microsoft/autogen · error · ValueError

If credential is a dict, it must contain an 'api_key' key

Error message

If credential is a dict, it must contain an 'api_key' key

What it means

Error "If credential is a dict, it must contain an 'api_key' key" thrown in microsoft/autogen.

Source

Thrown at python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/tools/azure/_ai_search.py:376

    ) -> Union[AzureKeyCredential, AsyncTokenCredential]:
        """Process credential to ensure it's the correct type for async SearchClient.

        Converts dictionary credentials with 'api_key' to AzureKeyCredential objects.

        Args:
            credential: The credential in either object or dictionary form

        Returns:
            A properly formatted credential object

        Raises:
            ValueError: If the credential dictionary doesn't contain an 'api_key'
            TypeError: If the credential is not of a supported type
        """
        if isinstance(credential, dict):
            if "api_key" in credential:
                return AzureKeyCredential(credential["api_key"])
            raise ValueError("If credential is a dict, it must contain an 'api_key' key")

        if isinstance(credential, (AzureKeyCredential, AsyncTokenCredential)):
            return credential

        raise TypeError("Credential must be AzureKeyCredential, AsyncTokenCredential, or a valid dict")

    async def _get_client(self) -> SearchClient:
        """Get the search client for the configured index.

        Returns:
            SearchClient: Initialized search client

        Raises:
            ValueError: If index doesn't exist or authentication fails
        """
        if self._client is not None:
            return self._client

View on GitHub (pinned to 027ecf0a37)

Solutions

1. Include an api_key entry in the credential dict

Example fix

credential={'api_key': '<key>'}

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/tools/azure/_ai_search.py:376 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/autogen@027ecf0a37 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fd23ae887b59f249. Report an issue: GitHub.