Python: [BREAKING] Reduce core dependencies and simplify optional integrations

[Eduard van Valkenburg (eavanvalkenburg)]

Motivation and Context

Slim down agent-framework-core by removing provider- and SDK-specific runtime dependencies, make optional MCP/OpenTelemetry integrations fail only when they are actually used, and keep agent telemetry latency from including agent middleware overhead.

Description

• remove provider-specific and SDK-specific dependencies from agent-framework-core, move direct runtime dependencies to the packages that actually use them (agent-framework-azure-ai, agent-framework-devui, and the gaia lab extra), and refresh repo/dev dependency wiring
• simplify MCP optional dependency handling by localizing runtime imports, keeping typing-only MCP imports under TYPE_CHECKING, updating missing-dependency guidance to point directly to mcp/mcp[ws], and expanding MCP regression coverage
• simplify observability optional SDK loading, remove cached resource state, inline the semantic-convention constants used by core, eliminate noisy OTEL exporter setup in core tests, and ensure AgentMiddlewareLayer wraps AgentTelemetryLayer for both Agent and FoundryAgent

Contribution Checklist

• The code builds clean without any errors or warnings
• The PR follows the Contribution Guidelines
• All unit tests pass, and I have added new tests where possible
• Is this a breaking change? If yes, add "[BREAKING]" prefix to the title of the PR.

[Mark Wallace (markwallace-microsoft)]

Python Test Coverage Report •

File	Stmts	Miss	Cover	Missing
packages/core/agent_framework
_agents.py	363	47	87%	465, 469, 524, 936, 972, 988, 1085–1089, 1144, 1172, 1305, 1321, 1323, 1336, 1342, 1387, 1389, 1398–1403, 1408, 1410, 1416–1417, 1424, 1426–1427, 1435–1436, 1439–1441, 1451–1456, 1460, 1465, 1467
_mcp.py	558	29	94%	269, 329–330, 459, 521, 534, 536–539, 558–559, 572–575, 577–578, 582, 644–646, 965, 1078, 1130–1131, 1134, 1152, 1557
observability.py	747	83	88%	376, 378–379, 382, 385, 388–389, 394–395, 401–402, 408–409, 416, 418–420, 423–425, 430–431, 437–438, 444–445, 452, 609–610, 738, 742–744, 746, 750–751, 755, 793, 795, 806–808, 810–812, 816, 824, 948–949, 1111, 1355–1356, 1453–1458, 1465–1468, 1472–1480, 1487, 1608–1612, 1669–1670, 1810, 2008, 2226, 2228
packages/foundry/agent_framework_foundry
_foundry_agent.py	44	19	56%	157, 159, 161–163, 165–168, 173, 175–178, 183, 185–186, 188, 194
TOTAL	27962	3412	87%

Python Unit Test Overview

Tests	Skipped	Failures	Errors	Time
5417	20 💤	0 ❌	0 🔥	1m 27s ⏱️

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR slims down the Python agent-framework-core distribution by removing provider/SDK runtime dependencies, making MCP and OpenTelemetry SDK usage fail only when those integrations are invoked, and ensuring agent middleware time is excluded from agent telemetry latency measurements.

Changes:

• Move provider/SDK dependencies out of agent-framework-core into the packages that require them, and refresh repo/dev dependency wiring.
• Refactor MCP and observability code paths to use localized runtime imports and improved missing-dependency guidance; add/expand regression tests.
• Change Agent and FoundryAgent base-class ordering so AgentMiddlewareLayer wraps AgentTelemetryLayer, with tests enforcing the MRO.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 14 out of 15 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
python/uv.lock	Updates locked dev/runtime dependencies to reflect moved integrations and removed OTEL semconv-ai dependency.
python/pyproject.toml	Adds dev-only dependencies for MCP websocket support and OpenTelemetry SDK.
python/packages/lab/pyproject.toml	Adds opentelemetry-sdk to the GAIA extra to keep integration working after core dep slimming.
python/packages/foundry/tests/test_foundry_agent.py	Adds a regression test ensuring middleware wraps telemetry in FoundryAgent.
python/packages/foundry/agent_framework_foundry/_foundry_agent.py	Reorders base classes to put middleware outside telemetry timing.
python/packages/devui/pyproject.toml	Adds opentelemetry-sdk since core no longer depends on it directly.
python/packages/core/tests/core/test_optional_dependencies.py	New tests validating optional dependency behavior for OTEL SDK and MCP.
python/packages/core/tests/core/test_observability.py	Avoids noisy OTEL exporter setup in tests; adds MRO regression test for Agent.
python/packages/core/tests/core/test_mcp.py	Expands MCP parsing/transport tests and updates patch targets to MCP’s runtime import locations.
python/packages/core/tests/conftest.py	Adjusts OTEL test fixture to create resources without relying on cached settings state.
python/packages/core/pyproject.toml	Removes provider/SDK deps from core; keeps MCP as an optional extra and adds openai package to “all”.
python/packages/core/agent_framework/observability.py	Localizes OTEL SDK imports, removes cached resource state, and inlines semantic convention names used by core.
python/packages/core/agent_framework/_mcp.py	Localizes MCP imports and refactors helper parsing into instance methods; improves missing-dependency errors.
python/packages/core/agent_framework/_agents.py	Localizes MCP server imports and reorders Agent base classes to wrap telemetry with middleware.
python/packages/azure-ai/pyproject.toml	Adds Azure Projects/Identity deps to the Azure package after removing them from core.