microsoft/autogen · error · ValueError

Permission denied to access this index.

Error message

Permission denied to access this index.

What it means

Error "Permission denied to access this index." thrown in microsoft/autogen.

Source

Thrown at python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/tools/azure/_ai_search.py:409

        """
        if self._client is not None:
            return self._client

        try:
            self._client = SearchClient(
                endpoint=self.search_config.endpoint,
                index_name=self.search_config.index_name,
                credential=self.search_config.credential,
                api_version=self.search_config.api_version,
            )
            return self._client
        except ResourceNotFoundError as e:
            raise ValueError(f"Index '{self.search_config.index_name}' not found in Azure AI Search service.") from e
        except HttpResponseError as e:
            if e.status_code == 401:
                raise ValueError("Authentication failed. Please check your credentials.") from e
            elif e.status_code == 403:
                raise ValueError("Permission denied to access this index.") from e
            else:
                raise ValueError(f"Error connecting to Azure AI Search: {str(e)}") from e
        except Exception as e:
            raise ValueError(f"Unexpected error initializing search client: {str(e)}") from e

    async def run(
        self, args: Union[str, Dict[str, Any], SearchQuery], cancellation_token: Optional[CancellationToken] = None
    ) -> SearchResults:
        """Execute a search against the Azure AI Search index.

        Args:
            args: Search query text or SearchQuery object
            cancellation_token: Optional token to cancel the operation

        Returns:
            SearchResults: Container with search results and metadata

        Raises:

View on GitHub (pinned to 027ecf0a37)

Solutions

1. Grant the identity query/index permissions

Example fix

Assign Search Index Data Reader/Contributor roles

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/tools/azure/_ai_search.py:409 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/0d344c8c4cb2df62. Report an issue: GitHub.