Adding Tracing to an Agent with AI Toolkit and GitHub Copilot
Microsoft Developer, with April as presenter, walks through adding tracing to an agent using AI Toolkit and GitHub Copilot, making agent processing steps visible for developers.
Adding Tracing to an Agent with AI Toolkit and GitHub Copilot
Presenter: April, Microsoft Developer
This video is Part 5 of the GitHub Copilot + AI Toolkit Pet Planner workshop series. April demonstrates the process of enabling and utilizing tracing with GitHub Copilot in Agent mode, specifically designed for developers building and troubleshooting AI agents.
What You'll Learn
- How to use Copilot in Agent mode to add tracing: Step-by-step guide for activating tracing in your agent files.
- Collecting trace data: Running the agent and gathering trace logs on its activities.
- Reviewing traces: Inspect traces within the AI Toolkit Tracing viewer to understand how the agent processes data and generates outputs.
- Practical setup: Guidance on installing the AI Toolkit and integrating it into your Microsoft Foundry project.
Key Links & Resources
- AI Toolkit Installation: https://aka.ms/AIToolkit
- Workshop Repo & Instructions: https://aka.ms/AIToolkit/workshop
- Microsoft Foundry Project Setup: https://ai.azure.com
- Model Mondays & Announcements: https://aka.ms/model-mondays
- Community Discord: https://aka.ms/insideMF/discord
- Community Forum: https://aka.ms/insideMF/forum
Video Outline
- Introduction: Overview of the workshop and Copilot Agent mode (00:00)
- Progress Recap: Quick review of previous steps (00:03–01:21)
- Enabling Tracing with Copilot: Configuring your agent file for tracing (01:22–04:09)
- Running the Agent and Collecting Traces: Observing AI activity (04:10–04:34)
- Reviewing Trace Data: Using the Tracing viewer in AI Toolkit (04:35–07:39)
Why Tracing Matters
Enabling tracing gives developers clear insight into the inner workings and decision paths of AI agents. This approach facilitates debugging, performance tuning, and transparency when deploying AI-driven applications. The Tracing viewer in AI Toolkit makes it straightforward to audit agent activity.