azure-aigateway

Puts a gate in front of your AI models, tools and agents so that everything passing through can be metered, capped and filtered instead of going straight to the model.

WHEN TO USE

SCOPE

USE FOR

Put an Azure OpenAI or AI Foundry model behind the gateway as a governed backend.
Turn on semantic caching to cut AI model costs by 60 to 80 percent.
Set token-per-minute limits so one caller can't exhaust the AI budget.
Apply content-safety and jailbreak-detection policies to an agent's traffic.
Rate-limit an MCP tool so one caller can't exhaust its quota.
Convert an existing OpenAPI-described API into an MCP tool through the gateway.

NOT FOR

Deploying a new APIM instance from scratch; use azure-prepare for that.

This is a saved copy of the skill's SKILL.md instructions. It may differ from the upstream file or the version you install.

In this document (9)

Azure AI Gateway

Configure Azure API Management (APIM) as an AI Gateway for governing AI models, MCP tools, and agents.

To deploy APIM, use the azure-prepare skill. See APIM deployment guide.

When to Use This Skill

Category	Triggers
Model Governance	"semantic caching", "token limits", "load balance AI", "track token usage"
Tool Governance	"rate limit MCP", "protect my tools", "configure my tool", "convert API to MCP"
Agent Governance	"content safety", "jailbreak detection", "filter harmful content"
Configuration	"add Azure OpenAI backend", "configure my model", "add AI Foundry model"
Testing	"test AI gateway", "call OpenAI through gateway"

Quick Reference

Policy	Purpose	Details
`azure-openai-token-limit`	Cost control	Model Policies
`azure-openai-semantic-cache-lookup/store`	60-80% cost savings	Model Policies
`azure-openai-emit-token-metric`	Observability	Model Policies
`llm-content-safety`	Safety & compliance	Agent Policies
`rate-limit-by-key`	MCP/tool protection	Tool Policies

Get Gateway Details

# Get gateway URL
az apim show --name <apim-name> --resource-group <rg> --query "gatewayUrl" -o tsv

# List backends (AI models)
az apim backend list --service-name <apim-name> --resource-group <rg> \
  --query "[].{id:name, url:url}" -o table

# Get subscription key
az apim subscription keys list \
  --service-name <apim-name> --resource-group <rg> --subscription-id <sub-id>

Test AI Endpoint

GATEWAY_URL=$(az apim show --name <apim-name> --resource-group <rg> --query "gatewayUrl" -o tsv)

curl -X POST "${GATEWAY_URL}/openai/deployments/<deployment>/chat/completions?api-version=2024-02-01" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: <key>" \
  -d '{"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}], "max_tokens": 100}'

Common Tasks

Add AI Backend

See references/patterns.md for full steps.

# Discover AI resources
az cognitiveservices account list --query "[?kind=='OpenAI']" -o table

# Create backend
az apim backend create --service-name <apim> --resource-group <rg> \
  --backend-id openai-backend --protocol http --url "https://<aoai>.openai.azure.com/openai"

# Grant access (managed identity)
az role assignment create --assignee <apim-principal-id> \
  --role "Cognitive Services User" --scope <aoai-resource-id>

Apply AI Governance Policy

Recommended policy order in <inbound>:

Authentication - Managed identity to backend
Semantic Cache Lookup - Check cache before calling AI
Token Limits - Cost control
Content Safety - Filter harmful content
Backend Selection - Load balancing
Metrics - Token usage tracking

See references/policies.md for complete example.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Token limit 429	Increase `tokens-per-minute` or add load balancing
No cache hits	Lower `score-threshold` to 0.7
Content false positives	Increase category thresholds (5-6)
Backend auth 401	Grant APIM "Cognitive Services User" role

See references/troubleshooting.md for details.

References

Detailed Policies - Full policy examples
Configuration Patterns - Step-by-step patterns
Troubleshooting - Common issues
AI-Gateway Samples
GenAI Gateway Docs

SDK Quick References

Content Safety: Python | TypeScript
API Management: Python | .NET

This skill ships inside the Azure Skills Plugin. Listed package contents include hooks and an MCP server. Installed components and skill versions may vary by AI tool.

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npx skills add microsoft/azure-skills --skill "azure-aigateway" --full-depth

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What's inside

Files included with this skill.

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