Engineering a Local-First Agentic Podcast Studio: A Deep Dive into Multi-Agent Orchestration
The transition from standalone Large Language Models (LLMs) to Agentic Orchestration marks the next frontier in AI development. We are moving away from simple "prompt-and-response" cycles toward a paradigm where specialized, autonomous units—AI Agents—collaborate to solve complex, multi-step problems. As a Technology Evangelist, my focus is on building these production-grade systems entirely on the edge, ensuring privacy, speed, and cost-efficiency. This technical guide explores the architecture and implementation of The AI Podcast Studio. This project demonstrates the seamless integration of the Microsoft Agent Framework, Local Small Language Models (SLMs), and VibeVoice to automate a complete tech podcast pipeline. I. The Strategic Intelligence Layer: Why Local-First? At the core of our studio is a Local-First philosophy. While cloud-based LLMs are powerful, they introduce friction in high-frequency, creative pipelines. By using Ollama as a model manager, we run SLMs like Qwen-3-8B directly on user hardware. 1. Architectural Comparison: Local vs. Cloud Choosing the deployment environment is a fundamental architectural decision. For an agentic podcasting workflow, the edge offers distinct advantages: Dimension Local Models (e.g., Qwen-3-8B) Cloud Models (e.g., GPT-5.2) Latency Zero/Ultra-low: Instant token generation without network "jitter". Variable: Dependent on network stability and API traffic. Privacy Total Sovereignty: Creative data and drafts never leave the local device. Shared Risk: Data is processed on third-party servers. Cost Zero API Fees: One-time hardware investment; free to run infinite tokens. Pay-as-you-go: Costs scale with token count and frequency of calls. Availability Offline: The studio remains functional without an internet connection. Online Only: Requires a stable, high-speed connection. 2. Reasoning and Tool-Calling on the Edge To move beyond simple chat, we implement Reasoning Mode, utilizing Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting. This allows our local agents to "think" through the podcast structure before writing. Furthermore, we grant them "superpowers" through Tool-Calling, allowing them to execute Python functions for real-time web searches to gather the latest news. II. The Orchestration Engine: Microsoft Agent Framework The true complexity of this project lies in Agent Orchestration—the coordination of specialized agents to work as a cohesive team. We distinguish between Agents, who act as "Jazz Musicians" making flexible decisions, and Workflows, which act as the "Orchestra" following a predefined score. 1. Advanced Orchestration Patterns Drawing from the WorkshopForAgentic architecture, the studio utilizes several sophisticated patterns: Sequential: A strict pipeline where the output of the Researcher flows into the Scriptwriter. Concurrent (Parallel): Multiple agents search different news sources simultaneously to speed up data gathering. Handoff: An agent dynamically "transfers" control to another specialist based on the context of the task. Magentic-One: A high-level "Manager" agent decides which specialist should handle the next task in real-time. III. Implementation: Code Analysis (Workshop Patterns) To maintain a production-grade codebase, we follow the modular structure found in the WorkshopForAgentic/code directory. This ensures that agents, clients, and workflows are decoupled and maintainable. 1. Configuration: Connecting to Local SLMs The first step is initializing the local model client using the framework's Ollama integration. # Based on WorkshopForAgentic/code/config.py from agent_framework.ollama import OllamaChatClient # Initialize the local client for Qwen-3-8B # Standard Ollama endpoint on localhost chat_client = OllamaChatClient( model_id="qwen3:8b", endpoint="http://localhost:11434" ) 2. Agent Definition: Specialized Roles Each agent is a ChatAgent instance defined by its persona and instructions. # Based on WorkshopForAgentic/code/agents.py from agent_framework import ChatAgent # The Researcher Agent: Responsible for web discovery researcher_agent = client.create_agent( name="SearchAgent", instructions="You are my assistant. Answer the questions based on the search engine.", tools=[web_search], ) # The Scriptwriter Agent: Responsible for conversational narrative generate_script_agent = client.create_agent( name="GenerateScriptAgent", instructions=""" You are my podcast script generation assistant. Please generate a 10-minute Chinese podcast script based on the provided content. The podcast script should be co-hosted by Lucy (the host) and Ken (the expert). The script content should be generated based on the input, and the final output format should be as follows: Speaker 1: …… Speaker 2: …… Speaker 1: …… Speaker 2: …… Speaker 1: …… Speaker 2: …… """ ) 3. Workflow Setup: The Sequential Pipeline For a deterministic production line, we use the WorkflowBuilder to connect our agents. # Based on WorkshopForAgentic/code/workflow_setup.py from agent_framework import WorkflowBuilder # Building the podcast pipeline search_executor = AgentExecutor(agent=search_agent, id="search_executor") gen_script_executor = AgentExecutor(agent=gen_script_agent, id="gen_script_executor") review_executor = ReviewExecutor(id="review_executor", genscript_agent_id="gen_script_executor") # Build workflow with approval loop # search_executor -> gen_script_executor -> review_executor # If not approved, review_executor -> gen_script_executor (loop back) workflow = ( WorkflowBuilder() .set_start_executor(search_executor) .add_edge(search_executor, gen_script_executor) .add_edge(gen_script_executor, review_executor) .add_edge(review_executor, gen_script_executor) # Loop back for regeneration .build() ) IV. Multimodal Synthesis: VibeVoice Technology The "Future Bytes" podcast is brought to life using VibeVoice, a specialized technology from Microsoft Research designed for natural conversational synthesis. Conversational Rhythm: It automatically handles natural turn-taking and speech cadences. High Efficiency: By operating at an ultra-low 7.5 Hz frame rate, it significantly reduces the compute power required for high-fidelity audio. Scalability: The system supports up to 4 distinct voices and can generate up to 90 minutes of continuous audio. V. Observability and Debugging: DevUI Building multi-agent systems requires deep visibility into the agentic "thinking" process. We leverage DevUI, a specialized web interface for testing and tracing: Interactive Tracing: Developers can watch the message flow and tool-calling in real-time. Automatic Discovery: DevUI auto-discovers agents defined within the project structure. Input Auto-Generation: The UI generates input fields based on workflow requirements, allowing for rapid iteration. VI. Technical Requirements for Edge Deployment Deploying this studio locally requires specific hardware and software configurations to handle simultaneous LLM and TTS inference: Software: Python 3.10+, Ollama, and the Microsoft Agent Framework. Hardware: 16GB+ RAM is the minimum requirement; 32GB is recommended for running multiple agents and VibeVoice concurrently. Compute: A modern GPU/NPU (e.g., NVIDIA RTX or Snapdragon X Elite) is essential for smooth inference. Final Perspective: From Coding to Directing The AI Podcast Studio represents a significant shift toward Agentic Content Creation. By mastering these orchestration patterns and leveraging local EdgeAI, developers move from simply writing code to directing entire ecosystems of intelligent agents. This "local-first" model ensures that the future of creativity is private, efficient, and infinitely scalable. Download sample Here Resource EdgeAI for Beginners - https://github.com/microsoft/edgeai-for-beginners Microsoft Agent Framework - https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework Microsoft Agent Framework Samples - https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework-samplesFrom Cloud to Chip: Building Smarter AI at the Edge with Windows AI PCs
As AI engineers, we’ve spent years optimizing models for the cloud, scaling inference, wrangling latency, and chasing compute across clusters. But the frontier is shifting. With the rise of Windows AI PCs and powerful local accelerators, the edge is no longer a constraint it’s now a canvas. Whether you're deploying vision models to industrial cameras, optimizing speech interfaces for offline assistants, or building privacy-preserving apps for healthcare, Edge AI is where real-world intelligence meets real-time performance. Why Edge AI, Why Now? Edge AI isn’t just about running models locally, it’s about rethinking the entire lifecycle: - Latency: Decisions in milliseconds, not round-trips to the cloud. - Privacy: Sensitive data stays on-device, enabling HIPAA/GDPR compliance. - Resilience: Offline-first apps that don’t break when the network does. - Cost: Reduced cloud compute and bandwidth overhead. With Windows AI PCs powered by Intel and Qualcomm NPUs and tools like ONNX Runtime, DirectML, and Olive, developers can now optimize and deploy models with unprecedented efficiency. What You’ll Learn in Edge AI for Beginners The Edge AI for Beginners curriculum is a hands-on, open-source guide designed for engineers ready to move from theory to deployment. Multi-Language Support This content is available in over 48 languages, so you can read and study in your native language. What You'll Master This course takes you from fundamental concepts to production-ready implementations, covering: Small Language Models (SLMs) optimized for edge deployment Hardware-aware optimization across diverse platforms Real-time inference with privacy-preserving capabilities