← 返回首页
Build agents and prompts in Foundry Toolkit
Visual Studio Code
Download

Use the Agents window to build in an agent-first way.

Documentation

Topics Overview Overview Linux macOS Windows VS Code for the Web Raspberry Pi Network Additional Components Uninstall VS Code Tutorial Copilot Quickstart User Interface Personalize VS Code Install Extensions Tips and Tricks Intro Videos Overview Setup Quickstart Overview Language Models Context Tools Agents Customization Trust & Safety Overview Agents Tutorial Agents Window Planning Memory Tools Subagents Local Agents Copilot CLI Cloud Agents Third-Party Agents Overview Chat Sessions Add Context Inline Chat Review Edits Checkpoints Artifacts Panel Debug Chat Interactions Prompt Examples Overview Instructions Prompt Files Custom Agents Agent Skills Language Models MCP Hooks Plugins Context Engineering Customize AI Test-Driven Development Edit Notebooks with AI Test with AI Test Web Apps with Browser Tools Debug with AI MCP Dev Guide OpenTelemetry Monitoring Inline Suggestions Smart Actions Best Practices Security Troubleshooting FAQ Cheat Sheet Settings Reference MCP Configuration Workspace Context Display Language Layout Keyboard Shortcuts Settings Settings Sync Extension Marketplace Extension Runtime Security Themes Profiles Overview Voice Interactions Command Line Interface Telemetry Basic Editing IntelliSense Code Navigation Refactoring Snippets Overview Multi-Root Workspaces Workspace Trust Tasks Debugging Debug Configuration Testing Port Forwarding Integrated Browser Overview Quickstart Staging & Committing Branches & Worktrees Repositories & Remotes Merge Conflicts Collaborate on GitHub Troubleshooting FAQ Getting Started Tutorial Terminal Basics Terminal Profiles Shell Integration Appearance Advanced Overview Enterprise Policies AI Settings Extensions Telemetry Updates Overview JavaScript JSON HTML Emmet CSS, SCSS and Less TypeScript Markdown PowerShell C++ Java PHP Python Julia R Ruby Rust Go T-SQL C# .NET Swift Working with JavaScript Node.js Tutorial Node.js Debugging Deploy Node.js Apps Browser Debugging Angular Tutorial React Tutorial Vue Tutorial Debugging Recipes Performance Profiling Extensions Tutorial Transpiling Editing Refactoring Debugging Quick Start Tutorial Run Python Code Editing Linting Formatting Debugging Environments Testing Python Interactive Django Tutorial FastAPI Tutorial Flask Tutorial Create Containers Deploy Python Apps Python in the Web Settings Reference Getting Started Navigate and Edit Refactoring Formatting and Linting Project Management Build Tools Run and Debug Testing Spring Boot Modernizing Java Apps Application Servers Deploy Java Apps GUI Applications Extensions FAQ Intro Videos GCC on Linux GCC on Windows GCC on Windows Subsystem for Linux Clang on macOS Microsoft C++ on Windows Build with CMake CMake Tools on Linux CMake Quick Start C++ Dev Tools for Copilot Editing and Navigating Debugging Configure Debugging Refactoring Settings Reference Configure IntelliSense Configure IntelliSense for Cross-Compiling FAQ Intro Videos Get Started Navigate and Edit IntelliCode Refactoring Formatting and Linting Project Management Build Tools Package Management Run and Debug Testing FAQ Overview Node.js Python ASP.NET Core Debug Docker Compose Registries Deploy to Azure Choose a Dev Environment Customize Develop with Kubernetes Tips and Tricks Overview Jupyter Notebooks Data Science Tutorial Python Interactive Data Wrangler Quick Start Data Wrangler PyTorch Support Azure Machine Learning Manage Jupyter Kernels Jupyter Notebooks on the Web Data Science in Microsoft Fabric Foundry Toolkit Overview Foundry Toolkit Copilot Tools Create Agents Models Playground Agent Builder Agent Inspector Evaluation Tool Catalog Fine-Tuning (Automated Setup) Fine-Tuning (Project Template) Model Conversion Tracing Profiling (Windows ML) FAQ File Structure Manual Model Conversion Manual Model Conversion on GPU Setup Environment Without Foundry Toolkit Template Project Migrating from Visualizer to Agent Inspector Overview Getting Started Resources View Deployment VS Code for the Web - Azure Containers Azure Kubernetes Service Kubernetes MongoDB Remote Debugging for Node.js Overview SSH Dev Containers Windows Subsystem for Linux GitHub Codespaces VS Code Server Tunnels SSH Tutorial WSL Tutorial Tips and Tricks FAQ Overview Tutorial Attach to Container Create Dev Container Advanced Containers devcontainer.json Dev Container CLI Tips and Tricks FAQ Default Keyboard Shortcuts Default Settings Substitution Variables Tasks Schema
Copy as Markdown

