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Getting Started with Syncfusion Document SDK AI Agent Tool Library
12 May 20262 minutes to read
The Syncfusion Document SDK AI Agent Tool library exposes Word, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint, and Smart Data Extraction operations as AI-callable tools. These tools integrate seamlessly with the Microsoft Agent Framework, enabling AI agents to perform document operations autonomously.
Before you begin, make two key decisions:
- Document Manager Mode - How documents are stored and managed between tool calls
- AI Provider - Which inference service powers your agent
This guide helps you choose the right configuration for your application.
Document Manager Modes
The library supports two modes for managing document state during agent tool invocations. Both modes expose the same AI tools-the difference is in how and where documents are stored between tool calls.
In-Memory Mode
How it works: Documents are held as live objects in an in-memory dictionary. Each tool accesses and modifies the object directly rather than opening and saving files on each call. Objects are automatically cleaned up after 10 minutes (default) of inactivity. This expiration time is customizable.
When to use:
Choose in-memory Mode for single-instance applications (desktop apps, console tools, or non-scalable environments) where in-memory state won’t be lost. It provides the simplest and fastest experience.
For further details, please refer to the Getting Started In-Memory Mode documentation.
Storage Mode
How it works: Documents are read from and written to storage (Azure Blob, S3, local disk, etc.) on each tool invocation. No in-memory objects are maintained, so each tool call opens and saves document instances.
When to use:
Choose Storage Mode for web APIs or applications that need horizontal scaling, work with large documents, or require state persistence across sessions.
For further details, please refer to the Getting Started Storage Mode documentation.
AI Providers
The library works with Microsoft Agent Framework which supports multiple AI inference providers through the Microsoft.Extensions.AI abstraction layer. You can use any supported provider without changing Syncfusion tool code-only the client initialization changes.
Supported Providers
The Microsoft Agent Framework supports the following providers for .NET:
For more details, see the Microsoft Agent Framework Providers documentation.
Note: Microsoft AI agents understand prompts in any natural language and invoke Agent library tools accordingly. Agent responses are returned in the same language as the prompt.