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Semantic Kernel

AI-ASSISTANTS
Velocity3.2

Microsoft SDK for integrating large language models into apps with plugins and planning.

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/semantic-kernel ↗

Semantic Kernel READMEs now name a successor — Microsoft Agent Framework is the next stop.

successor-announcementsecurity-hardeningdeps-maintenancemicrosoft-consolidationvector-data
◆Current state
Semantic Kernel's most recent Python release (1.42.0) added an explicit 'Microsoft Agent Framework successor callout' to the READMEs — Microsoft is publicly pointing users toward a different framework as the forward path. The rest of the recent cadence is consistent with a project in late-stage maintenance: security hardening (path validation in CloudDrivePlugin, gRPC plugin, OpenAPI plugin; SQL escaping in connectors; Snappier and Kiota vulnerability bumps), dependency bumps via dependabot, vector-store connector polish, and small prompt-template fixes. Feature additions are narrow — ImageContent in tool/function results, OpenAI text-to-image model support, prompt template serialization improvements.
◆Where it's heading
The project is transitioning from active framework to maintained predecessor. Microsoft's agent stack is consolidating under the new Microsoft Agent Framework banner, and Semantic Kernel is shifting into security-and-deps mode — the kind of release pattern you see when a team is keeping production users safe while migration paths are being built elsewhere. Read in parallel with the eight-month silence at AutoGen, the picture is clear: Microsoft is collapsing three previous agent-framework efforts (SK, AutoGen, Semantic Workbench) toward one supported runtime.
◆Prediction
Expect SK to stay on a security-and-deps cadence for at least another two quarters, with a hard deprecation timeline likely announced once Microsoft Agent Framework has feature parity. Anyone building net-new on Semantic Kernel today should plan a migration; existing deployments are safe for the moment but on borrowed roadmap time.

◆Recent moves

  1. 7d ago

    python-1.42.0

    ⚡ SPARK

    python-1.42.0 quietly adds a 'Microsoft Agent Framework successor callout' to the READMEs alongside the usual dependabot bumps. The README change is the load-bearing one — Microsoft is publicly naming a successor framework.

    View source ↗
  2. 10d ago

    dotnet-1.76.0

    dotnet-1.76.0: security hardening across plugins (CloudDrivePlugin defaults, OpenAPI plugin input validation, gRPC address handling, DocumentPlugin path validation order), plus Snappier and Kiota CVE bumps. One real feature lands — ImageContent support in tool/function results.

    View source ↗
  3. 22d ago

    dotnet-1.75.0

    dotnet-1.75.0: AllowedBaseUrls hardening in RestApiOperationRunner, redis-text-search backslash escaping, SqlServer field/table name escaping in Python, blocklist extension on InMemoryCollection filters. Cross-cutting security pass on the connector surface.

    View source ↗
  4. 22d ago

    VectorData connector bugfix release

    Single-PR dotnet-1.74.1 patch for a VectorData connector bugfix. Auto-generated changelog with only the release-engineering commit visible.

    View source ↗
  5. 23d ago

    python-1.41.3

    python-1.41.3: SqlServer connector field-and-table-name escaping plus an InMemoryCollection filter blocklist extension, with the version bump. Small, security-flavored maintenance release.

    View source ↗
  6. 1mo ago

    python-1.41.2

    python-1.41.2: prompt-template msg serialization improvements, a large batch of dependabot version-range expansions (redis, chromadb, pymongo, pydantic, werkzeug). Feature work is narrow; most of the diff is keeping the dependency surface current.

    View source ↗