.NET: Expose more agent metadata through DevUI discovery endpoint

dotnet/samples/GettingStarted/DevUI/DevUI_Step01_BasicUsage/Program.cs

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 // This sample demonstrates basic usage of the DevUI in an ASP.NET Core application with AI agents.
 
+using System.ComponentModel;
 using Azure.AI.OpenAI;
 using Azure.Identity;
 using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
@@ -18,10 +19,11 @@ namespace DevUI_Step01_BasicUsage;
 /// <remarks>
 /// This sample shows how to:
 /// 1. Set up Azure OpenAI as the chat client
-/// 2. Register agents and workflows using the hosting packages
-/// 3. Map the DevUI endpoint which automatically configures the middleware
-/// 4. Map the dynamic OpenAI Responses API for Python DevUI compatibility
-/// 5. Access the DevUI in a web browser
+/// 2. Create function tools for agents to use
+/// 3. Register agents and workflows using the hosting packages with tools
+/// 4. Map the DevUI endpoint which automatically configures the middleware
+/// 5. Map the dynamic OpenAI Responses API for Python DevUI compatibility
+/// 6. Access the DevUI in a web browser
 ///
 /// The DevUI provides an interactive web interface for testing and debugging AI agents.
 /// DevUI assets are served from embedded resources within the assembly.
@@ -50,10 +52,30 @@ private static void Main(string[] args)
 
         builder.Services.AddChatClient(chatClient);
 
-        // Register sample agents
-        builder.AddAIAgent("assistant", "You are a helpful assistant. Answer questions concisely and accurately.");
+        // Define some example tools
+        [Description("Get the weather for a given location.")]
+        static string GetWeather([Description("The location to get the weather for.")] string location)
+            => $"The weather in {location} is cloudy with a high of 15°C.";
+
+        [Description("Calculate the sum of two numbers.")]
+        static double Add([Description("The first number.")] double a, [Description("The second number.")] double b)
+            => a + b;
+
+        [Description("Get the current time.")]
+        static string GetCurrentTime()
+            => DateTime.Now.ToString("HH:mm:ss");
+
+        // Register sample agents with tools
+        builder.AddAIAgent("assistant", "You are a helpful assistant. Answer questions concisely and accurately.")
+            .WithAITools(
+                AIFunctionFactory.Create(GetWeather, name: "get_weather"),
+                AIFunctionFactory.Create(GetCurrentTime, name: "get_current_time")
+            );
+
         builder.AddAIAgent("poet", "You are a creative poet. Respond to all requests with beautiful poetry.");
-        builder.AddAIAgent("coder", "You are an expert programmer. Help users with coding questions and provide code examples.");
+
+        builder.AddAIAgent("coder", "You are an expert programmer. Help users with coding questions and provide code examples.")
+            .WithAITool(AIFunctionFactory.Create(Add, name: "add"));
 
         // Register sample workflows
         var assistantBuilder = builder.AddAIAgent("workflow-assistant", "You are a helpful assistant in a workflow.");

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Agents.AI.DevUI/Entities/EntitiesJsonContext.cs

@@ -18,9 +18,13 @@ namespace Microsoft.Agents.AI.DevUI.Entities;
 [JsonSerializable(typeof(MetaResponse))]
 [JsonSerializable(typeof(EnvVarRequirement))]
 [JsonSerializable(typeof(List<EntityInfo>))]
-[JsonSerializable(typeof(List<JsonElement>))]
+[JsonSerializable(typeof(List<Dictionary<string, JsonElement>>))]
+[JsonSerializable(typeof(List<Dictionary<string, string>>))]
 [JsonSerializable(typeof(Dictionary<string, JsonElement>))]
-[JsonSerializable(typeof(Dictionary<string, bool>))]
+[JsonSerializable(typeof(Dictionary<string, Dictionary<string, string>>))]
+[JsonSerializable(typeof(Dictionary<string, string>))]
 [JsonSerializable(typeof(JsonElement))]
+[JsonSerializable(typeof(string))]
+[JsonSerializable(typeof(int))]
 [ExcludeFromCodeCoverage]
 internal sealed partial class EntitiesJsonContext : JsonSerializerContext;

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Agents.AI.DevUI/Entities/EntityInfo.cs

@@ -36,16 +36,16 @@ internal sealed record EntityInfo(
     string Name,
 
     [property: JsonPropertyName("description")]
-    string? Description = null,
+    string? Description,
 
     [property: JsonPropertyName("framework")]
-    string Framework = "dotnet",
+    string Framework,
 
     [property: JsonPropertyName("tools")]
-    List<string>? Tools = null,
+    List<string> Tools,
 
