Source · release
Microsoft Agent Framework version 1.0
Summary
Microsoft's announcement that Agent Framework reached 1.0 for both .NET and Python on 2026-04-03, with stable APIs and a long-term support commitment. The framework merges the enterprise foundations of Semantic Kernel with AutoGen's multi-agent orchestration into one open-source SDK; it was introduced in October 2025 and reached release candidate in February 2026.
Key points
- Stable single-agent abstractions and service connectors for Microsoft Foundry, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Amazon Bedrock, Google Gemini, and Ollama.
- Middleware hooks to intercept and extend agent behaviour.
- Pluggable memory backends (Foundry, Mem0, Redis, Neo4j).
- Graph-based workflow engine; orchestration patterns: sequential, concurrent, handoff, group chat, and Magentic-One.
- Declarative agents and workflows in YAML.
- Interop through MCP (tools) and A2A (agent-to-agent).
- Migration guides and assistants for Semantic Kernel and AutoGen users.
- Releases continue at a fast pace: Python 1.20.0 (2026-10-02) and .NET 1.23.0 (2026-10-01) per the GitHub releases page.
Why it matters
Confirms the Microsoft Agent Framework as the supported successor to both Semantic Kernel and AutoGen, and as one of the few major agent frameworks with a declared stable 1.x API.