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Use models from Microsoft Foundry, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Mistral models, through a single provider integration. Microsoft Foundry hosts models from multiple providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Mistral, and others, through a unified deployment platform. The Microsoft Foundry catalog lets you add these models, and the platform automatically routes inference calls using the appropriate wire format, headers, and authentication scheme.

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Key benefits

  • One provider for multiple models — Add Microsoft Foundry once and select models from different model families.
  • Automatic format routing — The platform automatically detects the API format required by the model and routes requests accordingly.
  • Flexible authentication — Use an API key or an Azure AD Service Principal.
  • Backward compatibility — Existing connections continue to work without changes.

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Supported models

The platform supports any model deployed on Microsoft Foundry. The model catalog lists popular models for easy setup. If your deployed model is not listed in the catalog, you can add it using the Custom Model option. Custom models use the OpenAI Chat format by default. You can override the format if needed.

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Prerequisites

Before you configure the provider, ensure you have the following:
  1. An Azure AI Foundry resource with at least one model deployed.
  2. The resource endpoint, available in the Azure portal under your Foundry resource’s overview. For example, https://your-resource.openai.azure.com.
  3. Authentication credentials, either:
    • An API key from the Azure portal (Keys and Endpoint section), or
    • A Service Principal with the Cognitive Services User role on the resource for automatic token management.

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Authentication methods

Microsoft Foundry supports the following authentication methods: For information about configuring each authentication method, see:

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Add a model with an API key

Use an API key to authenticate requests to Microsoft Foundry. The platform sends the key with each request.
  • For OpenAI-format models, the key is sent in the api-key header.
  • For Anthropic-format models, it is sent in the x-api-key header.
Procedure:
  1. Go to Admin > LLM Providers.
  2. In the Model Catalog, select Add Model.
  3. Select Microsoft Foundry > Add manually.
  4. Select one of the following options:
    • Choose from popular models — Select a model from the curated list of Foundry models.
    • Enter deployment details — Enter the deployment details for a model that is not available in the curated list.
      1. Display Name — Enter a name for the model.
      2. Model ID — Enter the deployment or model ID.
      3. Tier — Select the appropriate model tier.
  5. Select Add to Workspace.
  6. From the model list, locate the Microsoft Foundry model and expand the model row.
  7. Under Connections, select Add Key.
  8. In the Add Connection dialog, select Create new credential and enter the credential details.
  1. Select Test Connection to verify the connection.
  2. Select Save.

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Add a model with a Service Principal

Use a Service Principal to authenticate with Microsoft Foundry using OAuth 2.0. The authentication flow is as follows:
  • Register a Service Principal in Azure AD and grant it access to your Foundry resource.
  • Create an Azure AD Auth Profile in the platform with the Service Principal credentials.
  • When connecting a model, select the auth profile instead of providing an API key.
  • At inference time, the platform acquires a short-lived token (https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default scope), caches it, and refreshes it automatically before expiry.
Token lifecycle: Service Principal tokens are acquired on demand, cached, and refreshed before expiry. Tokens are invalidated when the auth profile is updated or deleted. If token acquisition fails, the LLM call returns an authentication error.

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Step 1: Create the Service Principal profile

  1. Go to Admin > LLM Providers.
  2. In the Model Catalog, select Add Model.
  3. Select Microsoft Foundry.
  4. Select Use Service Principal.
  5. Select Create a new profile.
  6. Enter the profile details:
  1. Select Create profile.
  2. In the Add Model dialog, select the Service Principal profile you created.
  3. If the profile does not have a default scope, select the Resource Group, Foundry Account, and Foundry Project.
  4. Select List deployments. The platform retrieves the model deployments available in the specified Foundry scope.

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Endpoint Reference

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Migration from the legacy provider

If you previously configured models using the Microsoft Foundry (Anthropic) provider (microsoft_foundry_anthropic):
  • No action is required. Existing models, connections, and credentials continue working. The legacy provider name is treated as an alias for the unified Microsoft Foundry provider.
  • New models should be added using the unified Microsoft Foundry provider, which supports all model families.
  • The legacy provider card is no longer shown in the UI for new configurations, but all existing runtime behavior is preserved.

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Troubleshooting

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Limits and considerations

  • Rate limits are governed by your Azure AI Foundry resource tier, not by this platform.
  • Token caching (Service Principal mode) uses preemptive refresh. In rare cases during Azure AD outages, cached tokens may expire without refresh. Calls fail with a clear authentication error and automatically recover when Azure AD is available again.
  • Streaming works identically for all models; no special configuration is required.
  • Vision and tool use capabilities depend on the specific model deployed, not the provider configuration. The model catalog shows supported capabilities for each model.

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FAQs