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Azure AI Content Understanding SDK for Python. Use for multimodal content extraction from documents, images, audio, and video.
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Azure AI Content Understanding SDK for Python. Use for multimodal content extraction from documents, images, audio, and video. 📦 Ships with agentic-awesome-skills
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azure-ai-contentunderstanding-py.SKILL.md
---
name : azure-ai-contentunderstanding-py
description : Azure AI Content Understanding SDK for Python. Use for multimodal content extraction from documents, images, audio, and video.
risk : unknown
source : community
date_added : '2026-02-27'
---
# Azure AI Content Understanding SDK for Python
Multimodal AI service that extracts semantic content from documents, video, audio, and image files for RAG and automated workflows.
## Installation
```bash
pip install azure-ai-contentunderstanding
```
## Environment Variables
```bash
CONTENTUNDERSTANDING_ENDPOINT=https://<resource>.cognitiveservices.azure.com/
```
## Authentication
```python
import os
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding import ContentUnderstandingClient
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
endpoint = os.environ["CONTENTUNDERSTANDING_ENDPOINT"]
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
client = ContentUnderstandingClient(endpoint=endpoint, credential=credential)
```
## Core Workflow
Flowy AI Flows that just work. Hand-picked Claude Code plugins that fire the right skill as you prompt.
Content Understanding operations are asynchronous long-running operations:
1. **Begin Analysis** — Start the analysis operation with `begin_analyze()` (returns a poller)
2. **Poll for Results** — Poll until analysis completes (SDK handles this with `.result()`)
3. **Process Results** — Extract structured results from `AnalyzeResult.contents`
## Prebuilt Analyzers
| Analyzer | Content Type | Purpose |
|----------|--------------|---------|
| `prebuilt-documentSearch` | Documents | Extract markdown for RAG applications |
| `prebuilt-imageSearch` | Images | Extract content from images |
| `prebuilt-audioSearch` | Audio | Transcribe audio with timing |
| `prebuilt-videoSearch` | Video | Extract frames, transcripts, summaries |
| `prebuilt-invoice` | Documents | Extract invoice fields |
## Analyze Document
```python
import os
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding import ContentUnderstandingClient
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.models import AnalyzeInput
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
endpoint = os.environ["CONTENTUNDERSTANDING_ENDPOINT"]
client = ContentUnderstandingClient(
endpoint=endpoint,
credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
)
# Analyze document from URL
poller = client.begin_analyze(
analyzer_id="prebuilt-documentSearch",
inputs=[AnalyzeInput(url="https://example.com/document.pdf")]
)
result = poller.result()
# Access markdown content (contents is a list)
content = result.contents[0]
print(content.markdown)
```
## Access Document Content Details
```python
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.models import MediaContentKind, DocumentContent
content = result.contents[0]
if content.kind == MediaContentKind.DOCUMENT:
document_content: DocumentContent = content # type: ignore
print(document_content.start_page_number)
```
## Analyze Image
```python
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.models import AnalyzeInput
poller = client.begin_analyze(
analyzer_id="prebuilt-imageSearch",
inputs=[AnalyzeInput(url="https://example.com/image.jpg")]
)
result = poller.result()
content = result.contents[0]
print(content.markdown)
```
## Analyze Video
```python
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.models import AnalyzeInput
poller = client.begin_analyze(
analyzer_id="prebuilt-videoSearch",
inputs=[AnalyzeInput(url="https://example.com/video.mp4")]
)
result = poller.result()
# Access video content (AudioVisualContent)
content = result.contents[0]
# Get transcript phrases with timing
for phrase in content.transcript_phrases:
print(f"[{phrase.start_time} - {phrase.end_time}]: {phrase.text}")
# Get key frames (for video)
for frame in content.key_frames:
print(f"Frame at {frame.time}: {frame.description}")
```
## Analyze Audio
```python
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.models import AnalyzeInput
poller = client.begin_analyze(
analyzer_id="prebuilt-audioSearch",
inputs=[AnalyzeInput(url="https://example.com/audio.mp3")]
)
result = poller.result()
# Access audio transcript
content = result.contents[0]
for phrase in content.transcript_phrases:
print(f"[{phrase.start_time}] {phrase.text}")
```
## Custom Analyzers
Create custom analyzers with field schemas for specialized extraction:
```python
# Create custom analyzer
analyzer = client.create_analyzer(
analyzer_id="my-invoice-analyzer",
analyzer={
"description": "Custom invoice analyzer",
"base_analyzer_id": "prebuilt-documentSearch",
"field_schema": {
"fields": {
"vendor_name": {"type": "string"},
"invoice_total": {"type": "number"},
"line_items": {
"type": "array",
"items": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"description": {"type": "string"},
"amount": {"type": "number"}
}
}
}
}
}
}
)
# Use custom analyzer
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.models import AnalyzeInput
poller = client.begin_analyze(
analyzer_id="my-invoice-analyzer",
inputs=[AnalyzeInput(url="https://example.com/invoice.pdf")]
)
result = poller.result()
# Access extracted fields
print(result.fields["vendor_name"])
print(result.fields["invoice_total"])
```
## Analyzer Management
```python
# List all analyzers
analyzers = client.list_analyzers()
for analyzer in analyzers:
print(f"{analyzer.analyzer_id}: {analyzer.description}")
# Get specific analyzer
analyzer = client.get_analyzer("prebuilt-documentSearch")
# Delete custom analyzer
client.delete_analyzer("my-custom-analyzer")
```
## Async Client
```python
import asyncio
import os
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.aio import ContentUnderstandingClient
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.models import AnalyzeInput
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential
async def analyze_document():
endpoint = os.environ["CONTENTUNDERSTANDING_ENDPOINT"]
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
async with ContentUnderstandingClient(
endpoint=endpoint,
credential=credential
) as client:
poller = await client.begin_analyze(
analyzer_id="prebuilt-documentSearch",
inputs=[AnalyzeInput(url="https://example.com/doc.pdf")]
)
result = await poller.result()
content = result.contents[0]
return content.markdown
asyncio.run(analyze_document())
```
## Content Types
| Class | For | Provides |
|-------|-----|----------|
| `DocumentContent` | PDF, images, Office docs | Pages, tables, figures, paragraphs |
| `AudioVisualContent` | Audio, video files | Transcript phrases, timing, key frames |
Both derive from `MediaContent` which provides basic info and markdown representation.
## Model Imports
```python
from azure.ai.contentunderstanding.models import (
AnalyzeInput,
AnalyzeResult,
MediaContentKind,
DocumentContent,
AudioVisualContent,
)
```
## Client Types
| Client | Purpose |
|--------|---------|
| `ContentUnderstandingClient` | Sync client for all operations |
| `ContentUnderstandingClient` (aio) | Async client for all operations |
## Best Practices
1. **Use `begin_analyze` with `AnalyzeInput`** — this is the correct method signature
2. **Access results via `result.contents[0]`** — results are returned as a list
3. **Use prebuilt analyzers** for common scenarios (document/image/audio/video search)
4. **Create custom analyzers** only for domain-specific field extraction
5. **Use async client** for high-throughput scenarios with `azure.identity.aio` credentials
6. **Handle long-running operations** — video/audio analysis can take minutes
7. **Use URL sources** when possible to avoid upload overhead
## When to Use
This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.
## Limitations
- Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
- Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
- Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.
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