M365 Agents Dotnet
MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft
- Skill
- Tool integration
- Software development
- MIT
- No issues found
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
The Microsoft 365 Agents SDK for .NET provides the necessary components to develop, route, and host agents within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. It integrates with ASP.NET Core for hosting and utilizes MSAL for authentication. The SDK includes support for building custom agent applications, managing conversation state, and interacting with Copilot Studio via a dedicated client.
What it does
- Provides ASP.NET Core hosting integration for agent applications.
- Supports agent routing and conversation state management.
- Enables MSAL-based authentication for secure agent communication.
- Includes a Copilot Studio client for direct-to-engine interactions.
- Offers patterns for handling conversation events and errors.
When to use it
- When building custom agents for Microsoft Teams or Microsoft 365.
- When integrating .NET applications with Copilot Studio.
- When you need to implement custom agent logic using ASP.NET Core.
- When you require MSAL-based authentication for your agent services.
Advantages
- Native integration with ASP.NET Core dependency injection and hosting.
- Centralized routing and error handling via AgentApplication subclasses.
- Flexible configuration options for authentication and service connections.
- Support for both web-based hosting and console-based client interactions.
Usage examples
- “How do I set up a basic agent host using the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK?”
- The SDK provides extension methods like AddAgentApplicationOptions and AddAgent to configure your ASP.NET Core application to host an agent.
- “How can I connect my .NET application to Copilot Studio?”
- You can use the CopilotClient class provided by the SDK, configured with your environment settings and an authentication handler.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/m365-agents-dotnet/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip m365-agents-dotnet.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Microsoft
Microsoft 365 Agents SDK (.NET)
Overview
Build enterprise agents for Microsoft 365, Teams, and Copilot Studio using the Microsoft.Agents SDK with ASP.NET Core hosting, agent routing, and MSAL-based authentication.
Before implementation
Use the microsoft-docs MCP to verify the latest APIs for AddAgent, AgentApplication, and authentication options.
Confirm package versions in NuGet for the Microsoft.Agents.* packages you plan to use.
Installation
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.Hosting.AspNetCore
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.Authentication.Msal
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.Storage
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.CopilotStudio.Client
dotnet add package Microsoft.Identity.Client.Extensions.MsalConfiguration (appsettings.json)
{
"TokenValidation": {
"Enabled": true,
"Audiences": ["{{ClientId}}"],
"TenantId": "{{TenantId}}"
},
"AgentApplication": {
"StartTypingTimer": false,
"RemoveRecipientMention": false,
"NormalizeMentions": false
},
"Connections": {
"ServiceConnection": {
"Settings": {
"AuthType": "ClientSecret",
"ClientId": "{{ClientId}}",
"ClientSecret": "{{ClientSecret}}",
"AuthorityEndpoint": "https://login.microsoftonline.com/{{TenantId}}",
"Scopes": ["https://api.botframework.com/.default"]
}
}
},
"ConnectionsMap": [
{
"ServiceUrl": "*",
"Connection": "ServiceConnection"
}
],
"CopilotStudioClientSettings": {
"DirectConnectUrl": "",
"EnvironmentId": "",
"SchemaName": "",
"TenantId": "",
"AppClientId": "",
"AppClientSecret": ""
}
}Core Workflow: ASP.NET Core agent host
using Microsoft.Agents.Builder;
using Microsoft.Agents.Hosting.AspNetCore;
using Microsoft.Agents.Storage;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddHttpClient();
builder.AddAgentApplicationOptions();
builder.AddAgent<MyAgent>();
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IStorage, MemoryStorage>();
builder.Services.AddControllers();
builder.Services.AddAgentAspNetAuthentication(builder.Configuration);
WebApplication app = builder.Build();
app.UseAuthentication();
app.UseAuthorization();
app.MapGet("/", () => "Microsoft Agents SDK Sample");
var incomingRoute = app.MapPost("/api/messages",
async (HttpRequest request, HttpResponse response, IAgentHttpAdapter adapter, IAgent agent, CancellationToken ct) =>
{
await adapter.ProcessAsync(request, response, agent, ct);
});
if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
incomingRoute.RequireAuthorization();
}
else
{
app.Urls.Add("http://localhost:3978");
}
app.Run();AgentApplication routing
using Microsoft.Agents.Builder;
using Microsoft.Agents.Builder.App;
using Microsoft.Agents.Builder.State;
using Microsoft.Agents.Core.Models;
