Prompt Flow → Microsoft Agent Framework Conversion
Convert Prompt Flow flow.dag.yaml definitions into runnable MAF WorkflowBuilder Python code.
Triggers
Activate this skill when the user wants to:
- Convert a Prompt Flow flow to Microsoft Agent Framework
- Migrate a
flow.dag.yaml to MAF workflow code
- Rebuild a Prompt Flow application using
agent-framework
What to Read When (Progressive Disclosure)
This skill is split across multiple files. Always read this file first. Then read additional files based on what the source flow contains:
| Situation |
Required Reading |
| Every conversion task |
This file + [references/gotchas.md](references/gotchas.md) |
| Need to map a specific node type |
[references/node-mapping.md](references/node-mapping.md) |
Writing Executor handlers / picking LLM client / setting temperature/max_tokens |
[references/workflow-context.md](references/workflow-context.md) |
Source flow has a node with source.type: package |
[topics/custom-tool-nodes.md](topics/custom-tool-nodes.md) |
| Source flow has image / multimodal inputs |
[topics/multimodal.md](topics/multimodal.md) + [examples/multimodal-chat.md](examples/multimodal-chat.md) |
Source flow has any node with aggregation: true |
[topics/evaluation-flows.md](topics/evaluation-flows.md) + [templates/evalrunner.py](templates/evalrunner.py) + [examples/evaluation.md](examples/evaluation.md) |
| Want a complete reference example |
[examples/linear-chat.md](examples/linear-chat.md) (basic), [examples/multimodal-chat.md](examples/multimodal-chat.md), [examples/evaluation.md](examples/evaluation.md) |
Don't pre-load everything. Read each file lazily when its situation is detected during Phase 1 audit.
Core Rules (apply to every conversion)
- Read the source flow first — Always parse
flow.dag.yaml, all referenced source files (.jinja2, .py), and requirements.txt before generating anything.
- Preserve prompts verbatim — System prompts, user prompt templates, and any text from
.jinja2 or inline prompt nodes must be copied exactly as they appear in the original Prompt Flow. Do not rephrase, summarize, add, or remove any content — including examples, instructions, formatting, and preambles (e.g., "Read the following conversation and respond:"). The MAF workflow must send the identical prompt text to the LLM.
- One Executor per node — Each Prompt Flow node becomes one
Executor subclass with a @handler method. (Some node combinations may be safely merged — see [references/node-mapping.md](references/node-mapping.md) for "Node Collapsing Patterns".)
- Preserve behaviour — The MAF workflow must produce the same outputs for the same inputs as the original flow.
- Use GA packages —
agent-framework>=1.0.1, agent-framework-openai>=1.0.1. Use preview packages (--pre) only for orchestrations, Azure AI Search, or multi-agent features. (Full table in [references/workflow-context.md](references/workflow-context.md).)
- Create output folder — Place generated files in a sibling folder named
<original-folder>-maf/.
- Copy user-defined Python packages — If the flow imports from internal packages (e.g.,
my_utils/, helper modules), copy the entire package directory into the output folder. The MAF workflow imports directly from the local copy — no sys.path manipulation needed.
- Generate a test sample — Always include a runnable
test_<name>.py sample script.
- Never modify the original flow — All output goes into the new folder.
- Evaluation flows use the EvalRunner pattern — If any node has
aggregation: true, the flow is an evaluation flow. See [topics/evaluation-flows.md](topics/evaluation-flows.md).
- Always export a
createworkflow() factory — MAF workflows do not support concurrent run() calls on a single instance (RuntimeError: Workflow is already running). Every generated workflow.py must export a createworkflow() factory function that creates a fresh workflow instance per call. Do NOT instantiate Executors or build the workflow at module level. This ensures callers can safely run multiple workflows concurrently (e.g., evaluation batches, parallel API requests, or test suites). For evaluation flows, EvalRunner relies on this factory to create one workflow per row.
