AZD for AI Developers Workshop

Welcome to the hands-on workshop for learning Azure Developer CLI (AZD) with a focus on AI application deployment. This workshop helps you gain an applied understanding of AZD templates in 3 steps:

1. Discovery - find the template that is right for you.
2. Deployment - deploy and validate that it works
3. Customization - modify and iterate to make it yours!

Over the course of this workshop, you will also be introduced to core developer tools and workflows, to help you streamline your end-to-end development journey.

Browser-Based Guide

The workshop lessons are in Markdown. You can navigate them directly in GitHub - or launch a browser-based preview as shown in the screenshot below.

To use this option - fork the repository to your profile, and launch GitHub Codespaces. Once the VS Code terminal is active, type this command:

This browser preview works in GitHub Codespaces, dev containers, or a local clone with Python and MkDocs installed.

mkdocs serve > /dev/null 2>&1 &

In a few seconds, you will see a pop-up dialog. Select the option to Open in browser. The web-based guide will now open in a new browser tab. Some benefits of this preview:

1. Built-in search - find keywords or lessons quickly.
2. Copy icon - hover over codeblocks to see this option
3. Theme toggle - switch between dark and light themes
4. Get help - click the Discord icon in footer to join!

Workshop Overview

Duration: 3-4 hours
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Prerequisites: Familiarity with Azure, AI concepts, VS Code & command-line tools.

This is a hands-on workshop where you learn by doing. Once you have completed the exercises, we recommend reviewing the AZD For Beginners curriculum to continue your learning journey into Security and Productivity best practices.

Time	Module	Objective
15 mins	Introduction	Set the stage, understand the goals
30 mins	Select AI Template	Explore options and pick starter
30 mins	Validate AI Template	Deploy default solution to Azure
30 mins	Deconstruct AI Template	Explore structure and configuration
30 mins	Configure AI Template	Activate and try available features
30 mins	Customize AI Template	Adapt the template to your needs
30 mins	Teardown Infrastructure	Cleanup and release resources
15 mins	Wrap-Up & Next Steps	Learning resources, Workshop challenge

What You'll Learn

Think of the AZD Template as a learning sandbox to explore various capabilities and tools for end-to-end development on Microsoft Foundry. By the end of this workshop, you should have an intuitive sense for various tools and concepts in this context.

Concept	Objective
Azure Developer CLI	Understand tool commands and workflows
AZD Templates	Understand project structure and config
Azure AI Agent	Provision & deploy Microsoft Foundry project
Azure AI Search	Enable context engineering with agents
Observability	Explore tracing, monitoring and evaluations
Red Teaming	Explore adversarial testing and mitigations

Workshop Structure

The workshop is structured to take you on a journey from template discovery, to deployment, deconstruction, and customization - using the official Getting Started with AI Agents starter template as the basis.

Module 1: Select AI Template (30 mins)

• What are AI Templates?
• Where can I find AI Templates?
• How can I get started building AI Agents?
• Lab: Quickstart in Codespaces or a dev container

Module 2: Validate AI Template (30 mins)

• What is the AI Template Architecture?
• What is the AZD Development Workflow?
• How can I get help with AZD Development?
• Lab: Deploy & Validate AI Agents template

Module 3: Deconstruct AI Template (30 mins)

• Explore your environment in .azure/
• Explore your resource setup in infra/
• Explore your AZD configuration in azure.yamls
• Lab: Modify Environment Variables & Redeploy

Module 4: Configure AI Template (30 mins)

• Explore: Retrieval Augmented Generation
• Explore: Agent Evaluation & Red Teaming
• Explore: Tracing & Monitoring
• Lab: Explore AI Agent + Observability

Module 5: Customize AI Template (30 mins)

• Define: PRD with Scenario Requirements
• Configure: Environment Variables for AZD
• Implement: Lifecycle Hooks for added tasks
• Lab: Customize template for my scenario

Module 6: Teardown Infrastructure (30 mins)

• Recap: What are AZD Templates?
• Recap: Why use Azure Developer CLI?
• Next Steps: Try a different template!
• Lab: Deprovision infrastructure & cleanup

Workshop Challenge

Want to challenge yourself to do more? Here are some project suggestions - or share your ideas with us!!

Project	Description
1. Deconstruct A Complex AI Template	Use the workflow and tools we outlined and see if you can deploy, validate, and customize a different AI solution template. What did you learn?
2. Customize With Your Scenario	Try writing a PRD (Product Requirements Document) for a different scenario. Then use GitHub Copilot in your template repo in Agent Model - and ask it to generate a customization workflow for you. What did you learn? How could you improve on these suggestions?

Have feedback?

1. Post an issue on this repo - tag it Workshop for convenience.
2. Join the Microsoft Foundry Discord - connect with your peers!

📚 Course Home	AZD For Beginners
📖 Documentation	Get started with AI templates
🛠️AI Templates	Microsoft Foundry Templates
🚀 Next Steps	Begin Workshop

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Navigation: Main Course | Introduction | Module 1: Select Template

Ready to start building AI applications with AZD?

Begin Workshop: Introduction →