Use Agent Framework in a .NET console app with Azure App Configuration

In this guide, you build an AI agent chat application using Azure App Configuration to load agent YAML specifications that define AI agent behavior, prompts and model configurations.

The full sample source code is available in the Azure App Configuration GitHub repository.

Prerequisites

Create a Foundry project in Microsoft Foundry and configure the example agent settings discussed in the Get started section.
The latest .NET SDK

Console application

In this section, you create a .NET console application and load the agent YAML specification from your App Configuration store.

Create a new folder for your project. In the new folder, run the following command to create a new .NET console app project:
```
dotnet new console
```

Install the following NuGet packages in your project:

dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration
dotnet add package Azure.Identity
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI --version 1.0.0
dotnet add package Azure.AI.Projects --version 2.0.0
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.Declarative --version 1.0.0-rc4
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI --version 10.4.1

Open the Program.cs file, and add the following namespaces at the top of the file:

using Azure.Core;
using Azure.Identity;
using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
using Azure.AI.Projects;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration;

Connect to your App Configuration store by calling the AddAzureAppConfiguration method in the Program.cs file.

You can connect to App Configuration using either Microsoft Entra ID (recommended) or a connection string. In this example, you use Microsoft Entra ID with AzureCliCredential to authenticate to your App Configuration store. Follow these instructions to assign the App Configuration Data Reader role to the identity represented by AzureCliCredential. Be sure to allow sufficient time for the permission to propagate before running your application.
```
TokenCredential credential = new AzureCliCredential();

// Load configuration from Azure App Configuration
IConfiguration configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
    .AddAzureAppConfiguration(options =>
    {
        Uri endpoint = new(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT") ??
            throw new InvalidOperationException("The environment variable 'AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT' is not set or is empty"));
        options.Connect(endpoint, credential)
            .Select("ChatAgent:*")
    }).Build();
```

Update the code in Program.cs to initialize IChatClient, retrieve the agent specification from the configuration, create the agent from the YAML spec, and handle user interaction:

var endpoint = configuration["ChatAgent:ProjectEndpoint"];

IChatClient chatClient = new AIProjectClient(
    new Uri(endpoint), credential)
    .GetProjectOpenAIClient()
    .GetProjectResponsesClient()
    .AsIChatClient();

var agentSpec = configuration["ChatAgent:Spec"];

var agentFactory = new ChatClientPromptAgentFactory(chatClient);

AIAgent agent = await agentFactory.CreateFromYamlAsync(agentSpec);

while (true)
{
    Console.WriteLine("How can I help? (type 'quit' to exit)");

    Console.Write("User: ");

    var userInput = Console.ReadLine();

    if (userInput?.Trim().ToLower() == "quit")
    {
        break;
    }

    var response = await agent.RunAsync(userInput);

    Console.WriteLine($"Agent response: {response}");
    Console.WriteLine("Press enter to continue...");
    Console.ReadLine();
}

Console.WriteLine("Goodbye!");

After completing the previous steps, your Program.cs file should now contain the complete implementation as shown below:

using Azure.Core;
using Azure.Identity;
using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
using Azure.AI.Projects;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration;

TokenCredential credential = new AzureCliCredential();

// Load configuration from Azure App Configuration
IConfiguration configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
    .AddAzureAppConfiguration(options =>
    {
        Uri endpoint = new(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT") ??
            throw new InvalidOperationException("The environment variable 'AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT' is not set or is empty"));
        options.Connect(endpoint, credential)
            .Select("ChatAgent:*")
    }).Build();

var endpoint = configuration["ChatAgent:ProjectEndpoint"];

IChatClient chatClient = new AIProjectClient(
    new Uri(endpoint), credential)
    .GetProjectOpenAIClient()
    .GetProjectResponsesClient()
    .AsIChatClient();

var agentSpec = configuration["ChatAgent:Spec"];

var agentFactory = new ChatClientPromptAgentFactory(chatClient);

AIAgent agent = await agentFactory.CreateFromYamlAsync(agentSpec);

while (true)
{
    Console.WriteLine("How can I help? (type 'quit' to exit)");

    Console.Write("User: ");

    var userInput = Console.ReadLine();

    if (userInput?.Trim().ToLower() == "quit")
    {
        break;
    }

    var response = await agent.RunAsync(userInput);

    Console.WriteLine($"Agent response: {response}");
    Console.WriteLine("Press enter to continue...");
    Console.ReadLine();
}

Console.WriteLine("Goodbye!");

Build and run the app

Set the environment variable named AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT to the endpoint of your App Configuration store found under the Overview of your store in the Azure portal.

If you use the Windows command prompt, run the following command and restart the command prompt to allow the change to take effect:
```
setx AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT "<AppConfigurationEndpoint>"
```
If you use PowerShell, run the following command:
```
$Env:AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT="<AppConfigurationEndpoint>"
```
If you use macOS or Linux, run the following command:
```
export AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT='<AppConfigurationEndpoint>'
```
After the environment variable is properly set, run the following command to build and run the app:
```
dotnet run
```

Type the message "What is the weather today in Seattle?" when prompted with "How can I help?" and then press the Enter key.

How can I help? (type 'quit' to exit)
User: What is the weather today in Seattle?
Agent response: Seattle weather for today (Thursday, April 9, 2026):

- Current conditions (as of ~10:48 AM PDT): 55°F, sunny. Wind N 6 mph (gusts 7), humidity 55%, pressure 30.05 in. ([wunderground.com](https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/wa/seattle))
- Today’s forecast: Mostly sunny and mild. High around 64–65°F; tonight’s low near 43–44°F. Very low chance of precipitation and light winds. ([wunderground.com](https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/wa/seattle))

Want the hour‑by‑hour forecast or weekend outlook?
Press enter to continue...

Next steps

To learn how to use Chat completion configuration in your application, continue to this tutorial.

Chat completion configuration

Feedback

Was this page helpful?

Last updated on 2026-06-22