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Azure AI Projects Py Agent Skill

Build AI applications on Microsoft Foundry using the azure-ai-projects SDK.

2k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
1
files
instructions only
1
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
223
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/lingxling/awesome-skills-cn --skill azure-ai-projects-py

The instruction itself

25 sections, as written by the author

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-identity

Environment Variables

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

Authentication

import os
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient

credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
client = AIProjectClient(
    endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=credential,
)

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

client = AIProjectClient(
    endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
)

# 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 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 operations

See 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

  • Use context managers for async client: async with AIProjectClient(...) as client:
  • Clean up agents when done: client.agents.delete_agent(agent.id)
  • Use create_and_process for simple runs, streaming for real-time UX
  • Use 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

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.

Limitations

  • Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
  • Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
  • Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.

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How to use it

Copy the folder

Take lingxling/azure-ai-projects-py from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

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Install what it needs

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