Is Microsoft AutoGen dead?

Not dead, but frozen: it's in maintenance mode, receiving only bug and security fixes. Its last tagged release is python-v0.7.5 from 2025-09-30, and its most recent commit (2026-04-06) only updated the README to redirect new users to the Microsoft Agent Framework. It still runs and is still supported for existing deployments — it just isn't where new features land.

What is the actual difference between AutoGen, Agent Framework and Semantic Kernel?

AutoGen and Semantic Kernel were two separate Microsoft agent stacks — AutoGen for multi-agent conversation patterns, Semantic Kernel for enterprise integration plumbing. Microsoft Agent Framework unifies both into one supported SDK for .NET, Python and Go, and has put both predecessors into maintenance mode to concentrate new development in one place. It reached a production-ready 1.0 GA release on 2026-04-03.

Can I keep using AutoGen's exact API if I don't want to migrate yet?

Yes — AG2, a community fork maintained by AutoGen's original authors, keeps the familiar API, controls the old PyPI packages, is licensed Apache-2.0, and is genuinely active (commits as recent as today). It's a real third option alongside "stay on frozen AutoGen" or "migrate to Agent Framework."

Is Microsoft Agent Framework actually free?

Yes. The SDK is MIT-licensed and free to self-host — you pay only your model provider. The only paid layer is the optional Foundry Hosted Agents managed deployment, billed as ordinary Azure/Microsoft Foundry consumption rather than a separate flat subscription, and it's not required to use the framework.

Does Microsoft provide an official path for migrating off AutoGen?

Yes — a first-party migration guide (learn.microsoft.com/en-us/agent-framework/migration-guide/from-autogen) walks existing AutoGen projects through moving onto Agent Framework, covering the conceptual mapping between AutoGen's agents/teams and Agent Framework's equivalents.

Microsoft AutoGen vs Microsoft Agent Framework

AutoGen pioneered Microsoft's multi-agent conversation pattern but has been in maintenance mode since late 2025, while Microsoft Agent Framework is its official, actively-shipping successor — so the real question for most teams isn't which is better, it's when and how to migrate.

Feature	Microsoft AutoGen Visit Microsoft AutoGen ↗	Microsoft Agent Framework Visit Microsoft Agent Framework ↗
Description	Microsoft’s open-source framework for orchestrating conversations between multiple AI agents.	Microsoft’s production-ready, open-source successor to AutoGen and Semantic Kernel — one agent SDK for .NET, Python and Go.
Category	Agent frameworks	Agent frameworks
Pricing	Free	Free
Tier	Listed	Listed
API	-	Yes
Tags	Self-hostedMulti-agentGPTNo-codeOpen sourceFree tier	Self-hostedClaudeMulti-agentAPIGPTOpen sourceOpen modelsFree tier

Microsoft AutoGen popularized the "agents talking to agents" pattern and is still one of the most-starred agent frameworks on GitHub, but Microsoft itself has moved on: AutoGen has been in maintenance mode (bug and security fixes only) since late 2025, and its official successor, Microsoft Agent Framework, reached a production-ready 1.0 GA release on 2026-04-03. Microsoft didn't just add a new option alongside AutoGen — it put AutoGen AND its other agent stack, Semantic Kernel, into maintenance mode specifically to unify new development into Agent Framework. That makes this less a "pick a side" comparison than most framework match-ups on this site, and more a migration-timing decision for anyone with an existing AutoGen investment.

The GitHub activity, checked live on 2026-07-27, tells the same story. AutoGen's root repository has 60,020 stars and 9,032 forks, but its most recent commit to the main branch (2026-04-06) only updated the README's maintenance banner, and its latest tagged release remains python-v0.7.5, published 2025-09-30 — unchanged for ten months. Agent Framework, by contrast, has 12,432 stars and 2,087 forks and is shipping today: its repository was pushed to as recently as this morning, and it tagged a new release (python-github-copilot-1.0.0) on 2026-07-23 for its GitHub Copilot SDK integration. There is also a third path worth knowing about: AG2, a fork maintained by AutoGen's original authors, controls the old PyPI packages, is licensed Apache-2.0, and had its own commit pushed today — genuinely active, not a dormant mirror. Anyone with AutoGen code today actually has two live forward paths, not one.

