How to setup a custom MCP Server for Azure AI Agents | Microsoft Foundry

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Build Azure AI Agents in 30 days or less! Program launches May 4th! 10 spots only! Apply here https://calendly.com/frankie-frankieriviera/qualification-call Join the Free Azure Community! https://azureinnovationstation.com/community Unlock the power of custom MCP infrastructure in Microsoft Foundry! In this in‑depth tutorial, I walk you through building your own custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, registering and hosting it as a remote endpoint, and integrating it with Azure AI agents — including how to serve it securely via Azure Functions. You’ll learn how to: ✅ Architect and deploy a custom MCP server that exposes your own tools and APIs for AI agents to consume. ✅ Use Azure Functions to host your MCP server with scalable, serverless compute and endpoint security. ✅ Configure authentication (API keys ) and secure your server for production workloads. ✅ Connect your MCP server to Microsoft Foundry Agent Service as a remote MCP endpoint so your agents can invoke your custom tools. ✅ Test end‑to‑end integration — from Local to Microsoft Foundry — and verify tool invocation using both Visual Studio Code and MCP Inspector If you’re building enterprise‑grade Azure AI agents or need a flexible infrastructure for custom tooling in Microsoft Foundry, this video shows you exactly how to set it up, deploy it, and connect it with confidence. Ideal for cloud engineers, AI developers, and solution architects working with Azure, MCP, and advanced agent tooling. ▬▬▬▬▬▬ C H A P T E R S ▬▬▬▬▬▬ 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:29 Prerequisites 00:01:08 Starting Set up 00:01:32 How to create a local MCP triggered Azure function 00:03:57 How to create Azure Storage Account 00:05:45 How to test a local MCP server 00:10:03 Adding logic and data for an example use case for an MCP server 00:12:34 Testing updated local MCP server 00:15:20 How to deploy a remote MCP server 00:17:24 How to test Remote MCP Server 00:21:31 How to connect custom remote MCP server to Azure AI agent ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Prerequisites Visual Studio Code https://code.visualstudio.com/ Azure Account https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU1Vic_QURc Azure CLI https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli?view=azure-cli-latest Azure Function Core tools https://github.com/Azure/azure-functions-core-tools?tab=readme-ov-file#installing-the-cli Python https://www.python.org/downloads/ Node.js https://nodejs.org/en If you want to learn more about Azure and Azure AI Agents check out these video Playlists below Microsoft Foundry Playlist - Learn how to build, deploy and manage AI Apps and Agents https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz4COUqgjQMMXoC2H9_dGpwj Azure AI Search Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz4Mi5uWIEaKh0iTEM77vYM2 Masterclass Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz6iUncf8NWedyLTHBQmBszU Azure in 1 Minute - Quick overview videos on Azure Services in 1 minute https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz7OB1inR_SyuxU9Kfk4T0ek&si=GXMHvwlRrN9LNJ2K Azure in 2-5 Minutes - Quick, Clear, Concise Azure Videos in 2-5 minutes https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz4Bl9YFTxHkoHSiLkH-uqLY&si=8AZ8iYgbKhUPH-Wa Learn Azure in General https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz4d-GDz1_jZGgA8HU_ruB44&si=ONPXlvFrur_7FuAD Azure Functions Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz5Wqjc1NWCTtJnG6SVnB4pb Azure API Management Lab Series - Go from Zero to Hero with this Azure APIM playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz7NkopCDG7hHC9AxyUSrTVp&si=r1Z3TroslOrjX7b7 Build a Complete Azure Portfolio Step by Step Playlist! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqMeAuMeQoz6K4ZL4RuNQZ_gJ_zWwbgJ9 See the Equipment (Hardware + Software) I use for Content Creation https://frankieriviera.com/projects/equipment