AIProjectClient.get_openai_client() returns OpenAI instead of AzureOpenAI in version 2.0.0b2

[anotherRedbeard]

• Package Name: azure-ai-projects
• Package Version: 2.0.0b2
• Operating System: macOS (also affects Linux/Windows)
• Python Version: 3.13

Describe the bug

The AIProjectClient.get_openai_client() method returns an instance of openai.OpenAI instead of openai.AzureOpenAI, violating the documented API contract. This causes TypeError when using Azure-specific parameters like api_version or connection_name.

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Install the beta package:

pip install azure-ai-projects==2.0.0b2

2. Create an AIProjectClient and call get_openai_client with api_version:

from azure.identity import AzureCliCredential
from azure.ai.projects import AIProjectClient

credential = AzureCliCredential(tenant_id="<your-tenant-id>")
client = AIProjectClient(
    endpoint="https://<your-foundry-resource>.services.ai.azure.com/api/projects/<project-name>",
    credential=credential
)

# This fails with TypeError
aoai_client = client.get_openai_client(api_version="2024-10-21")

3. Observe the error:

TypeError: OpenAI.__init__() got an unexpected keyword argument 'api_version'

Expected behavior
According to the official API documentation, the method should return xref:openai.AzureOpenAI and accept the api_version parameter.

Microsoft Learn code samples also demonstrate this usage:

The method should:

• Return an AzureOpenAI instance (not OpenAI)
• Accept api_version parameter without error
• Work with Azure-specific configurations

Screenshots
Source code evidence from azure/ai/projects/_patch.py line 259 (version 2.0.0b2):

client = OpenAI(  # ❌ Should be AzureOpenAI
    azure_ad_token_provider=get_bearer_token_provider(
        credential, "https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default"
    ),
    organization=organization,
    project=project,
    base_url=base_url,
    timeout=timeout,
    max_retries=max_retries,
    default_headers=default_headers,
    default_query=default_query,
    http_client=http_client,
    api_version=api_version,  # ❌ Not supported by OpenAI class
)

Another test:

======================================================================
✅ Testing azure-ai-projects 1.0.0 (WORKING)
======================================================================
✅ Client created successfully!
   Type: AzureOpenAI
   Module: openai.lib.azure
✅ Chat completion successful!
   Response: Test passed.

======================================================================
Expected behavior: Returns AzureOpenAI, accepts api_version parameter
======================================================================

======================================================================
❌ Testing azure-ai-projects 2.0.0b2 (BROKEN)
======================================================================
❌ TypeError: OpenAI.__init__() got an unexpected keyword argument 'api_version'

   Reason: OpenAI class doesn't accept 'api_version' parameter
   Expected: AzureOpenAI class (which does accept api_version)

======================================================================
Bug: Returns OpenAI instead of AzureOpenAI, causing TypeError
======================================================================

Additional context

• Version 1.0.0 works correctly: Downgrading to azure-ai-projects==1.0.0 resolves the issue, as it properly returns AzureOpenAI
• Regression in beta: This appears to be a regression introduced in the 2.0.0b2 beta release
• Impact: Blocks users from using the documented API pattern for chat completions with Azure AI Foundry projects
• Workaround: Temporarily downgrade to version 1.0.0 or use azure.ai.agents.AgentsClient instead

[github-actions]

Thanks for the feedback! We are routing this to the appropriate team for follow-up. cc @dargilco @glharper @howieleung @kingernupur @nick863 @trangevi @trrwilson.

[dargilco]

@anotherRedbeard thanks for posting this issue. Version 2.0.0b2 is a preview version with some breaking changes compared to 1.x versions. The reference documents for the preview version is the following: https://learn.microsoft.com/python/api/azure-ai-projects/azure.ai.projects.aiprojectclient?view=azure-python-preview#azure-ai-projects-aiprojectclient-get-openai-client (notice the Azure SDK for Python (preview) under Versions at the top left). It correctly documents this method as returning OpenAI client and not AzureOpenAI client.

Per samples, you do not need to set api_version on the OpenAI client, regardless of which AI models you are targeting (OpenAI models, or other providers).

[anotherRedbeard]

@dargilco thanks for the reply and I could have swore I dropped that down to the Preview version but I see it now as you mentioned. Also thanks for including the samples as that really helped with my development. After re-visiting the updated documentation, all is working as documented and expected.