Production deployment strategies for enterprise applications Why EdgeAI Matters Edge AI represents a paradigm shift that addresses critical modern challenges: Privacy & Security: Process sensitive data locally without cloud exposure Real-time Performance: Eliminate network latency for time-critical applications Cost Efficiency: Reduce bandwidth and cloud computing expenses Resilient Operations: Maintain functionality during network outages Regulatory Compliance: Meet data sovereignty requirements Edge AI Edge AI refers to running AI algorithms and language models locally on hardware, close to where data is generated without relying on cloud resources for inference. It reduces latency, enhances privacy, and enables real-time decision-making. Core Principles: On-device inference: AI models run on edge devices (phones, routers, microcontrollers, industrial PCs) Offline capability: Functions without persistent internet connectivity Low latency: Immediate responses suited for real-time systems Data sovereignty: Keeps sensitive data local, improving security and compliance Small Language Models (SLMs) SLMs like Phi-4, Mistral-7B, Qwen and Gemma are optimized versions of larger LLMs, trained or distilled for: Reduced memory footprint: Efficient use of limited edge device memory Lower compute demand: Optimized for CPU and edge GPU performance Faster startup times: Quick initialization for responsive applications They unlock powerful NLP capabilities while meeting the constraints of: Embedded systems: IoT devices and industrial controllers Mobile devices: Smartphones and tablets with offline capabilities IoT Devices: Sensors and smart devices with limited resources Edge servers: Local processing units with limited GPU resources Personal Computers: Desktop and laptop deployment scenarios Course Modules & Navigation Course duration. 10 hours of content Module Topic Focus Area Key Content Level Duration 📖 00 Introduction to EdgeAI Foundation & Context EdgeAI Overview • Industry Applications • SLM Introduction • Learning Objectives Beginner 1-2 hrs 📚 01 EdgeAI Fundamentals Cloud vs Edge AI comparison EdgeAI Fundamentals • Real World Case Studies • Implementation Guide • Edge Deployment Beginner 3-4 hrs 🧠 02 SLM Model Foundations Model families & architecture Phi Family • Qwen Family • Gemma Family • BitNET • μModel • Phi-Silica Beginner 4-5 hrs 🚀 03 SLM Deployment Practice Local & cloud deployment Advanced Learning • Local Environment • Cloud Deployment Intermediate 4-5 hrs ⚙️ 04 Model Optimization Toolkit Cross-platform optimization Introduction • Llama.cpp • Microsoft Olive • OpenVINO • Apple MLX • Workflow Synthesis Intermediate 5-6 hrs 🔧 05 SLMOps Production Production operations SLMOps Introduction • Model Distillation • Fine-tuning • Production Deployment Advanced 5-6 hrs 🤖 06 AI Agents & Function Calling Agent frameworks & MCP Agent Introduction • Function Calling • Model Context Protocol Advanced 4-5 hrs 💻 07 Platform Implementation Cross-platform samples AI Toolkit • Foundry Local • Windows Development Advanced 3-4 hrs 🏭 08 Foundry Local Toolkit Production-ready samples Sample applications (see details below) Expert 8-10 hrs Each module includes Jupyter notebooks, code samples, and deployment walkthroughs, perfect for engineers who learn by doing. Developer Highlights - 🔧 Olive: Microsoft's optimization toolchain for quantization, pruning, and acceleration. - 🧩 ONNX Runtime: Cross-platform inference engine with support for CPU, GPU, and NPU. - 🎮 DirectML: GPU-accelerated ML API for Windows, ideal for gaming and real-time apps. - 🖥️ Windows AI PCs: Devices with built-in NPUs for low-power, high-performance inference. Local AI: Beyond the Edge Local AI isn’t just about inference, it’s about autonomy. Imagine agents that: - Learn from local context - Adapt to user behavior - Respect privacy by design With tools like Agent Framework, Azure AI Foundry and Windows Copilot Studio, and Foundry Local developers can orchestrate local agents that blend LLMs, sensors, and user preferences, all without cloud dependency. Try It Yourself Ready to get started? Clone the Edge AI for Beginners GitHub repo, run the notebooks, and deploy your first model to a Windows AI PC or IoT devices Whether you're building smart kiosks, offline assistants, or industrial monitors, this curriculum gives you the scaffolding to go from prototype to production.Understanding Small Language Modes
In Part 1, we discussed the differences between Large Language Models (LLMs) and Small Language Models (SLMs), highlighting how SLMs are transforming edge computing. Unlike LLMs, which rely on massive cloud infrastructure, SLMs can run directly on local devices like smartphones and IoT systems, offering faster performance, better privacy, and lower energy use. In this second part, we dive into how SLMs work, exploring their technical foundations and design principles that make them ideal for edge environments.Understanding Small Language Modes