     [property: JsonPropertyName("metadata")]
-    Dictionary<string, JsonElement>? Metadata = null
+    Dictionary<string, JsonElement> Metadata
 )
 {
     [JsonPropertyName("source")]
@@ -54,6 +54,32 @@ internal sealed record EntityInfo(
     [JsonPropertyName("original_url")]
     public string? OriginalUrl { get; init; }
 
+    // Deployment support
+    [JsonPropertyName("deployment_supported")]
+    public bool DeploymentSupported { get; init; }
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("deployment_reason")]
+    public string? DeploymentReason { get; init; }
+
+    // Agent-specific fields
+    [JsonPropertyName("instructions")]
+    public string? Instructions { get; init; }
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("model_id")]
+    public string? ModelId { get; init; }
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("chat_client_type")]
+    public string? ChatClientType { get; init; }
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("context_providers")]
+    public List<string>? ContextProviders { get; init; }
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("middleware")]
+    public List<string>? Middleware { get; init; }
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("module_path")]
+    public string? ModulePath { get; init; }
+
     // Workflow-specific fields
     [JsonPropertyName("required_env_vars")]
     public List<EnvVarRequirement>? RequiredEnvVars { get; init; }

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Agents.AI.DevUI/Entities/WorkflowSerializationExtensions.cs

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 // Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
 
+using System.Text.Json;
+using System.Text.Json.Serialization.Metadata;
 using Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows;
 using Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows.Checkpointing;
 
@@ -17,41 +19,47 @@ internal static class WorkflowSerializationExtensions
     /// Converts a workflow to a dictionary representation compatible with DevUI frontend.
     /// This matches the Python workflow.to_dict() format expected by the UI.
     /// </summary>
-    public static Dictionary<string, object> ToDevUIDict(this Workflow workflow)
+    /// <param name="workflow">The workflow to convert.</param>
+    /// <returns>A dictionary with string keys and JsonElement values containing the workflow data.</returns>
+    public static Dictionary<string, JsonElement> ToDevUIDict(this Workflow workflow)
     {
-        var result = new Dictionary<string, object>
+        var result = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
         {
-            ["id"] = workflow.Name ?? Guid.NewGuid().ToString(),
-            ["start_executor_id"] = workflow.StartExecutorId,
-            ["max_iterations"] = MaxIterationsDefault
+            ["id"] = Serialize(workflow.Name ?? Guid.NewGuid().ToString(), EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String),
+            ["start_executor_id"] = Serialize(workflow.StartExecutorId, EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String),
+            ["max_iterations"] = Serialize(MaxIterationsDefault, EntitiesJsonContext.Default.Int32)
         };
 
         // Add optional fields
         if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(workflow.Name))
         {
-            result["name"] = workflow.Name;
+            result["name"] = Serialize(workflow.Name, EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String);
         }
 
         if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(workflow.Description))
         {
-            result["description"] = workflow.Description;
+            result["description"] = Serialize(workflow.Description, EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String);
         }
 
         // Convert executors to Python-compatible format
-        result["executors"] = ConvertExecutorsToDict(workflow);
+        result["executors"] = Serialize(
+            ConvertExecutorsToDict(workflow),
+            EntitiesJsonContext.Default.DictionaryStringDictionaryStringString);
 
         // Convert edges to edge_groups format
-        result["edge_groups"] = ConvertEdgesToEdgeGroups(workflow);
+        result["edge_groups"] = Serialize(
+            ConvertEdgesToEdgeGroups(workflow),
+            EntitiesJsonContext.Default.ListDictionaryStringJsonElement);
 
         return result;
     }
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Converts workflow executors to a dictionary format compatible with Python
     /// </summary>
-    private static Dictionary<string, object> ConvertExecutorsToDict(Workflow workflow)
+    private static Dictionary<string, Dictionary<string, string>> ConvertExecutorsToDict(Workflow workflow)
     {
-        var executors = new Dictionary<string, object>();
+        var executors = new Dictionary<string, Dictionary<string, string>>();
 
         // Extract executor IDs from edges and start executor
         // (Registrations is internal, so we infer executors from the graph structure)
@@ -73,7 +81,7 @@ private static Dictionary<string, object> ConvertExecutorsToDict(Workflow workfl
         // Create executor entries (we can't access internal Registrations for type info)
         foreach (var executorId in executorIds)
         {
-            executors[executorId] = new Dictionary<string, object>
+            executors[executorId] = new Dictionary<string, string>
             {
                 ["id"] = executorId,
                 ["type"] = "Executor"
@@ -86,9 +94,9 @@ private static Dictionary<string, object> ConvertExecutorsToDict(Workflow workfl
     /// <summary>
     /// Converts workflow edges to edge_groups format expected by the UI
     /// </summary>
-    private static List<object> ConvertEdgesToEdgeGroups(Workflow workflow)
+    private static List<Dictionary<string, JsonElement>> ConvertEdgesToEdgeGroups(Workflow workflow)
     {
-        var edgeGroups = new List<object>();
+        var edgeGroups = new List<Dictionary<string, JsonElement>>();
         var edgeGroupId = 0;
 
