Azure OpenAI

Provider value: azure

Azure OpenAI runs the same models as OpenAI but through your own Azure resource, with Azure's authentication and compliance guarantees. ra uses AzureOpenAI from the openai SDK and supports both API key and DefaultAzureCredential authentication.

Setup

Option 1: API key

export AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=your-azure-api-key
export AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://myresource.openai.azure.com/
export AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT=my-gpt4o
ra --provider azure "Hello"

Option 2: DefaultAzureCredential (recommended for Azure-hosted workloads)

When AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY is not set, ra falls back to DefaultAzureCredential, which tries these in order:

1. AZURE_CLIENT_ID / AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET / AZURE_TENANT_ID env vars
2. Workload identity (AKS)
3. Managed identity (Azure VMs, App Service, Container Apps)
4. Azure CLI (az login)
5. Azure Developer CLI (azd auth login)

export AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://myresource.openai.azure.com/
export AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT=my-gpt4o
ra --provider azure "Hello"

Environment variables

Credentials are env-only — never passed as CLI flags to keep them out of shell history.

Variable	Required	Description
AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT	Yes	Azure OpenAI resource endpoint
AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT	Yes	Deployment name (as configured in Azure AI Studio)
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY	No	API key auth. Omit to use DefaultAzureCredential

The API version can be set in a config file:

app:
  providers:
    azure:
      apiVersion: 2024-12-01-preview

CLI flags

Non-sensitive options can also be set via CLI:

Flag	Description
--azure-endpoint	Azure resource endpoint
--azure-deployment	Deployment name

Config file

app:
  providers:
    azure:
      endpoint: https://myresource.openai.azure.com/
      deployment: my-gpt4o
      apiVersion: 2024-12-01-preview
agent:
  provider: azure

Deployment vs model

In Azure OpenAI, you deploy a model under a name you choose (e.g. my-gpt4o). ra uses the deployment name for all API calls — the --model flag is ignored when using Azure. Set your deployment via AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT or --azure-deployment.

Extended thinking

Supported modes: off, low, medium, high, adaptive (requires a reasoning-capable deployment).

ra --provider azure --thinking medium "Analyze this architecture"

See also

• Context Control — extended thinking details
• Configuration — provider credentials reference