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Quickstart

Get started with Teams SDK quickly using the Teams Developer CLI.

Set up a new project​

Prerequisites​

Instructions​

Install the Teams Developer CLI​

Install teams globally:

npm install -g @microsoft/teams.cli
teams --version
info

The Teams Developer CLI is the command-line tool for scaffolding, registering, and managing Teams apps. It's currently in Preview.

Creating Your First Agent​

Let's begin by creating a simple echo agent that responds to messages. Run:

teams project new python quote-agent --template echo

This command:

  1. Creates a new directory called quote-agent.
  2. Bootstraps the echo agent template files into it under quote-agent/src.

The echo template creates a basic agent that repeats back any message it receives - perfect for learning the fundamentals.

Running your agent​

Navigate to your new agent's directory:

cd quote-agent

Create and activate a virtual environment, then install the dependencies:

python -m venv .venv
# Activate it: `source .venv/bin/activate` (macOS/Linux) or `.venv\Scripts\activate` (Windows)
pip install -e .

Start the development server:

python src/main.py

In the console, you should see a similar output:

[INFO] @teams/app Successfully initialized all plugins
[INFO] @teams/app.HttpPlugin Starting HTTP server on port 3978
INFO:     Started server process [6436]
INFO:     Waiting for application startup.
[INFO] @teams/app.HttpPlugin listening on port 3978 🚀
[INFO] @teams/app Teams app started successfully
INFO:     Application startup complete..
INFO:     Uvicorn running on http://0.0.0.0:3978 (Press CTRL+C to quit)

The HTTP server is now listening on port 3978. To test your agent locally without sideloading it into Teams, use the Microsoft 365 Agents Playground.

The playground sends unauthenticated requests, so a default App() will reject them (you'll see the No credentials configured warning above). For local testing, enable skip_auth so your agent accepts them:

src/main.py
app = App(skip_auth=True)
warning

Only use skip_auth for local development — never in production, as it disables inbound request authentication.

Install the playground globally:

npm install -g @microsoft/m365agentsplayground

Then, with your agent still running, open a second terminal and launch the playground pointed at your agent:

agentsplayground -e http://localhost:3978/api/messages -c emulator

The playground opens at http://localhost:56150. Send a message in the compose box and your agent's reply renders inline.

Microsoft 365 Agents Playground showing a user message 'hello!' and an agent reply 'you said "hello!"'.

Add to an Existing Project​

If you already have a project and want to add Teams support, install the SDK directly:

pip install microsoft-teams-apps

Then initialize the Teams app with your existing server:

import asyncio
import uvicorn
from fastapi import FastAPI
from microsoft_teams.apps import App, FastAPIAdapter

# Your existing FastAPI app
my_fastapi = FastAPI()

# Wrap your app in an adapter and create the Teams app
adapter = FastAPIAdapter(app=my_fastapi)
app = App(http_server_adapter=adapter)

@app.on_message
async def handle_message(ctx):
    await ctx.send(f"You said: {ctx.activity.text}")

async def main():
    await app.initialize()  # Register the Teams endpoint (does not start a server)

    # Start your server as usual
    config = uvicorn.Config(app=my_fastapi, host="0.0.0.0", port=3978)
    server = uvicorn.Server(config)
    await server.serve()

asyncio.run(main())

app.initialize() registers the Teams endpoint on your server without starting a new one — you keep full control of your server lifecycle.

See the HTTP Server guide for full details on adapters and custom server setups.

Next steps​

After creating and running your first agent, read about the code basics to better understand its components and structure.

Otherwise, if you want to run your agent in Teams, you can check out the Running in Teams guide.

Resources​