Overview
Microsoft Agent Framework (MAF) is for teams taking agents from prototype to production. It gives a consistent API in Python and .NET for single agents, graph-based multi-agent workflows, middleware and observability. The README pitches it at projects that need orchestration beyond a single prompt, plus durability, human-in-the-loop control and provider flexibility.
Key capabilities
- Python and .NET: consistent APIs in both, with a Go SDK in a separate repo.
- Workflows: sequential, concurrent, handoff and group patterns, with checkpointing.
- Middleware: request and response pipelines and exception handling.
- Observability: built-in OpenTelemetry tracing.
- Declarative agents: define agents in YAML.
- DevUI: an interactive UI for testing and debugging agents.
Tradeoffs
- Heavier than minimal agent libraries; built for production systems.
- Best integration is with Microsoft's own stack (Foundry, Azure).
- Experimental features live in separate
labpackages.
Ideal for
- Enterprise teams on .NET or Azure
- Production multi-agent workflows
- Teams that need tracing and governance
Not ideal for
- Quick scripts and prototypes
- JavaScript-only teams
Getting started
- Install the Python package with
pip install agent-framework(addagent-framework-labonly if you want experimental modules), or use the .NET packages. - Follow the Quickstart in the README to create a single agent with your model provider.
- Move on to the workflow samples for sequential, concurrent and handoff patterns.
- Turn on OpenTelemetry tracing and try the DevUI to debug runs before deploying, optionally to Foundry Hosted Agents.
Technical notes
- Install (Python):
pip install agent-framework - Languages: Python, C#/.NET (Go separately)
- License: MIT
- Source: microsoft/agent-framework
- GitHub stars: 14,643 (as of 2026-11-12)