Azure AI Projects Py
MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft
- Skill
- Tool integration
- Software development
- MIT
- Low risk
- Has scripts
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
The azure-ai-projects-py skill provides an interface for interacting with the Azure AI Projects Python SDK. It enables developers to manage the lifecycle of AI agents, deployments, datasets, and indexes within the Foundry environment. The SDK supports both synchronous and asynchronous operations, integrates with Azure identity management, and provides an OpenAI-compatible client for standard API interactions.
What it does
- Create and manage versioned AI agents using PromptAgentDefinition
- List and manage model deployments, datasets, and indexes
- Execute and manage agent threads, messages, and runs
- Access an OpenAI-compatible client for standard chat completions
- Configure and run evaluations on AI models
- Manage project connections to external services
When to use it
- When building AI applications that require integration with Microsoft Foundry
- When you need to manage agent versions and definitions programmatically
- When performing batch evaluations or quality checks on AI outputs
- When you need to interface with Azure-managed AI resources and deployments
Advantages
- Provides a unified client for managing diverse AI project resources
- Supports both sync and async programming patterns
- Enables versioning for agent definitions
- Integrates with standard Azure authentication via DefaultAzureCredential
Usage examples
- “How do I initialize the AIProjectClient?”
- Use the AIProjectClient class with your project endpoint and a DefaultAzureCredential instance, wrapped in a context manager.
- “How can I create a versioned agent?”
- Use the client.agents.create_version method, passing a PromptAgentDefinition object with your model, instructions, and version label.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-ai-projects-py/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-ai-projects-py.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Microsoft
Azure AI Projects Python SDK (Foundry SDK)
Build AI applications on Microsoft Foundry using the azure-ai-projects SDK.
Installation
pip install azure-ai-projects azure-identityEnvironment Variables
AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT="https://<resource>.services.ai.azure.com/api/projects/<project>" # Required for all auth methods
AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME="gpt-4o-mini" # Required for all auth methods
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in productionAuthentication & Lifecycle
🔑 Two rules apply to every code sample below:
Prefer
DefaultAzureCredential. It works locally (Azure CLI / VS Code / Developer CLI) and in Azure (managed identity, workload identity) with no code change. Avoid connection strings, account/API keys — they bypass Entra audit and rotation.
Local dev:
DefaultAzureCredentialworks as-is.Production: set
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod(orAZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>) to constrain the credential chain to production-safe credentials.Wrap every client in a context manager so HTTP transports, sockets, and token caches are released deterministically:
Sync:
with <Client>(...) as client:Async:
async with <Client>(...) as client:andasync with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential:(fromazure.identity.aio)Snippets may abbreviate this setup, but production code should always follow both rules.
import os
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential, ManagedIdentityCredential
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient
# Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
# Or use a specific credential directly in production:
# See https://learn.microsoft.com/python/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-python#credential-classes
# credential = ManagedIdentityCredential()
with AIProjectClient(
endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
credential=credential,
) as client:
deployments = list(client.deployments.list())Client Operations Overview
| Operation | Access | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
client.agents | .agents.* | Agent CRUD, versions, threads, runs |
client.connections | .connections.* | List/get project connections |
client.deployments | .deployments.* | List model deployments |
client.datasets | .datasets.* | Dataset management |
client.indexes | .indexes.* | Index management |
client.evaluations | .evaluations.* | Run evaluations |
client.red_teams | .red_teams.* | Red team operations |
Two Client Approaches
1. AIProjectClient (Native Foundry)
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient
with AIProjectClient(
endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
) as client:
# Use Foundry-native operations
agent = client.agents.create_agent(
model=os.environ["AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
name="my-agent",
instructions="You are helpful.",
)2. OpenAI-Compatible Client
# Get OpenAI-compatible client from project
openai_client = client.get_openai_client()
# Use standard OpenAI API
response = openai_client.chat.completions.create(
model=os.environ["AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
)Agent Operations
Create Agent (Basic)
agent = client.agents.create_agent(
model=os.environ["AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
name="my-agent",
instructions="You are a helpful assistant.",
)Create Agent with Tools
from azure.ai.agents.models import CodeInterpreterTool, FileSearchTool
agent = client.agents.create_agent(
model=os.environ["AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
name="tool-agent",
instructions="You can execute code and search files.",
tools=[CodeInterpreterTool(), FileSearchTool()],
)Versioned Agents with PromptAgentDefinition
from azure.ai.projects.models import PromptAgentDefinition
# Create a versioned agent
agent_version = client.agents.create_version(
agent_name="customer-support-agent",
definition=PromptAgentDefinition(
model=os.environ["AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
instructions="You are a customer support specialist.",
tools=[], # Add tools as needed
),
version_label="v1.0",
)See references/agents.md for detailed agent patterns.