         // Get edges using the public ReflectEdges method
@@ -101,13 +109,13 @@ private static List<object> ConvertEdgesToEdgeGroups(Workflow workflow)
                 if (edgeInfo is DirectEdgeInfo directEdge)
                 {
                     // Single edge group for direct edges
-                    var edges = new List<object>();
+                    var edges = new List<Dictionary<string, string>>();
 
                     foreach (var source in directEdge.Connection.SourceIds)
                     {
                         foreach (var sink in directEdge.Connection.SinkIds)
                         {
-                            var edge = new Dictionary<string, object>
+                            var edge = new Dictionary<string, string>
                             {
                                 ["source_id"] = source,
                                 ["target_id"] = sink
@@ -123,71 +131,77 @@ private static List<object> ConvertEdgesToEdgeGroups(Workflow workflow)
                         }
                     }
 
-                    edgeGroups.Add(new Dictionary<string, object>
+                    var edgeGroup = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
                     {
-                        ["id"] = $"edge_group_{edgeGroupId++}",
-                        ["type"] = "SingleEdgeGroup",
-                        ["edges"] = edges
-                    });
+                        ["id"] = Serialize($"edge_group_{edgeGroupId++}", EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String),
+                        ["type"] = Serialize("SingleEdgeGroup", EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String),
+                        ["edges"] = Serialize(edges, EntitiesJsonContext.Default.ListDictionaryStringString)
+                    };
+
+                    edgeGroups.Add(edgeGroup);
                 }
                 else if (edgeInfo is FanOutEdgeInfo fanOutEdge)
                 {
                     // FanOut edge group
-                    var edges = new List<object>();
+                    var edges = new List<Dictionary<string, string>>();
 
                     foreach (var source in fanOutEdge.Connection.SourceIds)
                     {
                         foreach (var sink in fanOutEdge.Connection.SinkIds)
                         {
-                            edges.Add(new Dictionary<string, object>
+                            edges.Add(new Dictionary<string, string>
                             {
                                 ["source_id"] = source,
                                 ["target_id"] = sink
                             });
                         }
                     }
 
-                    var fanOutGroup = new Dictionary<string, object>
+                    var fanOutGroup = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
                     {
-                        ["id"] = $"edge_group_{edgeGroupId++}",
-                        ["type"] = "FanOutEdgeGroup",
-                        ["edges"] = edges
+                        ["id"] = Serialize($"edge_group_{edgeGroupId++}", EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String),
+                        ["type"] = Serialize("FanOutEdgeGroup", EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String),
+                        ["edges"] = Serialize(edges, EntitiesJsonContext.Default.ListDictionaryStringString)
                     };
 
                     if (fanOutEdge.HasAssigner)
                     {
-                        fanOutGroup["selection_func_name"] = "selector";
+                        fanOutGroup["selection_func_name"] = Serialize("selector", EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String);
                     }
 
                     edgeGroups.Add(fanOutGroup);
                 }
                 else if (edgeInfo is FanInEdgeInfo fanInEdge)
                 {
                     // FanIn edge group
-                    var edges = new List<object>();
+                    var edges = new List<Dictionary<string, string>>();
 
                     foreach (var source in fanInEdge.Connection.SourceIds)
                     {
                         foreach (var sink in fanInEdge.Connection.SinkIds)
                         {
-                            edges.Add(new Dictionary<string, object>
+                            edges.Add(new Dictionary<string, string>
                             {
                                 ["source_id"] = source,
                                 ["target_id"] = sink
                             });
                         }
                     }
 
-                    edgeGroups.Add(new Dictionary<string, object>
+                    var edgeGroup = new Dictionary<string, JsonElement>
                     {
-                        ["id"] = $"edge_group_{edgeGroupId++}",
-                        ["type"] = "FanInEdgeGroup",
-                        ["edges"] = edges
-                    });
+                        ["id"] = Serialize($"edge_group_{edgeGroupId++}", EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String),
+                        ["type"] = Serialize("FanInEdgeGroup", EntitiesJsonContext.Default.String),
+                        ["edges"] = Serialize(edges, EntitiesJsonContext.Default.ListDictionaryStringString)
+                    };
+
+                    edgeGroups.Add(edgeGroup);
                 }
             }
         }
 
         return edgeGroups;
     }
+
+    private static JsonElement Serialize<T>(T value, JsonTypeInfo<T> typeInfo) => JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement(value, typeInfo);
 }