Get started with LangChain and LangGraph with Foundry

Learn how to use langchain-azure-ai as an entry point for LangChain and LangGraph apps with Microsoft Foundry capabilities.

Use the langchain-azure-ai package as the entry point for building LangChain and LangGraph applications with Microsoft Foundry capabilities. This article gives you a high-level map of the package so you can start quickly, then move to the right deep-dive documentation for each capability.

Prerequisites

• An Azure subscription. Create one for free.
• A Foundry project.
• The Foundry User role on the Foundry project (least-privilege role for

The Foundry RBAC roles were recently renamed. Foundry User, Foundry Owner, Foundry Account Owner, and Foundry Project Manager were previously named Azure AI User, Azure AI Owner, Azure AI Account Owner, and Azure AI Project Manager. You might still see the previous names in some places while the rename rolls out. The role IDs and core permissions are unchanged by the rename. development). If you also create or manage resources, use Contributor or Owner as needed. For details, see Role-based access control for Microsoft Foundry.

• Python 3.10 or later.
• Azure CLI signed in (az login) so DefaultAzureCredential can authenticate.

This article mentions support for Microsoft Foundry (new), which uses version azure-ai-projects>=2.0. If you are using Foundry classic, use langchain-azure-ai[v1] instead.

Install the package

Install the base package:

pip install -U langchain-azure-ai azure-identity

Install optional extras based on your scenario:

pip install -U "langchain-azure-ai[tools]"
pip install -U "langchain-azure-ai[opentelemetry]"

• Use [tools] if your app uses tools from the namespace langchain_azure_ai.tools.*, like Document Intelligence.
• Use [opentelemetry] if you want tracing integration via OpenTelemetry.

Choose integration building blocks

Use this map to pick the right namespace for your solution:

Capability	Namespace	Typical use
Foundry Agent Service	langchain_azure_ai.agents	Build managed agent nodes to build complex graph and flows for LangGraph and LangChain. See detailed examples.
LangGraph hosting	langchain_azure_ai.agents.hosting	Host compiled LangGraph agents on Foundry Agent Service with Responses or Invocations protocols. See detailed examples.
Foundry Content Safety	langchain_azure_ai.agents.middleware	Use Foundry Content Safety and Moderation to make sure you can deploy solution with the right guardrails. See detailed examples.
Chat models	langchain_azure_ai.chat_models	Call Azure OpenAI and model catalog chat models. See detailed examples.
Embeddings	langchain_azure_ai.embeddings	Call embedding models from the catalog and generate vectors for search, retrieval, and ranking workflows. See detailed examples.
Vector stores	langchain_azure_ai.vectorstores	Use Azure AI Search and Cosmos DB vector integrations.
Retrievers	langchain_azure_ai.retrievers	Run retrieval over Azure-backed indexes and stores.
Chat history stores	langchain_azure_ai.chat_message_histories	Persist and replay chat history across sessions. Use memory-powered histories to retrieve consolidated pass chat history. See detailed examples.
Tools	langchain_azure_ai.tools	Add tools such as Document Intelligence, Vision, health text analytics, and Logic Apps.
Callbacks and tracing	langchain_azure_ai.callbacks	Capture run events and emit OpenTelemetry traces. See detailed examples.
Query constructors	langchain_azure_ai.query_constructors	Build backend-specific query filters for retrieval scenarios.

See the section Learn each capability in detail for specific walkthroughs.

Connect with project endpoints and credentials

Many langchain-azure-ai classes support connecting through a Foundry project endpoint. Set AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT once, then reuse it across supported classes.

export AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT="https://<resource>.services.ai.azure.com/api/projects/<project>"

When you use project_endpoint, authentication uses Microsoft Entra ID and Azure RBAC on the project.

API keys are for direct service endpoints, such as /openai/v1.

export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://<resource>.services.ai.azure.com/openai/v1"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="<your-key>"

Example: Use Foundry Models

Once the environment variables are configured, you can use a model by:

import langchain.chat_models import init_chat_model

model = init_chat_model("azure_ai:gpt-5.2")

You can also configure clients specifically. As an example, let’s see AzureAIOpenAIApiChatModel as a representative pattern:

import os

from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from langchain_azure_ai.chat_models import AzureAIOpenAIApiChatModel

# Option A: Use a Foundry project endpoint (Microsoft Entra ID required).
model_from_project = AzureAIOpenAIApiChatModel(
  project_endpoint=os.environ["AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT"],
  credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
  model="gpt-5.2",
)

# Option B: Use a service endpoint directly.
model_from_endpoint = AzureAIOpenAIApiChatModel(
  endpoint=os.environ["OPENAI_BASE_URL"],
  credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
  model="gpt-5.2",
)

# Option C: Use a different credential strategy.
model_with_cli_credential = AzureAIOpenAIApiChatModel(
  endpoint=os.environ["OPENAI_BASE_URL"],
  credential="super-secret",
  model="gpt-5.2",
)

What this snippet does: Shows the same model initialized from a Foundry project endpoint or from a direct service endpoint, and shows how to swap credentials.

You can apply the same pattern to tools. For example, AzureAIDocumentIntelligenceTool can use the project endpoint and DefaultAzureCredential without extra configuration when AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT is set:

from langchain_azure_ai.tools import AzureAIDocumentIntelligenceTool

document_tool = AzureAIDocumentIntelligenceTool()

How DefaultAzureCredential works

DefaultAzureCredential tries several Microsoft Entra ID credential sources in order and uses the first one that works. Common sources are environment variables, managed identity, developer tools, and Azure CLI.

Use DefaultAzureCredential as the default for local development and deployed workloads. If you need stricter control, replace it with a specific credential such as AzureCliCredential for local-only development or ManagedIdentityCredential for production workloads in Azure.

The same project-endpoint pattern is also used by other classes.

Learn each capability in detail

Start with these guides in this documentation set:

• Use Foundry Models with LangChain and LangGraph
• Use Foundry Content Safety middleware
• Use Foundry Agent Service with LangGraph
• Host LangGraph agents as Foundry hosted agents
• Use Foundry Memory with LangChain and LangGraph
• Use Foundry Observability to trace apps

Use these package resources for module-level details and updates:

• Package overview and README.
• LangChain documentation for langchain-azure-ai.

Next step

Use Foundry Models with LangChain