Small Language Models (SLMs) bring AI from the cloud to your device. Unlike Large Language Models that require massive compute and energy, SLMs run locally, offering speed, privacy, and efficiency. They’re ideal for edge applications like mobile, robotics, and IoT.Essential Microsoft Resources for MVPs & the Tech Community from the AI Tour
Unlock the power of Microsoft AI with redeliverable technical presentations, hands-on workshops, and open-source curriculum from the Microsoft AI Tour! Whether you’re a Microsoft MVP, Developer, or IT Professional, these expertly crafted resources empower you to teach, train, and lead AI adoption in your community. Explore top breakout sessions covering GitHub Copilot, Azure AI, Generative AI, and security best practices—designed to simplify AI integration and accelerate digital transformation. Dive into interactive workshops that provide real-world applications of AI technologies. Take it a step further with Microsoft’s Open-Source AI Curriculum, offering beginner-friendly courses on AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, Cybersecurity, and GitHub Copilot—perfect for upskilling teams and fostering innovation. Don’t just learn—lead. Access these resources, host impactful training sessions, and drive AI adoption in your organization. Start sharing today! Explore now: Microsoft AI Tour Resources.Join Us for a Technical Deep Dive and Q&A on Foundry Local - LLMs on device
Join us for an Ask Me Anything with the Foundry Local team on October 14th, 2025! Discover how Foundry Local is redefining edge AI with powerful features like on-device inference, enabling you to run models directly on your hardware, cutting costs and keeping your data secure. Whether you're customizing models to fit unique use cases or integrating seamlessly via SDKs, APIs, or CLI, Foundry Local offers scalable pathways to Azure AI Foundry as your needs evolve. It's the perfect solution for environments with limited connectivity, sensitive data requirements, low-latency demands, or early-stage experimentation before cloud deployment. If you're building smarter, leaner, and more private AI workflows, this AMA is your chance to dive deep with the team behind it all. What is Foundry Local? Foundry Local is a set of development tools designed to help you build and evaluate LLM applications on your local machine. It provides a curated collection of production-quality tools, including evaluation and prompt engineering capabilities, that are fully compatible with Azure AI. This allows for a seamless transition of your work from your local environment to the cloud. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with our experts and enhance your understanding of local LLM development. Foundry Local is an on-device AI inference solution offering performance, privacy, customization, and cost advantages. It integrates seamlessly into your existing workflows and applications through an intuitive CLI, SDK, and REST API. Key features On-Device Inference: Run models locally on your own hardware, reducing your costs while keeping all your data on your device. Model Customization: Select from preset models or use your own to meet specific requirements and use cases. Cost Efficiency: Eliminate recurring cloud service costs by using your existing hardware, making AI more accessible. Seamless Integration: Connect with your applications through an SDK, API endpoints, or the CLI, with easy scaling to Azure AI Foundry as your needs grow. How to Join: Register to Join the Azure AI Foundry Discord Community Event 14th Oct 2025 9am Pacific Time UTC−08:00 Unlock Accelerated Local LLM Development Discover how Foundry Local can enhance your development process and explore the possibilities for building robust LLM applications. Whether you're a seasoned AI developer or just getting started, this session is your chance to get hands-on insights into the innovative world of Azure AI Foundry. Event Highlights: An in-depth overview of the Foundry Local CLI and SDK. Interactive demo with step-by-step examples. Best practices for local AI Inference and models Transitioning your local development to cloud solutions or vice-versa Why Attend? Gain expert insights into Foundry Local, and ask questions about using Foundry Local Network with fellow AI professionals and developers in the Azure AI Foundry community. Enhance your AI development skills with practical examples. Stay at the forefront of LLM application development. Speakers Product Manager Foundry Local Maanav Dalal Product Manager |Foundry Local Microsoft Maanav Dalal is a PM on the AI Frameworks team. He's super inquisitive about the ways you use AI in daily life, so be encouraged to strike up a conversation with him about that. LinkedIn ProfileJS AI Build‑a‑thon: Wrapping Up an Epic June 2025!