Tools Overview
| Tool | Class | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Code Interpreter | CodeInterpreterTool | Execute Python, generate files |
| File Search | FileSearchTool | RAG over uploaded documents |
| Bing Grounding | BingGroundingTool | Web search (requires connection) |
| Azure AI Search | AzureAISearchTool | Search your indexes |
| Function Calling | FunctionTool | Call your Python functions |
| OpenAPI | OpenApiTool | Call REST APIs |
| MCP | McpTool | Model Context Protocol servers |
| Memory Search | MemorySearchTool | Search agent memory stores |
| SharePoint | SharepointGroundingTool | Search SharePoint content |
See references/tools.md for all tool patterns.
Thread and Message Flow
# 1. Create thread
thread = client.agents.threads.create()
# 2. Add message
client.agents.messages.create(
thread_id=thread.id,
role="user",
content="What's the weather like?",
)
# 3. Create and process run
run = client.agents.runs.create_and_process(
thread_id=thread.id,
agent_id=agent.id,
)
# 4. Get response
if run.status == "completed":
messages = client.agents.messages.list(thread_id=thread.id)
for msg in messages:
if msg.role == "assistant":
print(msg.content[0].text.value)Connections
# List all connections
connections = client.connections.list()
for conn in connections:
print(f"{conn.name}: {conn.connection_type}")
# Get specific connection
connection = client.connections.get(connection_name="my-search-connection")See references/connections.md for connection patterns.
Deployments
# List available model deployments
deployments = client.deployments.list()
for deployment in deployments:
print(f"{deployment.name}: {deployment.model}")See references/deployments.md for deployment patterns.
Datasets and Indexes
# List datasets
datasets = client.datasets.list()
# List indexes
indexes = client.indexes.list()See references/datasets-indexes.md for data operations.
Evaluation
# Using OpenAI client for evals
openai_client = client.get_openai_client()
# Create evaluation with built-in evaluators
eval_run = openai_client.evals.runs.create(
eval_id="my-eval",
name="quality-check",
data_source={
"type": "custom",
"item_references": [{"item_id": "test-1"}],
},
testing_criteria=[
{"type": "fluency"},
{"type": "task_adherence"},
],
)See references/evaluation.md for evaluation patterns.
Async Client
from azure.ai.projects.aio import AIProjectClient
async with AIProjectClient(
endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
) as client:
agent = await client.agents.create_agent(...)
# ... async operationsSee references/async-patterns.md for async patterns.
Memory Stores
# Create memory store for agent
memory_store = client.agents.create_memory_store(
name="conversation-memory",
)
# Attach to agent for persistent memory
agent = client.agents.create_agent(
model=os.environ["AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"],
name="memory-agent",
tools=[MemorySearchTool()],
tool_resources={"memory": {"store_ids": [memory_store.id]}},
)Best Practices
Pick sync OR async and stay consistent. Do not mix
azure.ai.projectssync clients withazure.ai.projects.aioasync clients in the same call path. Choose one mode per module.Always use context managers for clients and async credentials. Wrap every client in
with AIProjectClient(...) as client:(sync) orasync with AIProjectClient(...) as client:(async). For asyncDefaultAzureCredentialfromazure.identity.aio, also useasync with credential:so tokens and transports are cleaned up.Clean up agents when done:
client.agents.delete_agent(agent.id)Use
create_and_processfor simple runs, streaming for real-time UXUse versioned agents for production deployments
Prefer connections for external service integration (AI Search, Bing, etc.)
SDK Comparison
| Feature | azure-ai-projects | azure-ai-agents |
|---|---|---|
| Level | High-level (Foundry) | Low-level (Agents) |
| Client | AIProjectClient | AgentsClient |
| Versioning | create_version() | Not available |
| Connections | Yes | No |
| Deployments | Yes | No |
| Datasets/Indexes | Yes | No |
| Evaluation | Via OpenAI client | No |
| When to use | Full Foundry integration | Standalone agent apps |
Reference Files
references/agents.md: Agent operations with PromptAgentDefinition
references/tools.md: All agent tools with examples
references/evaluation.md: Evaluation operations overview
references/built-in-evaluators.md: Complete built-in evaluator reference
references/custom-evaluators.md: Code and prompt-based evaluator patterns
references/connections.md: Connection operations
references/deployments.md: Deployment enumeration
references/datasets-indexes.md: Dataset and index operations
references/async-patterns.md: Async client usage
references/api-reference.md: Complete API reference for all 373 SDK exports (v2.0.0b4)
scripts/run_batch_evaluation.py: CLI tool for batch evaluations
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer971 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
- SKILL.md10.8 KiB
- references/agents.md6.7 KiB
- references/api-reference.md27.3 KiB
- references/async-patterns.md6.8 KiB
- references/built-in-evaluators.md11.5 KiB
- references/connections.md4.7 KiB
- references/custom-evaluators.md14.1 KiB
- references/datasets-indexes.md4.2 KiB
- references/deployments.md3.5 KiB
- references/evaluation.md10.7 KiB
- references/tools.md11.7 KiB
- scripts/run_batch_evaluation.pyScript12.2 KiB
references/connections.md
Connections Operations Reference
Overview
Connections provide access to external Azure services like Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, Bing, and more.
