Compatibility and maintenance
Compatibility alias of hosted-agents-v2-py; use that ID for new references when no existing contract requires this one. The full instructions and support files remain local so existing installations
continue to work offline. This is one shared procedure, not an additional capability.
Preserve the callable ID when an existing manifest or client configuration uses it.
Modified in AAS on 2026-09-05; original metadata and license notices are retained.
Azure AI Hosted Agents (Python)
Build container-based hosted agents using ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition from the Azure AI Projects SDK.
Installation
pip install 'azure-ai-projects>=2.0.0b3,<3' azure-identity
These are preview-era SDK v2 sketches. Check the exact installed version and current Azure hosted-agent documentation before provisioning; a broad version range is not an integration test.
Environment Variables
AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT=https://<resource>.services.ai.azure.com/api/projects/<project>
Prerequisites
Before creating hosted agents:
- Container Image - Build and push to Azure Container Registry (ACR)
- ACR Pull Permissions - Grant your project's managed identity
AcrPullrole on the ACR - Capability Host - Account-level capability host with
enablePublicHostingEnvironment=true - SDK Version - Ensure
azure-ai-projects>=2.0.0b3
Authentication
Use the approved Azure credential flow for the intended tenant/subscription; this sketch uses DefaultAzureCredential:
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient
import os
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
client = AIProjectClient(
endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
credential=credential
)
Core Workflow
1. Imports
import os
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient
from azure.ai.projects.models import (
ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition,
ProtocolVersionRecord,
AgentProtocol,
)
2. Create Hosted Agent
client = AIProjectClient(
endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
)
agent = client.agents.create_version(
agent_name="my-hosted-agent",
definition=ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition(
container_protocol_versions=[
ProtocolVersionRecord(protocol=AgentProtocol.RESPONSES, version="v1")
],
cpu="1",
memory="2Gi",
image="myregistry.azurecr.io/my-agent:latest",
tools=[{"type": "code_interpreter"}],
environment_variables={
"AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT": os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
"MODEL_NAME": "gpt-4o-mini"
}
)
)
print(f"Created agent: {agent.name} (version: {agent.version})")
3. List Agent Versions
versions = client.agents.list_versions(agent_name="my-hosted-agent")
for version in versions:
print(f"Version: {version.version}, State: {version.state}")
4. Delete Agent Version
client.agents.delete_version(
agent_name="my-hosted-agent",
version=agent.version
)
ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
container_protocol_versions |
list[ProtocolVersionRecord] |
Yes | Protocol versions the agent supports |
image |
str |
Yes | Full container image path (registry/image:tag) |
cpu |
str |
No | CPU allocation (e.g., "1", "2") |
memory |
str |
No | Memory allocation (e.g., "2Gi", "4Gi") |
tools |
list[dict] |
No | Tools available to the agent |
environment_variables |
dict[str, str] |
No | Environment variables for the container |
Protocol Versions
The container_protocol_versions parameter specifies which protocols your agent supports:
from azure.ai.projects.models import ProtocolVersionRecord, AgentProtocol
# RESPONSES protocol - standard agent responses
container_protocol_versions=[
ProtocolVersionRecord(protocol=AgentProtocol.RESPONSES, version="v1")
]
Available Protocols:
| Protocol | Description |
|---|---|
AgentProtocol.RESPONSES |
Standard response protocol for agent interactions |
Resource Allocation
Specify CPU and memory for your container:
definition=ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition(
container_protocol_versions=[...],
image="myregistry.azurecr.io/my-agent:latest",
cpu="2", # 2 CPU cores
memory="4Gi" # 4 GiB memory
)
Illustrative resource sizes; verify regional/SKU limits before provisioning:
| Resource | Min | Max | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 0.5 | 4 | 1 |
| Memory | 1Gi | 8Gi | 2Gi |
Tools Configuration
Add tools to your hosted agent:
Code Interpreter
tools=[{"type": "code_interpreter"}]
MCP Tools