After weeks of building, testing, and learning — we’re officially wrapping up the first-ever JS AI Build-a-thon 🎉. This wasn't your average coding challenge. This was a hands-on journey where JavaScript and TypeScript developers dove deep into real-world AI concepts — from local GenAI prototyping to building intelligent agents and deploying production-ready apps. Whether you joined from the start or hopped on midway, you built something that matters — and that’s worth celebrating. Replay the Journey No worries if you joined late or want to revisit any part of the journey. The JS AI Build-a-thon was designed to let you learn at your own pace, so whether you're starting now or polishing up your final project, here’s your complete quest map: Build-a-thon set up guide: https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonSetup Quest 1: 🔧 Build your first GenAI app locally with GitHub Models 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest1 Quest 2: ☁️ Move your AI prototype to Azure AI Foundry 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest Quest 3: 🎨 Add a chat UI using Vite + Lit 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest3 Quest 4: 📄 Enhance your app with RAG (Chat with Your Data) 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest4 Quest 5: 🧠 Add memory and context to your AI app 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest5 Quest 6: ⚙️ Build your first AI Agent using AI Foundry 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest6 Quest 7: 🧩 Equip your agent with tools from an MCP server 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest7 Quest 8: 💬 Ground your agent with real-time search using Bing 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest8 Quest 9: 🚀 Build a real-world AI project with full-stack templates 👉🏽 https://aka.ms/JSAIBuildathonQuest9 Link to our space in the AI Discord Community: https://aka.ms/JSAIonDiscord Project Submission Guidelines 📌 Quest 9 is where it all comes together. Participants chose a problem, picked a template, customized it, submitted it, and rallied their community for support! 🏅 Claim Your Badge! Whether you completed select quests or went all the way, we celebrate your learning. If you participated in the June 2025 JS AI Build-a-thon, make sure to Submit the Participation Form to receive your participation badge recognizing your commitment to upskilling in AI with JavaScript/ TypeScript. What’s Next? We’re not done. In fact, we’re just getting started. We’re already cooking up JS AI Build-a-thon v2, which will introduce: Running everything locally with Foundry Local Real-world RAG with vector databases Advanced agent patterns with remote MCPs And much more based on your feedback Want to shape what comes next? Drop your ideas in the participation form and in our Discord. In the meantime, add these resources to your JavaScript + AI Dev Pack: 🔗 Microsoft for JavaScript developers 📚 Generative AI for Beginners with JavaScript Wrap-Up This build-a-thon showed what’s possible when developers are empowered to learn by doing. You didn’t just follow tutorials — you shipped features, connected services, and created working AI experiences. We can’t wait to see what you build next. 👉 Bookmark the repo 👉 Join the community on Join the Azure AI Foundry Discord Server! 👉 Stay building Until next time — keep coding, keep shipping!Exploring Azure AI Model Inference: A Comprehensive Guide
Azure AI model inference provides access to a wide range of flagship models from leading providers such as AI21 Labs, Azure OpenAI, Cohere, Core42, DeepSeek, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and NTT Data https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models . These models can be consumed as APIs, allowing you to integrate advanced AI capabilities into your applications seamlessly. Model Families and Their Capabilities Azure AI Foundry categorises its models into several families, each offering unique capabilities: AI21 Labs: Known for the Jamba family models, which are production-grade large language models (LLMs) using AI21's hybrid Mamba-Transformer architecture. These models support chat completions, tool calling, and multiple languages including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Arabic, and Hebrew. https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models Azure OpenAI: Offers diverse models designed for tasks such as reasoning, problem-solving, natural language understanding, and code generation. These models support text and image inputs, multiple languages, and tool calling https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models Cohere: Provides models for embedding