agent-framework
Microsoft Agent Framework for building AI Agents with Python. This package contains all the core and optional packages.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. The package is actively maintained, production-stable, has no known vulnerabilities, and offers low install friction. It's a solid choice if you're building AI agents on OpenAI or Azure OpenAI and want structured orchestration patterns without writing boilerplate. The permissive MIT license and broad Python version support (3.10–3.14) add to its appeal. Start with a single agent to validate your use case, then scale to multi-agent workflows as needed.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10+.
- Requires OpenAI or Azure OpenAI API credentials set as environment variables (OPENAI_API_KEY or AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY, etc.).
- Active maintenance with recent release; low install friction as a pure Python wheel with a single core dependency.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) allows unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in commercial and private projects.
last release 2026-08-14 (0 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 12,803 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 1,527,626 downloads/mo, #3,810 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install agent-framework
import asyncio
from agent_framework import Agent
from agent_framework.openai import OpenAIChatClient
async def main():
agent = Agent(
client=OpenAIChatClient(),
instructions="You are a helpful assistant."
)
result = await agent.run("Your prompt here")
print(result)
asyncio.run(main())- Whether agent-framework-core and integration packages (foundry, copilotstudio) are included in the main agent-framework install or require separate installation.
- Specific performance characteristics or limits for multi-agent orchestration (e.g., concurrent agent scaling, latency).
- Whether the framework supports non-OpenAI LLM providers beyond Azure OpenAI.
What it is and what it does
Agent Framework is Microsoft's Python library for building and coordinating AI agents that interact with large language models. It provides a high-level Agent class that wraps OpenAI and Azure OpenAI chat clients, allowing you to define agent behavior through instructions, attach tools for function calling, and compose multiple agents into orchestrated workflows. The framework handles async execution, message passing, and agent-to-agent handoff patterns out of the box.
The package is designed for both simple single-agent tasks (summarization, Q&A) and complex multi-agent scenarios (sequential workflows, concurrent execution, group chat). It abstracts away boilerplate LLM integration code and provides patterns for common orchestration use cases like writer-reviewer loops and specialized agent teams. Installation is straightforward—either install the full framework with all integrations or pick specific sub-packages (core, foundry, copilotstudio) to keep dependencies lean.
Use it for
- Build a single agent that summarizes documents or answers questions using OpenAI or Azure OpenAI as the backbone.
- Create a multi-agent workflow where specialized agents (e.g., writer, reviewer, editor) collaborate sequentially or in parallel to refine content.
- Attach custom Python functions as tools to agents so they can call weather APIs, database queries, or other services during execution.
- Orchestrate agent handoff patterns where one agent routes tasks to another based on expertise or context.
- Integrate with Microsoft Foundry or Copilot Studio for enterprise LLM and workflow management.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
The package is actively maintained, production-stable, has no known vulnerabilities, and offers low install friction. It's a solid choice if you're building AI agents on OpenAI or Azure OpenAI and want structured orchestration patterns without writing boilerplate. The permissive MIT license and broad Python version support (3.10–3.14) add to its appeal. Start with a single agent to validate your use case, then scale to multi-agent workflows as needed.
Install
agent-framework on PyPI
Before you install
Active maintenance with recent release; low install friction as a pure Python wheel with a single core dependency. Supports Python 3.10 through 3.14 and shows strong adoption (top 5000 PyPI by downloads).
Requires Python 3.10+. Requires OpenAI or Azure OpenAI API credentials set as environment variables (OPENAI_API_KEY or AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY, etc.).
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) allows unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in commercial and private projects.
Quickstart
pip install agent-framework
import asyncio
from agent_framework import Agent
from agent_framework.openai import OpenAIChatClient
async def main():
agent = Agent(
client=OpenAIChatClient(),
instructions="You are a helpful assistant."
)
result = await agent.run("Your prompt here")
print(result)
asyncio.run(main())Verify before relying
- Whether agent-framework-core and integration packages (foundry, copilotstudio) are included in the main agent-framework install or require separate installation.
- Specific performance characteristics or limits for multi-agent orchestration (e.g., concurrent agent scaling, latency).
- Whether the framework supports non-OpenAI LLM providers beyond Azure OpenAI.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packageagent-framework-core |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 0 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 1,527,626 / month, #3,810 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Typing :: Typed |
Evidence: agent_framework-1.14.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also agent-framework-core · agent-framework-devui · agent-framework-openai · agent-framework-orchestrations · semantic-kernel · agent-framework-copilotstudio · agent-framework-foundry-local · agent-framework-chatkit · agent-framework-claude · agent-framework-ollama