- Copy ALL referenced resources into the output folder — The generated
-maf/ project must be fully self-contained with zero dependencies on the original Prompt Flow folder. Copy every resource file the flow references:
- Data files (.jsonl, .csv, .json, .tsv) used for testing or evaluation - Prompt / template files (.jinja2, .md used as prompts) - User-defined Python modules (.py files or packages imported by nodes — see rule 7) - Any other non-code assets (e.g., samples.json, config files, image assets)
Update all file path references (e.g., DEFAULTDATA, TEMPLATESDIR, PROMPT_TEMPLATE) to point to the local copy using Path(file).parent / .... Never use parent.parent or relative paths that reach back into the original flow directory.
- Preserve graph topology and conditions exactly — The MAF workflow's graph structure MUST be equivalent to the original
flow.dag.yaml graph. Specifically:
- Node coverage — Every Prompt Flow node must map to exactly one MAF Executor (or be merged via an explicitly allowed Collapsing Pattern; see [references/node-mapping.md](references/node-mapping.md)). No PF node may be silently dropped, and no extra Executors may be invented that don't correspond to a PF node or an allowed merge. - Edge coverage — Every data reference ${node.output} in flow.dag.yaml must correspond to a MAF edge (addedge / addfanoutedges / addfaninedges) connecting the equivalent Executors. No edges may be added or removed. - Parallelism preserved — If two PF nodes run in parallel from a shared upstream node, they must remain parallel in MAF (addfanoutedges). Do NOT serialize parallel branches. If multiple PF nodes fan into one downstream node, they must use addfaninedges. - Conditions preserved — Every activateconfig (when/is) in PF must become an add_edge(..., condition=fn) with semantically identical predicate logic. The truth value of the condition for any given input must match the original. - No reordering — The execution order implied by the dependency graph must be preserved. Do not move logic from a downstream node into an upstream node (or vice versa) in a way that changes when work happens relative to other branches. - Mapping table required — In Phase 1, produce an explicit PF-node → MAF-Executor / edge mapping table (see Phase 1 step 6) and verify it in Phase 4 (see Phase 4 step 22). Any allowed merge must be annotated with the matching Collapsing Pattern from [references/node-mapping.md](references/node-mapping.md).
Conversion Workflow (4 Phases)
Phase 1 — Audit the Prompt Flow
- Read
flow.dag.yaml — identify all inputs, outputs, nodes, their types, and edges (data references like ${node.output}).
- For every node, record type AND source.type. A node with source.type: package is a custom user-defined tool — read [topics/custom-tool-nodes.md](topics/custom-tool-nodes.md) and call it directly from the Executor; do NOT remap to OpenAIChatClient/Agent.
- Read source files — open every
.jinja2 template, every .py file referenced by source.type: code nodes, and the package source for every source.type: package node.
- Read
requirements.txt — note any extra dependencies.
- Map the graph — draw the node dependency graph from
${...} references. Identify:
- Linear chains (A → B → C) - Parallel branches (A → B, A → C) - Conditional branches (activate_config) - Fan-in / aggregation points
- Detect special cases — load the matching topic file:
- Any node with aggregation: true → evaluation flow → load [topics/evaluation-flows.md](topics/evaluation-flows.md) - Any node with source.type: package → custom tool → load [topics/custom-tool-nodes.md](topics/custom-tool-nodes.md) - Any image inputs (dict with data:image/*;url key, or string starting with data:image/) → multimodal → load [topics/multimodal.md](topics/multimodal.md)
- Produce a node-mapping table — Before writing any MAF code, emit (in your reasoning or as a comment block at the top of
workflow.py) an explicit table that lists, for every PF node:
- PF node name and type (+ source.type) - The MAF Executor it maps to (or the merged Executor name, with the matching Collapsing Pattern from [references/node-mapping.md](references/node-mapping.md)) - The incoming edges (PF ${...} references → MAF addedge / addfaninedges) - The outgoing edges (PF downstream consumers → MAF addedge / addfanoutedges) - Any activate_config → the MAF condition=fn it becomes
This table is the contract used to verify graph equivalence in Phase 4. Every PF node must appear; every ${...} reference must appear as an edge.
