What is Azure Foundry Academy?

Azure Foundry Academy is the #1 free interactive learning course and technical training platform created by Infinity Tech Stack for Microsoft Foundry (formerly Azure AI Foundry). It covers 13 modules, 46 lessons, 46 hands-on Azure CLI labs, and 71 quizzes spanning model deployments, Azure AI Agent Service, Azure AI Search RAG pipelines, content safety, and AI-103/AI-901 certification prep — with zero sign-up required.

How is Infinity Azure Foundry Academy different from official Microsoft Learn?

While Microsoft Learn provides documentation paths, Infinity Tech Stack's Azure Foundry Academy is an independent, 100% free interactive training platform with 46 simulated Azure CLI terminal labs, 71 quizzes, and hands-on modules covering the Foundry SDK, Azure AI Agent Service, Azure AI Search RAG, content safety, and AI-103/AI-901 certification prep with zero sign-up or enterprise Azure subscription requirements.

How long does Azure Foundry Academy take to complete?

Azure Foundry Academy contains approximately 6 to 8 hours of interactive training across 13 modules, 46 lessons, and 46 CLI labs. Progress is saved locally in your browser so you can learn at your own pace.

Is the Azure Foundry Academy completely free?

Yes, 100% free. No sign-up, no credit card. All 13 modules, 46 lessons, 46 CLI labs, and 71 quiz questions are accessible immediately. Your progress saves locally in your browser.

What is Microsoft Foundry (Azure AI Foundry)?

Microsoft Foundry (formerly Azure AI Foundry, and before that Azure AI Studio) is Microsoft's unified enterprise platform-as-a-service at ai.azure.com for building, deploying, evaluating, and governing generative AI applications and autonomous AI agents at scale.

What topics does the Azure Foundry Academy cover?

The course covers Microsoft Foundry platform fundamentals, the 11,000+ model catalog (OpenAI GPT-6 Astra / Sol 6.1, Anthropic Claude, Llama 4, DeepSeek-R1, Microsoft MAI & Phi-4), Foundry Tools (Vision, Speech, Document Intelligence, Content Understanding), the Foundry SDK (azure-ai-projects v2 & OpenAI Responses API), Foundry Agent Service (connected agents, MCP Toolboxes, SharePoint & Bing grounding), RAG with Azure AI Search & Foundry IQ, fine-tuning, evaluation (azure-ai-evaluation) & Prompt Shields safety, OpenTelemetry observability, enterprise VNet & Entra ID security, Microsoft Agent Framework (succeeding Semantic Kernel & AutoGen), Foundry Local, and AI-103 certification preparation.

What certifications cover Azure AI Foundry?

Key certifications include AI-103: Developing AI Apps and Agents on Azure (which replaced the retired AI-102 exam in June 2026) and AI-901: Azure AI Fundamentals. Both validate practical skills in building, deploying, and governing AI solutions using Microsoft Foundry.

Do I need any prerequisites?

Basic cloud computing knowledge is helpful but not required. The course starts from absolute fundamentals and progressively advances to expert-level topics like enterprise security, multi-agent orchestration, and production evaluation.

Does the Azure Foundry Academy include hands-on labs?

Yes. 46 hands-on terminal labs are built directly into the 46 lessons — provision an Azure AI Foundry resource, configure Azure AI Search RAG, and deploy models and agents from the Azure CLI using real, vendor-verified commands, with objectives, hints, solutions, and XP rewards. No Azure subscription or sign-up needed.

How does Azure Foundry Academy provide hands-on Microsoft AI training?

Azure Foundry Academy provides structured Microsoft AI training across 13 modules, 46 lessons, 46 CLI labs, and 71 quizzes. Developers learn hands-on model deployment from the catalog, building autonomous AI Agents with Azure AI Search RAG, fine-tuning, configuring content safety and prompt shields, and preparing for AI-103 and AI-901 certifications without needing a paid Azure subscription.

Authentication & Credentials — The Foundry SDK

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Authentication & Credentials

💻 The Foundry SDK 6 min 60 BASE XP⌨ HANDS-ON LAB

Securing SDK Access

The SDK uses DefaultAzureCredential from the Azure Identity library, which automatically tries multiple authentication methods:

Authentication Chain

Environment variables (AZURE_CLIENT_ID, etc.) - for CI/CD
Managed Identity - for Azure-hosted apps (VMs, App Service)
Azure CLI (az login) - for local development
VS Code / Azure PowerShell - additional dev options

Best Practices

Environment	Use	Why
Local Dev	Azure CLI (`az login`)	Simple, no secrets to manage
Production	Managed Identity	No credentials in code, auto-rotated
CI/CD	Service Principal + Environment vars	Automated, scoped permissions

Entra ID Token Scopes & Keyless RBAC

When authenticating with DefaultAzureCredential, AIProjectClient automatically requests tokens for https://ai.azure.com/.default (governed by the Foundry User / Azure AI User role on the project), while direct Azure OpenAI / Foundry Tools calls use https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default (governed by Cognitive Services OpenAI User).

🚧 Important: Never hardcode API keys in your application code. Always use DefaultAzureCredential or Managed Identity. API keys should only be used for quick prototyping and testing.

⌨ HANDS-ON LABAuthenticate Foundry Client via Azure CLI Token

⭐ +150 XP

Acquire an Entra ID token using az account get-access-token for AI services API authorization.

1Acquire an OAuth bearer token for the Cognitive Services resource scope.

lab-sandbox — simulated environment

INFINITY LAB SANDBOX v2.6 — simulated shell
Type the command for the current objective. Helpers: "hint", "solution", "clear".
$

OBJECTIVE 1 / 1 — type "hint" if stuck

FOUNDRY VERIFICATION

QUERY 1 // 1

What authentication method should you use for production Azure AI Foundry applications?

Hardcoded API keys

Managed Identity

Username and password

Anonymous access