The technical gap is bigger than a rename. Agent Framework unifies AutoGen's multi-agent orchestration with Semantic Kernel's enterprise plumbing, and ships production-operations features AutoGen never had: an Agent Harness for guarded shell/filesystem access and human-in-the-loop approval, automatic context/token compaction, and an optional Foundry Hosted Agents layer for managed, scale-to-zero deployment with built-in OpenTelemetry observability. It also adds a CodeAct mode — the model writes a short program to batch tool calls instead of issuing them one at a time — that Microsoft's own BUILD 2026 benchmarks put at 52.4% faster completion and 63.9% fewer tokens on multi-step workloads, plus native support for both the Model Context Protocol and the Agent2Agent protocol. Model support broadens too: AutoGen is first-class for OpenAI and Azure OpenAI, while Agent Framework adds first-class Anthropic Claude and local Ollama models, plus Google Gemini through its Go SDK — and the language surface grows from Python and .NET to Python, .NET and Go. Neither framework charges a license fee: both are free to self-host and MIT-licensed at the core, so migrating costs engineering time, not a new subscription — Agent Framework's only paid layer, Foundry Hosted Agents, is optional and billed as ordinary Azure/Foundry consumption, the same "free core, pay your own way" shape AutoGen already has.

Verdict

Already running AutoGen in production and it's doing its job, with no near-term need for the newer capabilities → keep it; it still receives security fixes, and Microsoft's own migration guide means you aren't locked in if that changes. Actively extending an AutoGen codebase, or want to keep its exact API without a rewrite → look at the AG2 fork first — it's shipping real commits weekly and controls the original PyPI packages. Starting any new multi-agent project, or need production-ops features AutoGen never shipped (guarded shell/filesystem access, human-in-the-loop approval, managed hosting, native MCP/A2A support) → Microsoft Agent Framework; it's the stack Microsoft is now putting new engineering hours into. Running a large, mature AutoGen deployment with no urgent trigger to move → plan a deliberate migration using Microsoft's own from-AutoGen guide rather than a rewrite — frozen is not the same as abandoned, and there's no cost pressure forcing an immediate switch.

Visit Microsoft AutoGen ↗Visit Microsoft Agent Framework ↗

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Frequently asked questions

Is Microsoft AutoGen dead?: Not dead, but frozen: it's in maintenance mode, receiving only bug and security fixes. Its last tagged release is python-v0.7.5 from 2025-09-30, and its most recent commit (2026-04-06) only updated the README to redirect new users to the Microsoft Agent Framework. It still runs and is still supported for existing deployments — it just isn't where new features land.
What is the actual difference between AutoGen, Agent Framework and Semantic Kernel?: AutoGen and Semantic Kernel were two separate Microsoft agent stacks — AutoGen for multi-agent conversation patterns, Semantic Kernel for enterprise integration plumbing. Microsoft Agent Framework unifies both into one supported SDK for .NET, Python and Go, and has put both predecessors into maintenance mode to concentrate new development in one place. It reached a production-ready 1.0 GA release on 2026-04-03.
Can I keep using AutoGen's exact API if I don't want to migrate yet?: Yes — AG2, a community fork maintained by AutoGen's original authors, keeps the familiar API, controls the old PyPI packages, is licensed Apache-2.0, and is genuinely active (commits as recent as today). It's a real third option alongside "stay on frozen AutoGen" or "migrate to Agent Framework."
Is Microsoft Agent Framework actually free?: Yes. The SDK is MIT-licensed and free to self-host — you pay only your model provider. The only paid layer is the optional Foundry Hosted Agents managed deployment, billed as ordinary Azure/Microsoft Foundry consumption rather than a separate flat subscription, and it's not required to use the framework.
Does Microsoft provide an official path for migrating off AutoGen?: Yes — a first-party migration guide (learn.microsoft.com/en-us/agent-framework/migration-guide/from-autogen) walks existing AutoGen projects through moving onto Agent Framework, covering the conceptual mapping between AutoGen's agents/teams and Agent Framework's equivalents.

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