Microsoft Agent Framework
Microsoft's unified agent SDK and the designated successor to both AutoGen and Semantic Kernel, reaching 1.0 GA on 3 April 2026. Combines AutoGen's multi-agent abstractions with Semantic Kernel's enterprise connectors and observability, adding typed graph-based workflows.
- Website
- https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework
- Who it's for
- Teams building multi-agent systems on the Microsoft/.NET/Azure stack, and anyone on AutoGen or Semantic Kernel planning a migration.
- Pricing
- Free and open source (MIT). Model and cloud usage billed separately.
- Category
- Agent frameworks & orchestration
- Last verified
- 2026-10-22 (current)
- Confidence
- high
Key facts
- Python and C#/.NET, with Go support still catching up
- MIT licence
- 1.0 GA on 3 April 2026
- Native MCP and A2A interoperability; declarative YAML workflows
- Migration assistants published for both AutoGen and Semantic Kernel
Sources
Every claim above is drawn from these; we do not publish unsourced specifications.
- https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework
- https://www.langchain.com/resources/ai-agent-frameworks
- https://agentshield.ai/use-cases/microsoft-agent-framework-security
- https://managed-code.com/blog-post/building-ai-agents-with-csharp-dotnet
Notes & uncertainties
Predecessors remain usable but frozen - see the AutoGen and Semantic Kernel entries in this index.
Something changed or out of date? Tell us — corrections are how this stays worth reading.