Phase 2 — Generate MAF Code
- Create output folder —
<original-folder>-maf/.
- Copy internal packages — see Rule 7 above.
- Copy all referenced resources — see Rule 12 above.
- Create one Executor per node following the mapping table from Phase 1 step 6 and [references/node-mapping.md](references/node-mapping.md). Do not invent extra Executors and do not silently merge nodes outside of the explicitly allowed Collapsing Patterns.
- Wire the workflow inside a
create_workflow() factory function using WorkflowBuilder. The edges you add MUST exactly match the edges listed in the Phase 1 mapping table. Executor instantiation and WorkflowBuilder.build() must happen inside this function — not at module level — so each call returns a fresh, independent workflow instance:
- .addedge(source, target) for linear connections - .addedge(source, target, condition=fn) for conditionals (one per PF activateconfig, with semantically identical predicate) - .addfanoutedges(source, [targets]) for parallel branches (preserve PF parallelism — never serialize) - .addfanin_edges([sources], target) for aggregation
- Handle LLM nodes:
- Extract system prompt from .jinja2 template → Agent(instructions="...") - Pick the right client — see [references/workflow-context.md](references/workflow-context.md) - Agent.run() returns an AgentResponse — extract text with .text - Preserve LLM parameters — pass temperature, max_tokens, etc. via OpenAIChatOptions (see [references/workflow-context.md](references/workflow-context.md))
- Handle chat history — format prior turns into a prompt string in an InputExecutor, not as raw message dicts.
- Handle Python tool nodes — convert to plain functions and pass to
Agent(tools=[fn]).
- For evaluation flows / multimodal flows / custom-tool nodes — follow the topic file you loaded in Phase 1 step 5.
Phase 3 — Generate Supporting Files
requirements.txt — include only needed agent-framework-* packages. Add azure-identity>=1.15.0 if any LLM client uses the identity template.
.env.example — template with required environment variables (endpoint, model, key only if the connection uses key auth).
test_<name>.py — runnable sample script exercising single-turn and multi-turn (if applicable).
README.md — brief setup and run instructions. (Other documentation only if the user requests it.)
Phase 4 — Validate
- Create a virtual environment and install dependencies.
- Run the test sample to verify the workflow produces output.
- Verify graph topology equivalence against
flow.dag.yaml — re-open the source flow.dag.yaml and the Phase 1 mapping table, then check:
- [ ] Every PF node appears in the mapping table and is realized as exactly one MAF Executor (or is part of an explicitly annotated Collapsing Pattern). - [ ] No MAF Executor exists that does not correspond to a PF node or an annotated merge. - [ ] Every PF ${node.output} reference is realized as a MAF edge between the corresponding Executors. - [ ] No MAF edges exist that are not present in PF. - [ ] PF parallel branches use addfanoutedges; PF fan-in points use addfaninedges. No parallel branch has been serialized. - [ ] Every PF activateconfig has a matching addedge(..., condition=fn) whose predicate is semantically identical (same truth value for the same inputs).
If any check fails, fix the workflow before proceeding.
- Fix errors — see [references/gotchas.md](references/gotchas.md).
Skill File Index
.github/skills/promptflow-to-maf/
├── SKILL.md ← This file: rules + 4-phase workflow + routing
├── references/
│ ├── node-mapping.md ← Prompt Flow node → MAF mapping table + collapse patterns
│ ├── workflow-context.md ← WorkflowContext types, LLM clients, ChatOptions, packages
│ └── gotchas.md ← Common pitfalls, runtime errors, anti-patterns
├── topics/
│ ├── custom-tool-nodes.md ← Handling source.type: package nodes
│ ├── multimodal.md ← Image/multimodal input handling
│ └── evaluation-flows.md ← aggregation: true + EvalRunner pattern
├── templates/
│ └── eval_runner.py ← Reusable runner — copy verbatim into eval flow output
└── examples/
├── linear-chat.md ← Single LLM node + chat history
├── multimodal-chat.md ← Image inputs (GPT-4V style)
└── evaluation.md ← Per-row workflow + aggregation function + run_eval.py