On this page there are 10 sections

Build agents and prompts in Foundry Toolkit

Agent Builder in Foundry Toolkit streamlines the engineering workflow for building agents, including prompt engineering and integration with tools, such as MCP servers. It helps with common prompt engineering tasks:

  • Iterate and refine in real-time
  • Provide easy access to code for seamless Large Language Model (LLM) integration via APIs

Agent Builder also enhances intelligent app's capabilities with tool use:

  • Connect to existing MCP servers
  • Build new MCP servers from scaffolds
  • Use function calling to connect to external APIs and services

Create, edit, and test prompts

To access Agent Builder, use either of these options:

  • In the Foundry Toolkit view, select Developer Tools > Create Agent > Open Agent Builder
  • In the Foundry Toolkit view, select My Resources > You project name > Prompt Agents > select any prompt agent

To test a prompt in Agent Builder, follow these steps:

  1. If you haven't chosen a model, select one from the Model dropdown list in Agent Builder. You can also select Browse models to add a different model from the model catalog.

  2. Enter the agent instructions.

    Use the Instructions field to tell your agent exactly what to do and how to do it. List the specific tasks, put them in order, and add any special instructions like tone or how to engage.

  3. Iterate over your instructions by observing the model response and making changes to the instructions.

  4. Use the syntax to add a dynamic value in instructions. For example, add a variable called user_name and use it in your instructions like this: Greet the user by their name: .

  5. Provide a value for the variable in the Variables section.

  6. Enter a prompt in the text box and select the send icon to test your agent.

  7. Observe the model's response and make any necessary adjustments to your instructions.

Use MCP servers

An MCP server is a tool that allows you to connect to external APIs and services, enabling your agent to perform actions beyond just generating text. For example, you can use an MCP server to access databases, call web services, or interact with other applications.

Use the agent builder to discover and configure featured MCP servers, connect to existing MCP servers, or build a new MCP server from scaffold.

Note

Using MCP servers might require either Node or Python environment. Foundry Toolkit validates your environment to ensure that the required dependencies are installed. After installing, use the command npm install -g npx to install npx. If you prefer Python, we recommend using uv

Configure a featured MCP server

Foundry Toolkit provides a list of featured MCP servers that you can use to connect to external APIs and services.

To configure an MCP server from featured selections, follow these steps:

  1. In the Tool section, select + MCP Server, and then select MCP Server in the Quick Pick.

  2. Select Could not find one? Browse more MCP servers from the dropdown list.

  3. Choose an MCP server that meets your needs.

  4. The MCP server is added to your agent in the MCP subsection under Tools.

Select tools from VS Code

  1. In the Tool section, select + MCP Server, and then select MCP Server in the Quick Pick.

  2. Select Use Tools Added in Visual Studio Code from the dropdown list.

  3. Select tools you want to use.

  4. An MCP Server tool called VSCode Tools is added to your agent in the MCP subsection under Tools.

Use an existing MCP server

Tip

Find MCP servers in these reference servers.

To use an existing MCP server, follow these steps:

  1. In the MCP Workflow section, select + Add MCP Server.

  2. Or in Agent Builder, in the Tool section, select the + icon to add a tool for your agent, and then select + Add server in the Quick Pick.

  3. Select MCP server in the Quick Pick.

  4. Select Connect to an Existing MCP Server

  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the dropdown list for the options to connect to the MCP server:

    • Command (stdio): Run a local command that implements the MCP protocol
    • HTTP (HTTP or server-sent events): Connect to a remote server that implements the MCP protocol

  6. Select tools from the MCP server if there are multiple tools available.

  7. Enter your prompts in the text box and select the send icon to test the connection.

Here's an example of configuring the Filesystem server in Foundry Toolkit:

  1. In the Tool section, select + MCP Server in the Quick Pick.

  2. Select Could not find one? Browse more MCP servers from the dropdown list.

  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the dropdown list and select Command (stdio)

    Note

    Some servers use the Python runtime and the uvx command. The process is the same as using the npx command.

