Agent Config
Forward typed configuration from your UI into the agent's reasoning loop.
"""MS Agent Framework agent backing the Agent Config Object demo.Reads three forwarded properties -- tone, expertise, responseLength -- from theAG-UI run input's ``forwardedProps`` and composes its system prompt dynamicallyper turn.The CopilotKit provider's ``properties`` prop is wired through the runtime as``forwardedProps`` on each AG-UI run. Because Microsoft Agent Framework agentsstore their system prompt in ``default_options["instructions"]``, we subclass``AgentFrameworkAgent`` and intercept ``run`` to swap in a freshly-builtinstruction string for the duration of each invocation.Invalid or missing values fall back to the corresponding ``DEFAULT_*``constant -- this function never raises so the demo can't deadlock on a badpayload."""from __future__ import annotationsfrom collections.abc import AsyncGeneratorfrom textwrap import dedentfrom typing import Any, Literalfrom ag_ui.core import BaseEventfrom agent_framework import Agent, BaseChatClientfrom agent_framework_ag_ui import AgentFrameworkAgentTone = Literal["professional", "casual", "enthusiastic"]Expertise = Literal["beginner", "intermediate", "expert"]ResponseLength = Literal["concise", "detailed"]DEFAULT_TONE: Tone = "professional"DEFAULT_EXPERTISE: Expertise = "intermediate"DEFAULT_RESPONSE_LENGTH: ResponseLength = "concise"VALID_TONES: set[str] = {"professional", "casual", "enthusiastic"}VALID_EXPERTISE: set[str] = {"beginner", "intermediate", "expert"}VALID_RESPONSE_LENGTHS: set[str] = {"concise", "detailed"}def read_properties(forwarded_props: Any) -> dict[str, str]: """Read forwarded props with defensive defaults. Any missing or unrecognized value falls back to the corresponding ``DEFAULT_*`` constant. Never raises. """ props = forwarded_props if isinstance(forwarded_props, dict) else {} tone = props.get("tone", DEFAULT_TONE) expertise = props.get("expertise", DEFAULT_EXPERTISE) response_length = props.get("responseLength", DEFAULT_RESPONSE_LENGTH) if tone not in VALID_TONES: tone = DEFAULT_TONE if expertise not in VALID_EXPERTISE: expertise = DEFAULT_EXPERTISE if response_length not in VALID_RESPONSE_LENGTHS: response_length = DEFAULT_RESPONSE_LENGTH return { "tone": tone, "expertise": expertise, "response_length": response_length, }def build_system_prompt(tone: str, expertise: str, response_length: str) -> str: """Compose the system prompt from the three axes.""" tone_rules = { "professional": ("Use neutral, precise language. No emoji. Short sentences."), "casual": ( "Use friendly, conversational language. Contractions OK. " "Light humor welcome." ), "enthusiastic": ( "Use upbeat, energetic language. Exclamation points OK. Emoji OK." ), } expertise_rules = { "beginner": "Assume no prior knowledge. Define jargon. Use analogies.", "intermediate": ( "Assume common terms are understood; explain specialized terms." ), "expert": ("Assume technical fluency. Use precise terminology. Skip basics."), } length_rules = { "concise": "Respond in 1-3 sentences.", "detailed": ("Respond in multiple paragraphs with examples where relevant."), } return ( "You are a helpful assistant.\n\n" f"Tone: {tone_rules[tone]}\n" f"Expertise level: {expertise_rules[expertise]}\n" f"Response length: {length_rules[response_length]}" )class AgentConfigFrameworkAgent(AgentFrameworkAgent): """AgentFrameworkAgent that rebuilds its system prompt per request. Overrides ``run`` to read ``forwardedProps`` from the AG-UI input and temporarily replace the wrapped agent's ``instructions`` option before delegating to the standard orchestrator chain. """ async def run( # type: ignore[override] self, input_data: dict[str, Any], ) -> AsyncGenerator[BaseEvent, None]: props = read_properties(input_data.get("forwardedProps")) system_prompt = build_system_prompt( props["tone"], props["expertise"], props["response_length"] ) options = getattr(self.agent, "default_options", None) if not isinstance(options, dict): async for event in super().run(input_data): yield event return previous_instructions = options.get("instructions") options["instructions"] = system_prompt try: async for event in super().run(input_data): yield event finally: if previous_instructions is None: options.pop("instructions", None) else: options["instructions"] = previous_instructionsdef create_agent_config_agent(chat_client: BaseChatClient) -> AgentConfigFrameworkAgent: """Instantiate the Agent Config demo agent. The base MS Agent Framework ``Agent`` carries only a neutral fallback instruction. The real behavioural steering happens in the per-request instruction string applied by ``AgentConfigFrameworkAgent.run``. """ base_agent = Agent( client=chat_client, name="agent_config", instructions=dedent( """ You are a helpful assistant. Follow the tone, expertise level, and response-length directives provided in the system message for each turn. If no directive is provided, use professional / intermediate / concise defaults. """.strip() ), tools=[], ) return AgentConfigFrameworkAgent( agent=base_agent, name="AgentConfigObjectDemo", description=( "Reads tone / expertise / responseLength from forwardedProps " "and builds its system prompt per turn." ), require_confirmation=False, )You have a working agent and want the user to be able to tune how it behaves: tone, expertise level, response length, language, persona. By the end of this guide, your UI will own a typed config object that the agent reads on every run and rebuilds its system prompt from.
When to use this#
Reach for agent config whenever the agent's behaviour depends on user-controllable settings that don't fit naturally as chat input:
- Tone, voice, persona: "playful", "formal", "casual"
- Expertise level: "beginner", "intermediate", "expert"
- Response shape: short / medium / long, structured / prose, language
- Domain switches: which knowledge base to consult, which tool subset to enable
If the values are a channel the user occasionally tunes (a settings panel, a toolbar of selects), agent config is the right shape. If the values are content the agent should write back to (notes, a document, a plan), use Shared State instead.
How agent config flows from the UI into the agent's reasoning loop depends on your runtime architecture. Agents living behind a runtime read it from agent state on every run, while in-process agents receive the same object as forwarded properties on the provider — same UX, slightly different wiring on each side.
How it works#
Agent config is a typed object the frontend owns and keeps in sync with the agent. There are two pieces: the UI side, which owns the React state and pushes every change into agent state, and the backend node, which reads those fields out of state and turns them into a system prompt.
The UI side stays simple. Hold the typed config in React state, then mirror every change into the agent through agent.setState({...}):
function ConfigStateSync({ config }: { config: AgentConfig }) {
const { agent } = useAgent({ agentId: "agent-config" });
useEffect(() => {
agent.setState({ ...config });
}, [agent, config]);
return null;
}The backend half is also a single node. Read the config out of state at the top of every run and use it to build the system prompt for that turn:
async def my_agent_node(state: AgentState, config: RunnableConfig):
cfg = state.get("config", {})
tone = cfg.get("tone", "casual")
expertise = cfg.get("expertise", "intermediate")
response_length = cfg.get("response_length", "medium")
system_prompt = build_system_prompt(tone, expertise, response_length)
# ...The agent reads the latest typed config at the start of every turn, rebuilds the system prompt, runs the turn. This is the same shape as the shared-state write-side pattern; agent config is just a specific use of that pattern with a UI-owned typed object on top.
