What is Microsoft Foundry Canvas?

Important

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Microsoft Foundry Canvas is a GitHub Copilot App extension for creating, configuring, testing, and deploying Foundry agents from a side panel. It supports hosted agents and prompt agents with the Microsoft Copilot harness.

Use the agent prompt gallery to find a scenario, customize a starting prompt, and continue building with Copilot. The canvas works alongside your Copilot conversation, so you can browse project resources without leaving your current session.

Prerequisites

For agent-specific requirements, see the prerequisites for hosted agents or prompt agents with harness.

The agent prompt gallery provides scenario-based starting prompts for hosted agents and prompt agents with harness. Before browsing, select an agent type under Choose an agent type. Select Prompt agent to use the Microsoft Copilot harness.

Select Browse all templates to explore the gallery, search for a scenario, and filter by industry, capability, and pattern. The gallery uses this agent type when you submit a template; it doesn't display another type picker.

Screenshot of the agent prompt gallery with search, Industry, Capability, and Pattern filters, and scenario cards.

After you select a template, customize its building blocks and review the prompt preview. Select Use template in chat to continue with Copilot using that prompt. A template is a starting request for agent creation, not an already deployed agent.

How the canvas fits your workflow

Open the canvas with /open-foundry-canvas, or ask Copilot to create a supported Foundry agent. The canvas opens alongside Chat without interrupting the work in your conversation.

Choose a Foundry project to browse its resources. Project-aware actions pass the selected project context to Copilot, so agent work continues in the same conversation. You stay in control of the generated code.

You can explore templates, view project and agent options, and inspect resource choices while Copilot works. Actions that change state remain unavailable while Chat is running.

What you can do with the canvas

The canvas brings agent creation and project resources into one surface. With the canvas, you can:

  • Start from a scenario. Use the agent prompt gallery to find and customize a template instead of writing a starting prompt from scratch.
  • Build from project resources. Browse deployed models, Foundry Toolboxes, tools, and skills. Hosted agents also support guardrail configuration.
  • Keep your project context. Sign in and choose a Microsoft Entra directory, subscription, and Foundry project. The canvas remembers your selection.
  • Manage multiple agents. Use the agent picker to change the current agent, or select New agent to start another.
  • Refresh resources without losing edits. For prompt agents with harness, refresh models, tools, toolboxes, and skills from their controls without discarding unsaved changes.

Install Microsoft Foundry Canvas

In the GitHub Copilot App, open Customize, select Plugin, and search for microsoft-foundry. Install the plugin from the awesome-copilot marketplace.

The agent prompt gallery is available in plugin version 1.0.18 and later. To update the plugin, open Customize > Installed > Plugins.

How agent building works

Start with a gallery template or describe an agent to Copilot. After creation, the available configuration, deployment, and testing actions depend on the agent type.

Capability Hosted agents Prompt agents with harness
Configure Use Copilot-assisted changes to configure the model, toolboxes, skills, and guardrails in your agent code. Edit instructions, the model, tools, toolboxes, skills, and harness tools directly in the canvas. Tool and toolbox selections are read-only for agents with azd-managed orchestration.
Deploy Select Deploy to Foundry to publish the agent to Foundry Agent Service. Select Save & deploy to save and deploy the agent.
Test Select Inspect Locally to open the embedded Agent Inspector, or Test in Foundry Portal to test a deployed agent. Select Test in Foundry Portal to test a deployed agent.

Update azd-managed tool and toolbox attachments in Copilot Chat, then deploy with the Azure Developer CLI (azd).

For hosted agents, configuration appears under Build your agent, and deployment and testing appear under Deploy & test.

Screenshot of Microsoft Foundry Canvas with hosted-agent configuration controls and the Deploy and test section expanded.

For hosted agents, local inspection and deployment use the Azure Developer CLI (azd). You can also use the terminal for these operations.

Related content

Continue with the guide for your agent type or the underlying command-line workflow.

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