List Connections
List All Connections
connections = project_client.connections.list()
for conn in connections:
print(f"Name: {conn.name}")
print(f"Type: {conn.connection_type}")
print(f"ID: {conn.id}")
print("---")Filter by Connection Type
from azure.ai.projects.models import ConnectionType
# List Azure OpenAI connections
for conn in project_client.connections.list(
connection_type=ConnectionType.AZURE_OPEN_AI
):
print(f"Azure OpenAI: {conn.name}")
# List Azure AI Search connections
for conn in project_client.connections.list(
connection_type=ConnectionType.AZURE_AI_SEARCH
):
print(f"AI Search: {conn.name}")Connection Types
from azure.ai.projects.models import ConnectionType
# Available connection types:
# - ConnectionType.AZURE_OPEN_AI
# - ConnectionType.AZURE_AI_SEARCH
# - ConnectionType.AZURE_BLOB
# - ConnectionType.AZURE_AI_SERVICES
# - ConnectionType.API_KEY
# - ConnectionType.COGNITIVE_SEARCH
# - ConnectionType.COGNITIVE_SERVICE
# - ConnectionType.CUSTOMGet Connection
Get by Name
connection = project_client.connections.get(connection_name="my-search-connection")
print(f"Name: {connection.name}")
print(f"Type: {connection.connection_type}")Get with Credentials
connection = project_client.connections.get(
connection_name="my-search-connection",
include_credentials=True,
)
print(f"Endpoint: {connection.endpoint_url}")
# Access credentials based on connection typeGet Default Connection
from azure.ai.projects.models import ConnectionType
# Get default Azure OpenAI connection
default_aoai = project_client.connections.get_default(
connection_type=ConnectionType.AZURE_OPEN_AI
)
print(f"Default Azure OpenAI: {default_aoai.name}")
# Get with credentials
default_aoai = project_client.connections.get_default(
connection_type=ConnectionType.AZURE_OPEN_AI,
include_credentials=True,
)Using Connections with Tools
Bing Grounding
from azure.ai.projects.models import (
BingGroundingAgentTool,
BingGroundingSearchToolParameters,
BingGroundingSearchConfiguration,
)
# Get Bing connection
bing_connection = project_client.connections.get(
os.environ["BING_CONNECTION_NAME"]
)
# Use in agent
tools = [
BingGroundingAgentTool(
bing_grounding=BingGroundingSearchToolParameters(
search_configurations=[
BingGroundingSearchConfiguration(
project_connection_id=bing_connection.id
)
]
)
)
]Azure AI Search
from azure.ai.projects.models import (
AzureAISearchAgentTool,
AzureAISearchToolResource,
AISearchIndexResource,
AzureAISearchQueryType,
)
# Get search connection
search_connection = project_client.connections.get(
os.environ["AI_SEARCH_CONNECTION_NAME"]
)
# Use in agent
tools = [
AzureAISearchAgentTool(
azure_ai_search=AzureAISearchToolResource(
indexes=[
AISearchIndexResource(
project_connection_id=search_connection.id,
index_name="my-index",
query_type=AzureAISearchQueryType.SEMANTIC,
)
]
)
)
]OpenAI Client from Connection
# Get OpenAI client for a specific Azure OpenAI connection
openai_client = project_client.get_openai_client(
api_version="2024-10-21",
connection_name="my-aoai-connection",
)
response = openai_client.chat.completions.create(
model="gpt-4o",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
)Connection Properties
connection = project_client.connections.get(
connection_name="my-connection",
include_credentials=True,
)
# Common properties
print(f"ID: {connection.id}")
print(f"Name: {connection.name}")
print(f"Type: {connection.connection_type}")
print(f"Endpoint: {connection.endpoint_url}")
# Check authentication type
if hasattr(connection, 'authentication_type'):
print(f"Auth Type: {connection.authentication_type}")Environment Variables Pattern
# Recommended environment variables for connections
BING_CONNECTION_NAME=my-bing-connection
AI_SEARCH_CONNECTION_NAME=my-search-connection
AOAI_CONNECTION_NAME=my-aoai-connectionimport os
# Load connections from environment
bing_conn = project_client.connections.get(os.environ["BING_CONNECTION_NAME"])
search_conn = project_client.connections.get(os.environ["AI_SEARCH_CONNECTION_NAME"])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, Needs Python
Security
What our scanner noticed· Low risk
- Instructions that use the network
- Scripts that your agent may run
This skill includes scripts that your agent may run. Read them before you use it.
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-python/skills/azure-ai-projects-py · commit 0696600
- Licence
- MIT License (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
Download ZIP
The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download azure-ai-projects-py.zip