Azure OpenAI

Use the OpenAI Python SDK with Azure OpenAI Service

The OpenAI Python SDK supports Azure OpenAI Service through the AzureOpenAI class.

The Azure API shape differs from the core OpenAI API shape, which means that the static types for responses and parameters won’t always be correct.

Basic Usage

With API Key

from openai import AzureOpenAI

# API key is read from AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable
client = AzureOpenAI(
    api_version="2023-07-01-preview",
    azure_endpoint="https://example-endpoint.openai.azure.com",
)

completion = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deployment-name",  # e.g. gpt-35-instant
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "How do I output all files in a directory using Python?",
        },
    ],
)
print(completion.to_json())

With Azure Deployment

You can specify an azure_deployment to include it in the base URL:

from openai import AzureOpenAI

client = AzureOpenAI(
    api_version="2023-07-01-preview",
    azure_endpoint="https://example-resource.azure.openai.com/",
    azure_deployment="deployment-name",  # e.g. gpt-35-instant
)

completion = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="<ignored>",  # Model parameter is ignored when using azure_deployment
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "How do I output all files in a directory using Python?",
        },
    ],
)
print(completion.to_json())

The azure_deployment parameter is not supported with Assistants APIs.

Authentication Methods

Azure OpenAI supports multiple authentication methods:

API Key

The simplest method uses an API key:

from openai import AzureOpenAI

client = AzureOpenAI(
    api_key="your-azure-api-key",  # or use AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY env var
    api_version="2023-07-01-preview",
    azure_endpoint="https://example-endpoint.openai.azure.com",
)

Azure Active Directory (Recommended)

For production deployments, use Azure AD authentication:

from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential, get_bearer_token_provider
from openai import AzureOpenAI

token_provider = get_bearer_token_provider(
    DefaultAzureCredential(),
    "https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default"
)

client = AzureOpenAI(
    api_version="2023-07-01-preview",
    azure_endpoint="https://example-endpoint.openai.azure.com",
    azure_ad_token_provider=token_provider,
)

Azure AD Token (Static)

You can also pass a static Azure AD token:

from openai import AzureOpenAI

client = AzureOpenAI(
    api_version="2023-07-01-preview",
    azure_endpoint="https://example-endpoint.openai.azure.com",
    azure_ad_token="your-azure-ad-token",  # or use AZURE_OPENAI_AD_TOKEN env var
)

Configuration

Required Parameters

The following parameters are required:

• api_version: Azure API version (or OPENAI_API_VERSION environment variable)
• azure_endpoint OR base_url: Your Azure endpoint (or AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT environment variable)

Environment Variables

The SDK automatically reads these environment variables:

export AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY="your-azure-key"
export AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT="https://example-endpoint.openai.azure.com"
export OPENAI_API_VERSION="2023-07-01-preview"
export AZURE_OPENAI_AD_TOKEN="your-ad-token"  # Optional

Available Options

All options from the base OpenAI client are available, plus:

Parameter	Description
azure_endpoint	Your Azure endpoint URL
azure_deployment	Model deployment name to include in base URL
api_version	Azure API version
azure_ad_token	Static Azure AD token
azure_ad_token_provider	Function that returns an Azure AD token

Async Client

Use AsyncAzureOpenAI for async operations:

import asyncio
from openai import AsyncAzureOpenAI

async def main():
    client = AsyncAzureOpenAI(
        api_version="2023-07-01-preview",
        azure_endpoint="https://example-endpoint.openai.azure.com",
    )
    
    completion = await client.chat.completions.create(
        model="deployment-name",
        messages=[
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": "Say this is a test",
            }
        ],
    )
    print(completion.to_json())

asyncio.run(main())

API Version

Azure OpenAI uses versioned APIs. See the Azure REST API versioning docs for available versions.

Currently recommended version: 2023-07-01-preview

Deployment Names

In Azure OpenAI, you deploy models with custom deployment names. Use your deployment name in the model parameter:

completion = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="my-gpt-4-deployment",  # Your Azure deployment name
    messages=[...],
)

Learn More

• Azure OpenAI Service Documentation
• Create an Azure OpenAI Resource
• Azure Active Directory Authentication