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Setup & Prerequisites

There are a few prerequisites to getting started with integrating LLMs into your C# application:

  • LLM API Key - To generate messages using an LLM, you will need to have an API Key for the LLM you are using.
  • NuGet Package - Install the Microsoft Teams AI library: 
    dotnet add package Microsoft.Teams.AI
  • In your C# application, you should include your keys securely using appsettings.json or environment variables

Azure OpenAI​

You will need to deploy a model in Azure OpenAI. Here is a guide on how to do this.

Once you have deployed a model, configure your application using appsettings.json or appsettings.Development.json:

appsettings.Development.json

{
  "AzureOpenAIKey": "your-azure-openai-api-key",
  "AzureOpenAIModel": "your-azure-openai-model-deployment-name",
  "AzureOpenAIEndpoint": "https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/"
}

Using configuration in your code:

var azureOpenAIModel = configuration["AzureOpenAIModel"] ??
    throw new InvalidOperationException("AzureOpenAIModel not configured");
var azureOpenAIEndpoint = configuration["AzureOpenAIEndpoint"] ??
    throw new InvalidOperationException("AzureOpenAIEndpoint not configured");
var azureOpenAIKey = configuration["AzureOpenAIKey"] ??
    throw new InvalidOperationException("AzureOpenAIKey not configured");

var azureOpenAI = new AzureOpenAIClient(
    new Uri(azureOpenAIEndpoint),
    new ApiKeyCredential(azureOpenAIKey)
);

var aiModel = new OpenAIChatModel(azureOpenAIModel, azureOpenAI);
tip

Use appsettings.Development.json for local development and keep it in .gitignore. For production, use environment variables or Azure Key Vault.

info

The Azure OpenAI SDK handles API versioning automatically. You don't need to specify an API version manually.

OpenAI​

You will need to create an OpenAI account and get an API key. Here is a guide on how to do this.

Once you have your API key, configure your application:

appsettings.Development.json

{
  "OpenAIKey": "sk-your-openai-api-key",
  "OpenAIModel": "gpt-4o"
}

Using configuration in your code:

var openAIKey = configuration["OpenAIKey"] ??
    throw new InvalidOperationException("OpenAIKey not configured");
var openAIModel = configuration["OpenAIModel"] ?? "gpt-4o";

var aiModel = new OpenAIChatModel(openAIModel, openAIKey);
tip

Use appsettings.Development.json for local development and keep it in .gitignore. For production, use environment variables or Azure Key Vault.