microsoft-foundry-local

Development

Expert knowledge for Microsoft Foundry Local (aka Azure AI Foundry Local) development including best practices, decision making, configuration, and integrations & coding patterns. Use when compiling HF models with Olive, using Foundry Local CLI, chat/embeddings APIs, tool calling, or SDK migration, and other Microsoft Foundry Local related development tasks. Not for Microsoft Foundry (use microsoft-foundry), Microsoft Foundry Classic (use microsoft-foundry-classic), Microsoft Foundry Tools (use microsoft-foundry-tools), Azure Local (use azure-local).

QUICK START

How to use this skill

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Review the proposed files and risks before you approve installation.

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I want to install this Agent Skill for this project in Codex.

Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/Agent-Skills/blob/HEAD/skills/microsoft-foundry-local/SKILL.md

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Microsoft Foundry Local Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Microsoft Foundry Local. Covers best practices, decision making, configuration, and integrations & coding patterns. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

Category	Lines	Description
Best Practices	L32-L36	CLI usage tips, common error diagnostics, troubleshooting install/auth/deploy issues, and recommended workflows for using the Foundry Local CLI effectively.
Decision Making	L37-L41	Guidance for upgrading apps from the legacy Foundry Local SDK to the current one, including API changes, migration steps, and compatibility considerations.
Configuration	L42-L48	Compiling Hugging Face models with Olive for Foundry Local and using the Foundry Local CLI to install, manage, and configure local models and their command options.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L49-L61	Using Foundry Local APIs/SDKs for chat, embeddings, transcription, OpenAI-compatible clients, LangChain apps, tool calling, and REST/SDK reference (C#, JS, Python, Rust, legacy).

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Best practices and troubleshooting for Foundry Local CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/reference/reference-best-practice

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Migrate from legacy to current Foundry Local SDK	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/reference/reference-sdk-migration

Configuration

Topic	URL
Compile Hugging Face models for Foundry Local with Olive	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-compile-hugging-face-models
Use Foundry Local CLI to manage local models	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-use-foundry-local-cli
Foundry Local CLI command and options reference	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/reference/reference-cli

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Generate text embeddings with Foundry Local SDK	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-generate-embeddings
Integrate Foundry Local with OpenAI-style inference SDKs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-integrate-with-inference-sdks
Live microphone transcription with Foundry Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-live-transcribe-audio
Transcribe audio using Foundry Local transcription API	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-transcribe-audio
Build a LangChain translation app with Foundry Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-use-langchain-with-foundry-local
Use Foundry Local native chat completions API	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-use-native-chat-completions
Implement tool calling with Foundry Local models	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/how-to/how-to-use-tool-calling-with-foundry-local
Foundry Local REST API reference for local inference	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/reference/reference-rest
Reference for Foundry Local SDKs in C#, JS, Python, Rust	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/reference/reference-sdk-current
Legacy Foundry Local SDK reference and CLI-dependent APIs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry-local/reference/reference-sdk-legacy