and command tasks, supporting multilingual capabilities and various response formats https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models Core42: Features the Jais-30B-chat model, designed for chat completions https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models DeepSeek: Includes models like DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1, focusing on advanced AI tasks https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models Meta: Offers the Llama series models, which are instruction-tuned for various AI tasks https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models Microsoft: Provides the Phi series models, supporting multimodal instructions and vision tasks https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models Mistral AI: Features models like Ministral-3B and Mistral-large, designed for high-performance AI tasks https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models NTT Data: Offers the Tsuzumi-7b model, focusing on specific AI capabilities https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models Deployment and Integration Azure AI model inference supports global standard deployment, ensuring consistent throughput and performance. Models can be deployed in various configurations, including regional deployments and sovereign clouds such as Azure Government, Azure Germany, and Azure China https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/concepts/models To integrate these models into your applications, you can use the Azure AI model inference API, which supports multiple programming languages including Python, C#, JavaScript, and Java. This flexibility allows you to deploy models multiple times under different configurations, providing a robust and scalable solution for your AI needs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/model-inference/overview Conclusion Azure AI model inference in Azure AI Foundry offers a comprehensive solution for integrating advanced AI models into your applications. With a wide range of models from leading providers, flexible deployment options, and robust API support, Azure AI Foundry empowers you to leverage cutting-edge AI capabilities without the complexity of hosting and managing the infrastructure. Explore the Azure AI model catalog today and unlock the potential of AI for your business. Join the Conversation on Azure AI Foundry Discussions! Have ideas, questions, or insights about AI? Don't keep them to yourself! Share your thoughts, engage with experts, and connect with a community that’s shaping the future of artificial intelligence. 👉 Click here to join the discussion!Make Phi-4-mini-reasoning more powerful with industry reasoning on edge devices
In situations with limited computing, Phi-4-mini-reasoning will is an excellent model choice. We can use Microsoft Olive or Apple MLX Framework to quantize Phi-4-mini-reasoning and deploy it on edge terminals such as IoT, Laotop and mobile devices. Quantization In order to solve the problem that the model is difficult to deploy directly to specific hardware, we need to reduce the complexity of the model through model quantization. Undertaking the quantization process will inevitably cause precision loss. Quantize Phi-4-mini-reasoning using Microsoft Olive Microsoft Olive is an AI model optimization toolkit for ONNX Runtime. Given a model and target hardware, Olive (short for Onnx LIVE) will combine the most appropriate optimization techniques to output the most efficient ONNX model for inference in the cloud or on the edge. We can combine Microsoft Olive and Phi-4-mini-reasoning on Azure AI Foundry's Model Catalog to quantize Phi-4-mini-reasoning to an ONNX format model. Create your Notebook on Azure ML Install Microsoft Olive pip install git+https://github.com/Microsoft/Olive.git Quantize using Microsoft Olive olive auto-opt --model_name_or_path {Azure Model Catalog path ,such as azureml://registries/azureml/models/Phi-4-mini-reasoning/versions/1 }--device cpu --provider CPUExecutionProvider --use_model_builder --precision int4 --output_path ./phi-4-14b-reasoninig-onnx --log_level 1 Register your quantized Model ! python -m mlx_lm.generate --model ./phi-4-mini-reasoning --adapter-path ./adapters --max-token 4096 --prompt "A 54-year-old construction worker with a long history of smoking presents with swelling in his upper extremity and face, along with dilated veins in this region. After conducting a CT scan and venogram of the neck, what is the most likely diagnosis for the cause of these symptoms?" --extra-eos-token "<|end|>" Download to local and run Download the onnx model to local device ml_client.models.download("phi-4-mini-onnx-int4-cpu", 