If you build with AI, you know the tax: jumping between a browser portal to pick a model, a terminal to run it, a separate playground to test a prompt, and finally your editor to write the code. Every context switch is a small drain on focus—and it adds up. What if the whole loop lived in the one tool you never leave? That's the promise of the Foundry Toolkit for Visual Studio Code, and it's exactly what our new VS Code Learn: Foundry Toolkit video series is here to show you.
If you build with AI, you know the tax: jumping between a browser portal to pick a model, a terminal to run it, a separate playground to test a prompt, and finally your editor to write the code. Every context switch is a small drain on focus—and it adds up.
What if the whole loop lived in the one tool you never leave?
That's the promise of the Foundry Toolkit for Visual Studio Code, and it's exactly what our new VS Code Learn: Foundry Toolkit video series is here to show you. Whether you're deploying your first model or wiring up your first agent, the series walks you through doing it all without leaving your editor.
👉 Watch the full playlist: aka.ms/Learn/Foundry
What is the Foundry Toolkit?
The Foundry Toolkit is a Visual Studio Code extension that brings Microsoft Foundry directly into your development environment. Instead of hopping between the portal and your editor, you get a single, integrated surface to:
- Sign in to Microsoft Foundry and connect your workspace without leaving VS Code.
- Browse the model catalog and work with the models that fit your scenario.
- Build, test, and iterate on AI agents as a natural part of your coding workflow.
- Explore the toolkit UI designed to keep discovery, experimentation, and code in one place.
In short: it turns your editor into the command center for your agentic AI work.
What you'll learn in the series
The series is built to take you from "just installed it" to "shipping with it," one focused episode at a time. Across the playlist you'll learn how to:
- Get set up — install the extension, sign in to Microsoft Foundry, and get oriented in the UI.
- Work with models — navigate the toolkit to find and use the right model for your task.
- Develop AI agents — go from an idea to a working agent, all inside VS Code.
- Fit AI into your existing flow — pair the toolkit with GitHub Copilot and the tools you already use every day.
Each video is short, practical, and hands-on—perfect for watching alongside your own editor so you can follow along in real time.
Featured episode: Your Entire Agentic AI Workflow Now Inside VS Code
Not sure where to jump in? Start here. In this episode we run through installation, signing in to Microsoft Foundry, and a tour of the toolkit UI—the essential first steps that get you productive fast.
▶️ Watch: Your Entire Agentic AI Workflow Now Inside VS Code
By the end you'll have the extension installed, be connected to Foundry, and know your way around the interface—ready to move on to models and agents.
Prefer to read and follow along? There's a hands-on course too
The video series has a companion: a brand-new, step-by-step written course on the Foundry Toolkit on the VS Code docs, authored by Chris Noring. It's the perfect complement to the videos—read the lesson, try it in your editor, then watch the walkthrough to reinforce it (or the other way around).
đź“š Read the course: https://aka.ms/foundry_toolkit_vscode_learn
Together, the videos and the course give you two ways to learn the same material—watch it, then do it.
Who is this for?
- Developers new to AI who want a guided, low-friction on-ramp into building with models and agents.
- Experienced builders who want to collapse their model-to-code loop into a single tool.
- Teams standardizing on VS Code who want their AI workflow to live where their code already does.
No deep machine-learning background required—if you're comfortable in VS Code, you're ready.
Get started today
- Watch the featured episode to get set up: Your Entire Agentic AI Workflow Now Inside VS Code
- Work through the full series: aka.ms/Learn/Foundry
- Follow the written course on VS Code docs to build alongside each lesson:
Bring your models, your agents, and your code into one place. Your editor is about to get a whole lot more capable.
Microsoft