Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 GA: stable APIs, multi-agent orchestration, and Foundry Toolkit for VS Code
Microsoft Developer hosts Shawn Henry and Rong Lu as they walk through the Microsoft Agent Framework (MAF) 1.0 GA release, covering stable APIs, multi-agent handoff orchestration, Python and .NET support, plus the Foundry Toolkit for VS Code with debugging, testing-style evaluation, and GitHub Copilot integration.
Overview
Microsoft Agent Framework (MAF) has reached version 1.0 (GA), with the goal of making production-grade agent development feel closer to “normal” software development.
In this episode, Shawn Henry and Rong Lu cover what’s new in the v1.0 GA release and demonstrate an end-to-end developer workflow from local development to deployment using Foundry.
What’s new in Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 (GA)
- GA release with stable APIs.
- Multi-agent orchestration with handoff patterns.
- Support for Python and .NET.
Demo highlights
Getting started with MAF in VS Code
- Demo uses a VS Code extension to get started.
Building agents with Foundry Toolkit for VS Code (GA)
Foundry Toolkit for VS Code (formerly AI Toolkit) is now GA and aims to provide a unified IDE experience:
- A single “Create Agent” entry point.
- Agent Inspector for F5 debugging.
- Evaluation-as-tests using pytest.
- Deep GitHub Copilot integration.
Multi-agent workflows
- Demo shows creating and iterating on a multi-agent workflow.
- Includes debugging multi-agent behavior using Agent Inspector.
Chapters (from the video)
- 00:15 MAF - Microsoft Agent Framework GA Announcement
- 02:10 Demo - Getting started with MAF using VS Code Extension
- 02:44 Demo - Using the new Foundry/MAF Skills with Copilot
- 04:10 Demo - Building a Multi-Agent workflow using Copilot
- 06:36 Demo - Debugging a Multi-Agent workflow using Agent Inspector
- 12:15 What improved on MAF since Public preview and what's coming
- 16:54 How to Contribute and Getting Started
Resources
- Foundry Toolkit for VS Code: https://aka.ms/foundrytk
- Microsoft Agent Framework on GitHub: https://aka.ms/AgentFramework
- AI Agents for Beginners: https://aka.ms/ai-agents-beginners
- Blog post: https://aka.ms/DeployingAgents-blog
- MAF 1.0 Announcement: https://aka.ms/AgentFramework1.0-blog
People / links
- Jorge Arteiro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorgearteiro
- Shawn Henry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-patrick-henry/
- Rong Lu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rongl/
Series links
- Subscribe to Open at Microsoft: https://aka.ms/OpenAtMicrosoft
- Open at Microsoft playlist: https://aka.ms/OpenAtMicrosoftPlaylist
- Submit your OSS project: https://aka.ms/OpenAtMsCFP