1) Running onnx model with onnxruntime-genai Install onnxruntime-genai (This is CPU version) pip install onnxruntime-genai Run it import onnxruntime_genai as og model_folder = "Your ONNX Model Path" model = og.Model(model_folder) tokenizer = og.Tokenizer(model) tokenizer_stream = tokenizer.create_stream() search_options = {} search_options['max_length'] = 32768 chat_template = "<|user|>{input}<|end|><|assistant|>" text = 'A school arranges dormitories for students. If each dormitory accommodates 5 people, 4 people cannot live there; if each dormitory accommodates 6 people, one dormitory only has 4 people, and two dormitories are empty. Find the number of students in this grade and the number of dormitories.' prompt = f'{chat_template.format(input=text)}' input_tokens = tokenizer.encode(prompt) params = og.GeneratorParams(model) params.set_search_options(**search_options) generator = og.Generator(model, params) generator.append_tokens(input_tokens) while not generator.is_done(): generator.generate_next_token() new_token = generator.get_next_tokens()[0] print(tokenizer_stream.decode(new_token), end='', flush=True) Get Notebook from Phi Cookbook : https://aka.ms/phicookbook Quantize Phi-4-mini-reasoning model using Apple MLX Install Apple MLX Framework pip install -U mlx-lm Convert Phi-4-mini-reasoning model through Apple MLX quantization python -m mlx_lm.convert --hf-path {Phi-4-mini-reasoning Hugging face id} -q Run Phi-4-mini-reasoning with Apple MLX in terminal python -m mlx_lm.generate --model ./mlx_model --max-token 2048 --prompt "A school arranges dormitories for students. If each dormitory accommodates 5 people, 4 people cannot live there; if each dormitory accommodates 6 people, one dormitory only has 4 people, and two dormitories are empty. Find the number of students in this grade and the number of dormitories." --extra-eos-token "<|end|>" --temp 0.0 Fine-tuning We can fine-tune the CoT data of different scenarios to enable Phi-4-mini-reasoning to have reasoning capabilities for different scenarios. Here we use the Medical CoT data from a public Huggingface datasets as our example (this is just an example. If you need rigorous medical reasoning, please seek more professional data support) We can fine-tune our CoT data in Azure ML Fine-tune Phi-4-mini-reasoning using Microsoft Olive in Azure ML Note- Please use Standard_NC24ads_A100_v4 to run this sample Get Data from Hugging face datasets pip install datasets run this script to get train data from datasets import load_dataset def formatting_prompts_func(examples): inputs = examples["Question"] cots = examples["Complex_CoT"] outputs = examples["Response"] texts = [] for input, cot, output in zip(inputs, cots, outputs): text = prompt_template.format(input, cot, output) + "<|end|>" # text = prompt_template.format(input, cot, output) + "<|endoftext|>" texts.append(text) return { "text": texts, } # Create the English dataset dataset = load_dataset("FreedomIntelligence/medical-o1-reasoning-SFT","en", split = "train",trust_remote_code=True) dataset = dataset.map(formatting_prompts_func, batched = True,remove_columns=["Question", "Complex_CoT", "Response"]) dataset.to_json("en_dataset.jsonl") Fine-tuning with Microsoft Olive olive finetune \ --method lora \ --model_name_or_path {Azure Model Catalog path , azureml://registries/azureml/models/Phi-4-mini-reasoning/versions/1} \ --trust_remote_code \ --data_name json \ --data_files ./en_dataset.jsonl \ --train_split "train[:16000]" \ --eval_split "train[16000:19700]" \ --text_field "text" \ --max_steps 100 \ --logging_steps 10 \ --output_path {Your fine-tuning save path} \ --log_level 1 Convert the model to ONNX with Microsoft Olive olive capture-onnx-graph \ --model_name_or_path {Azure Model Catalog path , azureml://registries/azureml/models/Phi-4-mini-reasoning/versions/1} \ --adapter_path {Your fine-tuning adapter path} \ --use_model_builder \ --output_path {Your save onnx path} \ --log_level 1 olive generate-adapter \ --model_name_or_path {Your save onnx path} \ --output_path {Your save onnx adapter path} \ --log_level 1 Run the model with onnxruntime-genai-cuda Install onnxruntime-genai-cuda SDK import onnxruntime_genai as og import numpy as np import os model_folder = "./models/phi-4-mini-reasoning/adapter-onnx/model/" model = og.Model(model_folder) adapters = og.Adapters(model) adapters.load('./models/phi-4-mini-reasoning/adapter-onnx/model/adapter_weights.onnx_adapter', "en_medical_reasoning") tokenizer = og.Tokenizer(model) tokenizer_stream = tokenizer.create_stream() search_options = {} search_options['max_length'] = 200 search_options['past_present_share_buffer'] = False