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 azure-identity
Minimum SDK Version: 2.0.0b3 or later required for hosted agent support.
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
Always use DefaultAzureCredential:
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient
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
)
Resource Limits:
| 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
tools=[
{"type": "code_interpreter"},
{
"type": "mcp",
"server_label": "my-mcp-server",
"server_url": "https://my-mcp-server.example.com"
}
]
Multiple Tools
tools=[
{"type": "code_interpreter"},
{"type": "file_search"},
{
"type": "mcp",
"server_label": "custom-tool",
"server_url": "https://custom-tool.example.com"
}
]
Environment Variables
Pass configuration to your container:
environment_variables={
"AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT": os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
"MODEL_NAME": "gpt-4o-mini",
"LOG_LEVEL": "INFO",
"CUSTOM_CONFIG": "value"
}
Best Practice: Never hardcode secrets. Use environment variables or Azure Key Vault.
Complete Example
import os
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient
from azure.ai.projects.models import (
ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition,
ProtocolVersionRecord,
AgentProtocol,
)
def create_hosted_agent():
"""Create a hosted agent with custom container image."""
client = AIProjectClient(
endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
)
agent = client.agents.create_version(
agent_name="data-processor-agent",
definition=ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition(
container_protocol_versions=[
ProtocolVersionRecord(
protocol=AgentProtocol.RESPONSES,
version="v1"
)
],
image="myregistry.azurecr.io/data-processor:v1.0",
cpu="2",
memory="4Gi",
tools=[
{"type": "code_interpreter"},
{"type": "file_search"}
],
environment_variables={
"AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT": os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
"MODEL_NAME": "gpt-4o-mini",
"MAX_RETRIES": "3"
}
)
)
print(f"Created hosted agent: {agent.name}")
print(f"Version: {agent.version}")
print(f"State: {agent.state}")
return agent
if __name__ == "__main__":
create_hosted_agent()
Async Pattern
import os
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.ai.projects.aio import AIProjectClient
from azure.ai.projects.models import (
ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition,
ProtocolVersionRecord,
AgentProtocol,
)
async def create_hosted_agent_async():
"""Create a hosted agent asynchronously."""
async with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential:
async with AIProjectClient(
endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
credential=credential
) as client:
agent = await client.agents.create_version(
agent_name="async-agent",
definition=ImageBasedHostedAgentDefinition(
container_protocol_versions=[
ProtocolVersionRecord(
protocol=AgentProtocol.RESPONSES,
version="v1"
)
],
image="myregistry.azurecr.io/async-agent:latest",
cpu="1",
memory="2Gi"
)
)
return agent
Common Errors
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
ImagePullBackOff |
ACR pull permission denied | Grant AcrPull role to project's managed identity |
InvalidContainerImage |
Image not found | Verify image path and tag exist in ACR |
CapabilityHostNotFound |
No capability host configured | Create account-level capability host |
ProtocolVersionNotSupported |
Invalid protocol version | Use AgentProtocol.RESPONSES with version "v1" |
Best Practices
- Version Your Images - Use specific tags, not
latestin production - Minimal Resources - Start with minimum CPU/memory, scale up as needed
- Environment Variables - Use for all configuration, never hardcode
- Error Handling - Wrap agent creation in try/except blocks
- Cleanup - Delete unused agent versions to free resources
Reference Links
When to Use
This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.
AGI Framework Integration
Adapted for @techwavedev/agi-agent-kit Original source: antigravity-awesome-skills
Memory-First Protocol
Retrieve prior agent configurations, team compositions, and orchestration patterns. Critical for multi-agent system consistency.
# Check for prior AI agent orchestration context before starting
python3 execution/memory_manager.py auto --query "agent patterns and orchestration strategies for Agents V2 Py"
Storing Results
After completing work, store AI agent orchestration decisions for future sessions:
python3 execution/memory_manager.py store \
--content "Agent pattern: hierarchical orchestration with Control Tower dispatcher, 3 specialist sub-agents" \
--type decision --project <project> \
--tags agents-v2-py ai-agents
Multi-Agent Collaboration
This skill is inherently multi-agent. Use cross-agent context to coordinate task distribution and avoid duplicate work.
python3 execution/cross_agent_context.py store \
--agent "<your-agent>" \
--action "Agent architecture designed — Control Tower + specialist agents with shared Qdrant memory" \
--project <project>
Control Tower Integration
Register agents and tasks with the Control Tower (execution/control_tower.py) for centralized orchestration across machines and LLM providers.
Blockchain Identity
Each agent has a cryptographic Ed25519 identity. All memory writes are signed — enabling trust verification in multi-agent systems.
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