  4. Navigate to the Server instructions and locate the npx section.

  5. Copy the command and args into the input box in Foundry Toolkit. For the Filesystem server example, it's npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /Users/<username>/.aitk/examples

  6. Input an ID for the server.

  7. Optionally, enter extra environment variables. Some servers might require extra environment variables such as API keys. In this case, Foundry Toolkit fails at the stage of adding tools and a file mcp.json opens, where you can enter the required server details following the instructions provided by each server. After you complete the configuration: 1. Navigate back to Tool section and select + MCP Server 1. Select the server you configured from the dropdown list

  8. Select the tools you want to use.

Foundry Toolkit also provides a scaffold to help you build a new MCP server. The scaffold includes a basic implementation of the MCP protocol, which you can customize to suit your needs.

Build a new MCP server

To build a new MCP server, follow these steps:

  1. In the MCP Workflow section, select Create New MCP Server.
  2. Select a programming language from the dropdown list: Python or TypeScript
  3. Select a folder to create the new MCP server project in.
  4. Enter a name for the MCP server project.

After you create the MCP server project, you can customize the implementation to suit your needs. The scaffold includes a basic implementation of the MCP protocol, which you can modify to add your own functionality.

You can also use the Agent Builder to test the MCP server. The Agent Builder sends the prompts to the MCP server and displays the response.

Follow these steps to test the MCP server:

Note

To run the MCP Server in your local dev machine, you need: Node.js or Python installed on your machine.

  1. Open VS Code Debug panel. Select Debug in Agent Builder or press F5 to start debugging the MCP server.

  2. The server is automatically connected to Agent Builder.

  3. Use Foundry Toolkit Agent Builder to enable the agent with the following instructions:

    • "You are a weather forecast professional that can tell weather information based on given location.".

  4. Enter the prompt "What is the weather in Seattle?" in the prompt box and select the send icon to test the server with the prompt.

  5. Observe the response from the MCP server in the Agent Builder.

Use function calling

Function calling connects your agent to external APIs and services.

  1. In Tool, select Add Tool, then Custom Tool.
  2. Choose how to add the tool:
    • By Example: Add from a JSON schema example
    • Upload Existing Schema: Upload a JSON schema file
  3. Enter the tool name and description, then select Add.
  4. Provide a mock response in the tool card.

  1. Run the agent with the function calling tool.

Use function calling tools in the Evaluation tab by entering mock responses for test cases.

Integrate prompt engineering into your application

After experimenting with models and prompts, you can get into coding right away with the automatically generated Python code.

To view the Python code, follow these steps:

  1. Select View Code.

  2. For models hosted on GitHub, select the inference SDK you want to use.

    Foundry Toolkit generates the code for the model you selected by using the provider's client SDK. For models hosted by GitHub, you can choose which inference SDK you want to use: Agent Framework SDK or the SDK from the model provider, such as OpenAI SDK or Mistral API.

  3. The generated code snippet is shown in a new editor, where you can copy it into your application.

    To authenticate with the model, you usually need an API key from the provider. To access models hosted by GitHub, generate a personal access token (PAT) in your GitHub settings.

Code snippets and code projects

Use the selector located in the upper right-hand corner of the Agent Builder to View Code or View Snippet.

To consume your Prompt Agent in Python code, you can either:

  • View Code generates an entire project with example code that calls your Prompt Agent hosted in Foundry. You will be asked to select a folder location on your local drive, then an entire project will be generated in that folder and opened in a new instance of Visual Studio Code.

  • View Snippet generates a single file snippet that calls your Prompt Agent hosted in Foundry.

View Prompt Agent conversations

Agent Builder provides a historical list of conversations which is useful for diagnosing and debugging your Prompt Agents.

To view the details of test conversations with the Prompt Agent, use the Conversations tab.

Selecting a conversation from the list will display all the details about the conversation.

Select Prompt Agent versions

Each time you make changes to a Prompt Agent and save them, a new version of the Prompt Agent is created in your Foundry project. To view and work with previous versions in the Playground, use the version selector.

Switch Prompt Agents from within the Agent Builder

The Prompt Agent switcher in the Agent Builder allows you to easily switch between Prompt Agents associated with your current project, both local and those hosted in Foundry.

What you learned

In this article, you learned how to:

  • Use the Foundry Toolkit for VS Code to test and debug your agents.
  • Discover, configure, and build MCP servers to connect your agents to external APIs and services.
  • Set up function calling to connect your agents to external APIs and services.
  • Implement structured output to deliver predictable results from your agents.
  • Integrate prompt engineering into your application with generated code snippets.

Next steps

10/03/2025