Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 Ships with MCP and A2A Support

What Is Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0?

On April 7, Microsoft released Agent Framework 1.0 — the production-ready unification of Semantic Kernel and AutoGen into a single open-source SDK. This release delivers stable APIs, long-term support, and enterprise-grade multi-agent orchestration out of the box.

The headline capability is cross-runtime interoperability: the framework ships with full MCP (Model Context Protocol) support for tool discovery and invocation, with A2A 1.0 support arriving imminently for cross-framework agent collaboration.

Why Does This Matter for AI Development?

Until now, building multi-agent systems meant choosing between fragmented frameworks with different APIs and paradigms. Agent Framework 1.0 consolidates Microsoft's two most popular AI agent frameworks into one coherent system.

The included browser-based DevUI debugger lets teams visualize agent execution, message flows, and tool calls in real time — turning the black box of agent behavior into something observable and debuggable.

How Does MCP Integration Work?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) support means agents built with this framework can automatically discover and use external tools without custom integration code. An agent can find a database query tool, a file system tool, or an API tool dynamically at runtime.

Combined with A2A (Agent-to-Agent) support, this enables agents built on different frameworks to collaborate — a critical capability as the AI agent ecosystem grows more diverse.

Who Should Use This?

Enterprise teams building production AI agent systems will benefit most. If you're building customer service agents, data analysis pipelines, or automated workflow systems that need reliable multi-agent coordination, Agent Framework 1.0 provides the infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 free? A: Yes, it's open-source. You can use it without licensing costs, though Azure services you connect it to may have their own pricing.

Q: Do I need to migrate from Semantic Kernel or AutoGen? A: The framework provides migration paths from both. Your existing code doesn't break immediately, but upgrading gives you access to unified APIs and new features.

Q: What programming languages are supported? A: The SDK supports .NET and Python as primary languages, with TypeScript support for web-based agent interfaces.

Stay ahead of the AI curve. Follow @AiForSuccess for daily insights.