Foundry Project Connections
Connections authenticate and link external resources to a Foundry project. Many agent tools (Azure AI Search, Bing Grounding, MCP) require a project connection before use.
Managing Connections via MCP
Use the Foundry MCP server for all connection operations. The MCP tools handle authentication, validation, and project scoping automatically.
| Operation | MCP Tool | Description |
|---|---|---|
| List all connections | project_connection_list | Lists project connections and can filter by category or target |
| Get connection details | project_connection_get | Retrieves a specific connection by connectionName |
| Create a connection | project_connection_create | Creates or replaces a project connection to an external resource |
| Update a connection | project_connection_update | Updates auth, category, target, or expiry on an existing connection |
| Delete a connection | project_connection_delete | Removes a connection from the project by name |
| List supported categories/auth types | project_connection_list_metadata | Lists valid connection categories and auth types before create/update |
💡 Tip: Use
project_connection_getorproject_connection_listto resolve the connection name and full connection resource ID before configuring agent tools that requireproject_connection_id.
Create Connection via Portal
- Open Microsoft Foundry portal
- Navigate to Operate → Admin → select your project
- Select Add connection → choose service type
- Browse for resource, select auth method, click Add connection
Connection ID Format
For REST and TypeScript samples, the full connection ID format is:
/subscriptions/{subId}/resourceGroups/{rg}/providers/Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts/{account}/projects/{project}/connections/{connectionName}Python and C# SDKs resolve this automatically from the connection name.
Common Connection Types
| Type | Resource | Used By |
|---|---|---|
azure_ai_search | Azure AI Search | AI Search tool |
bing | Grounding with Bing Search | Bing grounding tool |
bing_custom_search | Grounding with Bing Custom Search | Bing Custom Search tool |
api_key | Any API-key resource | MCP servers, custom tools |
azure_openai | Azure OpenAI | Model access |
AzureStorageAccount | Azure Blob Storage | Dataset upload via evaluation_dataset_create |
RBAC for Connection Management
| Role | Scope | Permission |
|---|---|---|
| Foundry Project Manager | Project | Create/manage project connections |
| Contributor or Owner | Subscription/RG | Create Bing/Search resources, get keys |
Troubleshooting
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Connection not found | Name mismatch or wrong project | Use project_connection_list to find the correct connectionName |
Unauthorized creating connection | Missing Foundry Project Manager role | Assign role on the Foundry project |
Invalid connection ID format | Using name instead of full resource ID | Use project_connection_get to resolve the full ID |