/foundry-agentic-loop

name: foundry-agentic-loop
description: 'Build agentic solutions on Microsoft Foundry, GitHub and Azure: hosted agents, toolbox tools and skills, Foundry IQ grounding and a React/FastAPI app. Three modes: rapid prototyping in an existing Foundry project; spec-driven development (SDD), where the foundry-agentic-loop-workflow runs Specify, Implement, Verify and Deploy to create the Foundry project and deploy with azd, or one phase runs alone; and Improve, which refines this skill and the workflow from past runs. Use for Agentic Loop requests and canvas actions, or end-to-end agent solutions from architecture to Azure deployment. Not for isolated Azure administration or unrelated UI edits.'

Foundry Agentic Loop

Coordinate the solution and use `microsoft-foundry` for platform operations. Explicit user choices override defaults. Reuse known context, ask only for missing decisions, read only the references a step needs, and report decisions, blockers and endpoints concisely.

Bootstrap (once per session)

1. **Foundry skill.** If `microsoft-foundry` is unavailable, ask, then install it (`copilot plugin install azure@awesome-copilot`, or `gh skill install microsoft/azure-skills microsoft-foundry --agent github-copilot --scope project`) and reload skills. 2. **Canvas and workflow.** This plugin ships `foundry-agentic-loop-canvas` and `foundry-agentic-loop-workflow`, listed as `foundry-agentic-loop:<name>` or `<name>`. Call `extensions_manage` with `operation: "list"`. Never install extensions from a URL and never edit Copilot settings files. If one is listed under neither name, tell the user which is missing and that it ships with the plugin, then ask before running `copilot plugin install foundry-agentic-loop@awesome-copilot`; after they approve, call `extensions_reload` once. If one is disabled, tell the user to re-enable it in their extension settings and continue in a new session: running sessions keep it disabled, even after a reload. If one failed, `inspect` it and report its log. Without the canvas, continue in Chat; without the workflow, SDD cannot start, so offer rapid prototyping. 3. **Canvas.** When work starts from Chat, open it once: `open_canvas` with `canvasId: "foundry-agentic-loop-canvas"`, `instanceId: "foundry-agentic-loop"` and `input: { mode }`. Prompts that begin `[Agentic Loop canvas action]` come from the canvas; follow their target, approval and resume instructions literally.

Choose the mode

| Signal | Mode | | --- | --- | | Root `AGENTS.md` has an Agentic Loop section | Its `mode`. Switch only when the user confirms, then rewrite the section | | Canvas prompt or explicit choice | As stated | | Existing Foundry project selected or named; fast prototype; no deployment pipeline needed | **Rapid prototyping**: [rapid.md](references/rapid.md) | | Spec, new Foundry project, azd or IaC, CI-ready repo or full Azure deployment | **SDD**: [sdd.md](references/sdd.md) | | Improve, learn from runs, or the canvas improve prompt | **Improve**: [improve.md](references/improve.md); measure changes with `node scripts/evals.mjs` (index, then run `--base <commit>`; exit 2 means evals are unavailable, so stop) | | One named SDD phase, with no run active | Its guide ([Specify](references/specify.md), [Implement](references/implement.md), [Verify](references/verify.md) or [Deploy](references/deploy.md)) with the [SDD defaults](references/sdd.md#sdd-defaults) |

Otherwise ask once with the choices "Rapid prototyping (existing Foundry project)" and "SDD (new project, deployed with azd)".

**Lock it in.** Before any other workspace write (in the rapid preflight, or just before the SDD workflow starts), upsert the section from [agents-md-rapid.md](assets/agents-md-rapid.md) or [agents-md-sdd.md](assets/agents-md-sdd.md) into the root `AGENTS.md`: replace everything between its `foundry-agentic-loop` begin and end markers, or append it, keeping other content; then read it back. The section routes short commands such as `deploy` and locks the mode for Chat, the canvas and the workflow. Azure settings go only in `.azure/deployment-plan.md`, never in `AGENTS.md`. Improve mode never writes it.

Defaults

• **Agents:** [Foundry hosted agents](references/foundry-hosted-agent.md) exposing the Responses API, Python 3.13, code deployment. Create them through `microsoft-foundry`'s `foundry-agent/create/quick-start-hosted.md` with the **Basic sample**, resolved through that skill, never a guessed URL. Use its advanced workflow only when quick-start cannot support a capability, keeping these defaults. Prompt agents only when requested.
• **Framework:** the Copilot SDK for agents that use runtime skills ([recipe](references/copilot-sdk-foundry.md), [reference agent](references/copilot-sdk-with-toolbox.py)); Microsoft Agent Framework for basic agents and explicit workflows. If a workflow also needs skills, clarify. One framework per agent.
• **Models:** rapid keeps the Basic sample's model deployment, or verifies and reuses a supplied one; SDD defaults to `gpt-5.4-mini` unless the spec needs otherwise. Run the joint placement preflight in [foundry-models.md](references/foundry-models.md) before creating resources. Never hard-code a replacement or silently duplicate a deployment.
• **Tools and knowledge:** one governed [Foundry toolbox](references/foundry-toolbox.md) for built-in tools, MCP connections and agent skills; agents use its endpoint, not hard-coded tool URLs. Private knowledge uses [Foundry IQ](references/foundry-iq-grounding.md) through the toolbox, with citations for supported claims and a deterministic insufficient-evidence response; test both. Add Search only when needed. Reuse run skills the user names from the [run catalog](references/run-skills-catalog.md) instead of regenerating them.
• **App:** React + Vite, FastAPI and FastMCP (streamable HTTP) on Azure Container Apps. Rapid deploys with `az containerapp up --name <app> --source <dir> --resource-group <rg> --environmen