azure.IdentityAuthenticationdotnet add package Azure.Identity
Azure.Search.DocumentsAI Search for RAGdotnet add package Azure.Search.Documents

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs an API key

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
Microsoft
Publisher
Microsoft (Official)
Source
microsoft/skills · .github/plugins/azure-sdk-dotnet/skills/azure-ai-openai-dotnet · commit 0696600
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

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Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download azure-ai-openai-dotnet.zip