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public sealed class MyAgent : AgentApplication
{
public MyAgent(AgentApplicationOptions options) : base(options)
{
OnConversationUpdate(ConversationUpdateEvents.MembersAdded, WelcomeAsync);
OnActivity(ActivityTypes.Message, OnMessageAsync, rank: RouteRank.Last);
OnTurnError(OnTurnErrorAsync);
}
private static async Task WelcomeAsync(ITurnContext turnContext, ITurnState turnState, CancellationToken ct)
{
foreach (ChannelAccount member in turnContext.Activity.MembersAdded)
{
if (member.Id != turnContext.Activity.Recipient.Id)
{
await turnContext.SendActivityAsync(
MessageFactory.Text("Welcome to the agent."),
ct);
}
}
}
private static async Task OnMessageAsync(ITurnContext turnContext, ITurnState turnState, CancellationToken ct)
{
await turnContext.SendActivityAsync(
MessageFactory.Text($"You said: {turnContext.Activity.Text}"),
ct);
}
private static async Task OnTurnErrorAsync(
ITurnContext turnContext,
ITurnState turnState,
Exception exception,
CancellationToken ct)
{
await turnState.Conversation.DeleteStateAsync(turnContext, ct);
var endOfConversation = Activity.CreateEndOfConversationActivity();
endOfConversation.Code = EndOfConversationCodes.Error;
endOfConversation.Text = exception.Message;
await turnContext.SendActivityAsync(endOfConversation, ct);
}
}Copilot Studio direct-to-engine client
DelegatingHandler for token acquisition (interactive flow)
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
using Microsoft.Agents.CopilotStudio.Client;
using Microsoft.Identity.Client;
internal sealed class AddTokenHandler : DelegatingHandler
{
private readonly SampleConnectionSettings _settings;
public AddTokenHandler(SampleConnectionSettings settings) : base(new HttpClientHandler())
{
_settings = settings;
}
protected override async Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(
HttpRequestMessage request,
CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
if (request.Headers.Authorization is null)
{
string[] scopes = [CopilotClient.ScopeFromSettings(_settings)];
IPublicClientApplication app = PublicClientApplicationBuilder
.Create(_settings.AppClientId)
.WithAuthority(AadAuthorityAudience.AzureAdMyOrg)
.WithTenantId(_settings.TenantId)
.WithRedirectUri("http://localhost")
.Build();
AuthenticationResult authResponse;
try
{
var account = (await app.GetAccountsAsync()).FirstOrDefault();
authResponse = await app.AcquireTokenSilent(scopes, account).ExecuteAsync(cancellationToken);
}
catch (MsalUiRequiredException)
{
authResponse = await app.AcquireTokenInteractive(scopes).ExecuteAsync(cancellationToken);
}
request.Headers.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", authResponse.AccessToken);
}
return await base.SendAsync(request, cancellationToken);
}
}Console host with CopilotClient
using Microsoft.Agents.CopilotStudio.Client;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
HostApplicationBuilder builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder(args);
var settings = new SampleConnectionSettings(
builder.Configuration.GetSection("CopilotStudioClientSettings"));
builder.Services.AddHttpClient("mcs").ConfigurePrimaryHttpMessageHandler(() =>
{
return new AddTokenHandler(settings);
});
builder.Services
.AddSingleton(settings)
.AddTransient<CopilotClient>(sp =>
{
var logger = sp.GetRequiredService<ILoggerFactory>().CreateLogger<CopilotClient>();
return new CopilotClient(settings, sp.GetRequiredService<IHttpClientFactory>(), logger, "mcs");
});
IHost host = builder.Build();
var client = host.Services.GetRequiredService<CopilotClient>();
await foreach (var activity in client.StartConversationAsync(emitStartConversationEvent: true))
{
Console.WriteLine(activity.Type);
}
await foreach (var activity in client.AskQuestionAsync("Hello!", null))
{
Console.WriteLine(activity.Type);
}Best Practices
Use AgentApplication subclasses to centralize routing and error handling.
Use MemoryStorage only for development; use persisted storage in production.
Enable TokenValidation in production and require authorization on /api/messages.
Keep auth secrets in configuration providers (Key Vault, managed identity, env vars).
Reuse HttpClient from IHttpClientFactory and cache MSAL tokens.
Prefer async handlers and pass CancellationToken to SDK calls.
Reference Links
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer965 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
- SKILL.md9.8 KiB
LICENSE
MIT License
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARERequirements 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.
Security
No issues found by our static scan· No issues found
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Attribution and licence
- Created by
- Microsoft
- Publisher
- Microsoft (Official)
- Source
- microsoft/skills · .github/plugins/azure-sdk-dotnet/skills/m365-agents-dotnet · 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 m365-agents-dotnet.zip