.Net: Add support for 3rd party thread storage and thread serialization by westey-m · Pull Request #203 · microsoft/agent-framework

westey-m · 2025-07-18T15:22:08Z

Motivation and Context

We need to be able to store thread messages in 3rd party storage.
We also need to be able to serialize/deserialize threads regardless of where the 3rd party storage is located.

Description

This PR adds thread storage and serialization in a way that the abstraction user doesn't have to know anything about the thread type or storage that it uses

It changes the ChatClientAgentThread into a MessageStoringAgentThread, that is more general, and can be used by any agent that wants to store messages locally, remotely via id, or in a 3rd party service. E.g. Custom agents can reuse this without needing to create their own thread type.
It introduces the IChatMessageStore interface that can be used with MessageStoringAgentThread to store messages in a database.
It shows how we can construct and deserialize a MessageStoringAgentThread that relies on a IChatMessageStore for storage.
It introduces Deserializing constructors on AgentThread and MessageStoringAgentThread.
It adds a DeseralizeThreadAsync abstract method on Agent that can recreate the right thread type with the right store (where needed) and deserialize the deserialized state into it.

Contribution Checklist

The code builds clean without any errors or warnings
The PR follows the SK Contribution Guidelines
All unit tests pass, and I have added new tests where possible
I didn't break anyone 😄

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents/MessageStoringAgentThread.cs

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR implements a proof-of-concept for thread storage and serialization capabilities in the agent framework. It refactors the existing ChatClientAgentThread into a more general MessageStoringAgentThread that supports multiple storage locations and adds serialization/deserialization functionality to the agent thread system.

Key changes:

Replaces ChatClientAgentThread with MessageStoringAgentThread for more flexible message storage
Introduces serialization/deserialization capabilities for agent threads
Adds abstract DeserializeThread method to the base Agent class

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 25 out of 25 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
MessageStoringAgentThread.cs	New implementation replacing ChatClientAgentThread with serialization support and flexible storage options
MessageStoringThreadStorageLocation.cs	New enum defining storage location types (Unknown, AgentThreadManaged, ConversationId)
IChatMessageStore.cs	New interface for custom message storage implementations
ChatClientAgent.cs	Updated to use MessageStoringAgentThread and implement DeserializeThread method
AgentThread.cs	Added serialization support and deserialization constructor
AIAgent.cs	Added abstract DeserializeThread method
Various test files	Updated type references and added comprehensive serialization tests

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents/MessageStoringAgentThread.cs

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents.Abstractions/IChatMessageStore.cs

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents/MessageStoringAgentThread.cs

dotnet/tests/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents.UnitTests/MessageStoringAgentThreadTests.cs

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents/MessageStoringAgentThread.cs

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents.Abstractions/IChatMessageStore.cs

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents.Abstractions/InMemoryChatMessageStore.cs

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents.Abstractions/AgentThread.cs

Make Thread Deserialize internal. Make AgentThread type switching fobidden.

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents.Abstractions/IChatMessageStore.cs

dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents.Abstractions/AgentThread.cs

…on (microsoft#203) * Add thread storage and serialization POC * Switch to using JsonElement and add unit tests * Add additional unit tests. * Exclude private debugger properties from CodeCoverage. * Rename IChatMessagesStorable to IChatMessageStore * Apply suggestions from code review Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> * Improve xml doc. * Update the message storing thread to always use external store for both local and remote storage. * Remove threadid from the IChatMessageStore interface, since the store should own the thread id itself, if it requires one. * Switch GetMessages to IEnumerable * Address pr comments. * Make jsonserializer options default consistent on DeserializeThreadAsync * Move message storing thread functionality into AgentThread and simplify AgentThread behavior. * Remove embedding generation from VectorStore chat history sample. * Remove unecessary code and fix formatting. * Make GetNewThread and DeserializeThread virtual with default implementations. Remove unsued json utilities. * Fix formatting * Remove problem test. * Add more unit tests * Remove unused using clause. * Address pr feedback. * Address PR comments. * Make InMemory store internal * Switch InMemoryChatMessageStore to implement IList instead of inheriting from List. * Rename store deserialize param. * Update serialization based on PR comments. * Remove confusing comment. * Address Deserialization PR comments in the same way as Serialization * Add State to IChatMessageStore Serialize and Deserialize names. Make Thread Deserialize internal. Make AgentThread type switching fobidden. --------- Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Chris <66376200+crickman@users.noreply.github.com>

