Azure AI Agents Persistent SDK for Java

Low-level SDK for creating and managing persistent AI agents with threads, messages, runs, and tools.

Installation

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-ai-agents-persistent</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.0-beta.1</version>
</dependency>

Environment Variables

PROJECT_ENDPOINT=https://<resource>.services.ai.azure.com/api/projects/<project> # Required for project configuration
MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-4o-mini # Required for agent model selection
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod  # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Authentication

import com.azure.ai.agents.persistent.PersistentAgentsClient;
import com.azure.ai.agents.persistent.PersistentAgentsClientBuilder;
import com.azure.core.credential.TokenCredential;
import com.azure.identity.AzureIdentityEnvVars;
import com.azure.identity.DefaultAzureCredentialBuilder;
import com.azure.identity.ManagedIdentityCredentialBuilder;

String endpoint = System.getenv("PROJECT_ENDPOINT");
TokenCredential credential = new DefaultAzureCredentialBuilder()
    .requireEnvVars(AzureIdentityEnvVars.AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS)
    .build();
// Or use a specific credential directly in production:
// See https://learn.microsoft.com/java/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-java-stable#credential-classes
// TokenCredential credential = new ManagedIdentityCredentialBuilder().build();

PersistentAgentsClient client = new PersistentAgentsClientBuilder()
    .endpoint(endpoint)
    .credential(credential)
    .buildClient();

Key Concepts

The Azure AI Agents Persistent SDK provides a low-level API for managing persistent agents that can be reused across sessions.

Client Hierarchy

Client	Purpose
PersistentAgentsClient	Sync client for agent operations
PersistentAgentsAsyncClient	Async client for agent operations

Core Workflow

1. Create Agent

// Create agent with tools
PersistentAgent agent = client.createAgent(
    modelDeploymentName,
    "Math Tutor",
    "You are a personal math tutor."
);

2. Create Thread

PersistentAgentThread thread = client.createThread();

3. Add Message

client.createMessage(
    thread.getId(),
    MessageRole.USER,
    "I need help with equations."
);

4. Run Agent

ThreadRun run = client.createRun(thread.getId(), agent.getId());

// Poll for completion
while (run.getStatus() == RunStatus.QUEUED || run.getStatus() == RunStatus.IN_PROGRESS) {
    Thread.sleep(500);
    run = client.getRun(thread.getId(), run.getId());
}

5. Get Response

PagedIterable<PersistentThreadMessage> messages = client.listMessages(thread.getId());
for (PersistentThreadMessage message : messages) {
    System.out.println(message.getRole() + ": " + message.getContent());
}

6. Cleanup

client.deleteThread(thread.getId());
client.deleteAgent(agent.getId());

Best Practices

1. Use DefaultAzureCredential for production authentication
2. Poll with appropriate delays — 500ms recommended between status checks
3. Clean up resources — Delete threads and agents when done
4. Handle all run statuses — Check for RequiresAction, Failed, Cancelled
5. Use async client for better throughput in high-concurrency scenarios

Error Handling

import com.azure.core.exception.HttpResponseException;

try {
    PersistentAgent agent = client.createAgent(modelName, name, instructions);
} catch (HttpResponseException e) {
    System.err.println("Error: " + e.getResponse().getStatusCode() + " - " + e.getMessage());
}

Reference Links

Resource	URL
Maven Package	https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.azure/azure-ai-agents-persistent
GitHub Source	https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-java/tree/main/sdk/ai/azure-ai-agents-persistent