Build and inspect Microsoft Foundry agents directly in VS Code

Microsoft Foundry Toolkit brings model discovery, prompt-agent building, hosted-agent deployment, MCP tool integration, and Agent Inspector workflows into VS Code. The 1.6.14 release adds solution templates, skill-only toolboxes, active hosted-agent response controls, broader model choices, and generally available Agent-to-Agent connections.

What it is useful for

• Prototype prompt agents and compare models without leaving VS Code.
• Create toolboxes that combine skills and tools, including MCP integrations.
• Inspect hosted-agent responses, traces, tool calls, and continuation behavior while debugging.
• Start from reference solution templates with a generated README.

Access and caveats

The Marketplace listing says initial model experiments can use GitHub-hosted models without an Azure subscription. Managed Foundry projects, hosted-agent deployment, production evaluation, and tracing require the relevant Microsoft/Azure setup and permissions. Microsoft also states that the extension collects usage data; review its telemetry and privacy settings before adopting it in a sensitive workspace.

This is a source-backed resource description, not a hands-on test or safety assessment.

Sources

• Microsoft Foundry Toolkit changelog
• Microsoft Foundry Toolkit for VS Code