Add thread storage and serialization POC

558d166

westey-m had a problem deploying to integration July 18, 2025 15:22 — with GitHub Actions Failure

westey-m temporarily deployed to integration July 18, 2025 15:22 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

Merge branch 'main' into threadstorageandserialization

5229d52

westey-m had a problem deploying to integration July 18, 2025 16:34 — with GitHub Actions Failure

Merge commit

d375724

westey-m had a problem deploying to integration July 21, 2025 10:01 — with GitHub Actions Failure

Switch to using JsonElement and add unit tests

21020b8

westey-m temporarily deployed to integration July 21, 2025 13:27 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

westey-m had a problem deploying to integration July 21, 2025 13:27 — with GitHub Actions Failure

Add additional unit tests.

446ef48

westey-m had a problem deploying to integration July 21, 2025 13:55 — with GitHub Actions Failure

westey-m temporarily deployed to integration July 21, 2025 13:55 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

Exclude private debugger properties from CodeCoverage.

2ee81c7

westey-m temporarily deployed to integration July 21, 2025 14:11 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

Merge branch 'main' into threadstorageandserialization

cde502d

westey-m temporarily deployed to integration July 21, 2025 16:29 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

Rename IChatMessagesStorable to IChatMessageStore

55ccd04

westey-m temporarily deployed to integration July 21, 2025 17:17 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

westey-m commented Jul 21, 2025

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westey-m commented Jul 21, 2025

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westey-m marked this pull request as ready for review July 21, 2025 17:39

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings July 21, 2025 17:39

westey-m changed the title ~~Add thread storage and serialization POC~~ Add support for 3rd party thread storage and thread serialization Jul 21, 2025

Copilot AI reviewed Jul 21, 2025

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westey-m temporarily deployed to integration July 31, 2025 13:31 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

dmytrostruk reviewed Jul 31, 2025

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dmytrostruk reviewed Jul 31, 2025

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dotnet/src/Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Agents.Abstractions/InMemoryChatMessageStore.cs Show resolved Hide resolved

Merge branch 'main' into threadstorageandserialization

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crickman temporarily deployed to integration July 31, 2025 17:31 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

westey-m commented Jul 31, 2025

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westey-m commented Jul 31, 2025

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westey-m added 2 commits July 31, 2025 19:14

Add State to IChatMessageStore Serialize and Deserialize names.

01c09a1

Make Thread Deserialize internal. Make AgentThread type switching fobidden.

Merge changes from main.

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westey-m temporarily deployed to integration July 31, 2025 18:17 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

Merge branch 'main' into threadstorageandserialization

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westey-m temporarily deployed to integration August 1, 2025 14:08 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

ReubenBond reviewed Aug 1, 2025

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ReubenBond reviewed Aug 1, 2025

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ReubenBond reviewed Aug 1, 2025

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SergeyMenshykh approved these changes Aug 5, 2025

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Merge latest changes from main

cef49f4

westey-m temporarily deployed to integration August 5, 2025 17:14 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

westey-m added this pull request to the merge queue Aug 5, 2025

Merged via the queue into microsoft:main with commit ff3e13c Aug 5, 2025
14 checks passed

github-project-automation bot moved this to Done in Agent Framework Aug 5, 2025

dmytrostruk mentioned this pull request Aug 11, 2025

Python: Thread storage and serialization #394

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.Net: Add support for 3rd party thread storage and thread serialization#203

.Net: Add support for 3rd party thread storage and thread serialization#203
westey-m merged 42 commits intomicrosoft:mainfrom
westey-m:threadstorageandserialization

westey-m commented Jul 18, 2025 •

edited

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westey-m commented Jul 18, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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westey-m commented Jul 18, 2025 •

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