search_options['temperature'] = 1 search_options['top_k'] = 1 prompt_template = """<|user|>{}<|end|><|assistant|><think>""" question = """ A 33-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department 15 minutes after being stabbed in the chest with a screwdriver. Given her vital signs of pulse 110\/min, respirations 22\/min, and blood pressure 90\/65 mm Hg, along with the presence of a 5-cm deep stab wound at the upper border of the 8th rib in the left midaxillary line, which anatomical structure in her chest is most likely to be injured? """ prompt = prompt_template.format(question, "") input_tokens = tokenizer.encode(prompt) params = og.GeneratorParams(model) params.set_search_options(**search_options) generator = og.Generator(model, params) generator.set_active_adapter(adapters, "en_medical_reasoning") generator.append_tokens(input_tokens) while not generator.is_done(): generator.generate_next_token() new_token = generator.get_next_tokens()[0] print(tokenizer_stream.decode(new_token), end='', flush=True) inference model with onnxruntime-genai cuda olive finetune \ --method lora \ --model_name_or_path {Azure Model Catalog path , azureml://registries/azureml/models/Phi-4-mini-reasoning/versions/1} \ --trust_remote_code \ --data_name json \ --data_files ./en_dataset.jsonl \ --train_split "train[:16000]" \ --eval_split "train[16000:19700]" \ --text_field "text" \ --max_steps 100 \ --logging_steps 10 \ --output_path {Your fine-tuning save path} \ --log_level 1 Fine-tune Phi-4-mini-reasoning using Apple MLX locally on MacOS Note- we recommend that you use devices with a minimum of 64GB Memory and Apple Silicon devices Get the DataSet from Hugging face datasets pip install datasets run this script to get train and valid data from datasets import load_dataset prompt_template = """<|user|>{}<|end|><|assistant|><think>{}</think>{}<|end|>""" def formatting_prompts_func(examples): inputs = examples["Question"] cots = examples["Complex_CoT"] outputs = examples["Response"] texts = [] for input, cot, output in zip(inputs, cots, outputs): # text = prompt_template.format(input, cot, output) + "<|end|>" text = prompt_template.format(input, cot, output) + "<|endoftext|>" texts.append(text) return { "text": texts, } dataset = load_dataset("FreedomIntelligence/medical-o1-reasoning-SFT","en", trust_remote_code=True) split_dataset = dataset["train"].train_test_split(test_size=0.2, seed=200) train_dataset = split_dataset['train'] validation_dataset = split_dataset['test'] train_dataset = train_dataset.map(formatting_prompts_func, batched = True,remove_columns=["Question", "Complex_CoT", "Response"]) train_dataset.to_json("./data/train.jsonl") validation_dataset = validation_dataset.map(formatting_prompts_func, batched = True,remove_columns=["Question", "Complex_CoT", "Response"]) validation_dataset.to_json("./data/valid.jsonl") Fine-tuning with Apple MLX python -m mlx_lm.lora --model ./phi-4-mini-reasoning --train --data ./data --iters 100 Running the model ! python -m mlx_lm.generate --model ./phi-4-mini-reasoning --adapter-path ./adapters --max-token 4096 --prompt "A 54-year-old construction worker with a long history of smoking presents with swelling in his upper extremity and face, along with dilated veins in this region. After conducting a CT scan and venogram of the neck, what is the most likely diagnosis for the cause of these symptoms?" --extra-eos-token "<|end|>" Get Notebook from Phi Cookbook : https://aka.ms/phicookbook We hope this sample has inspired you to use Phi-4-mini-reasoning and Phi-4-reasoning to complete industry reasoning for our own scenarios. Related resources Phi4-mini-reasoning Tech Report https://aka.ms/phi4-mini-reasoning/techreport Phi-4-Mini-Reasoning technical Report· microsoft/Phi-4-mini-reasoning Phi-4-mini-reasoning on Azure AI Foundry https://aka.ms/phi4-mini-reasoning/azure Phi-4 Reasoning Blog https://aka.ms/phi4-mini-reasoning/blog Phi Cookbook https://aka.ms/phicookbook Showcasing Phi-4-Reasoning: A Game-Changer for AI Developers | Microsoft Community Hub Models Phi-4 Reasoning https://huggingface.co/microsoft/Phi-4-reasoning Phi-4 Reasoning Plus https://huggingface.co/microsoft/Phi-4-reasoning-plus Phi-4-mini-reasoning Hugging Face https://aka.ms/phi4-mini-reasoning/hf Phi-4-mini-reasoning on Azure AI Foundry https://aka.ms/phi4-mini-reasoning/azure Microsoft (Microsoft) Models on Hugging Face Phi-4 Reasoning Models Azure AI Foundry Models Access Phi-4-reasoning models Phi Models at Azure AI Foundry Models Phi Models on Hugging Face Phi Models on GitHub Marketplace ModelsBuild AI Agents with MCP Tool Use in Minutes with AI Toolkit for VSCode
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