BotBuilder Schema

4.17.1 · abandoned · verified Sun Apr 12

The `botbuilder-schema` library provides the core data structures and schema definitions for the Microsoft Bot Framework Python SDK. It defines essential classes like `Activity`, `ConversationAccount`, and `ChannelAccount` that represent messages and participants in a bot conversation. Version 4.17.1 is the final release, as the broader Bot Framework Python SDK has officially reached end-of-life and will no longer be updated or maintained.

Warnings

breaking End-of-Life (EOL) Status: The `botbuilder-schema` library is part of the Bot Framework Python SDK, which has officially reached End-of-Life (EOL) with version 4.17.1. It will no longer receive updates, maintenance, or support. Existing applications will not be immediately disrupted, but new development or seeking support is highly discouraged.
Fix: For new projects, consider the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK or alternative bot development frameworks. Existing users should avoid upgrading beyond 4.17.1 and plan for migration if future compatibility or features are critical.
gotcha Python 3.8+ Requirement: Beginning with SDK version 4.15.0, the broader Bot Framework SDK (of which `botbuilder-schema` is a component) requires Python 3.8 or newer due to its `aiohttp` dependency (version 3.9+). Deployments using Python 3.7 or earlier will encounter compatibility issues.
Fix: Ensure your development and deployment environments are running Python 3.8 or a later supported version.
gotcha Missing Schema for Newer Features: As an EOL library, `botbuilder-schema` will not receive updates for new Microsoft Teams or Bot Framework features. If your bot needs to interact with recently introduced invoke types (e.g., 'config/fetch', 'config/submit' added in 4.17.0) or other new schema elements, older `botbuilder-schema` versions might lack the necessary definitions, leading to runtime errors or unexpected behavior when deserializing activities.
Fix: Review the specific features you intend to use and cross-reference with the `botbuilder-schema` versions. If critical schema elements are missing, consider alternatives as the library will not be updated.

Install

pip install botbuilder-schema Install latest version

Imports

Activity
```
from botbuilder.schema import Activity
```
Commonly imported for defining bot messages and events.
ConversationAccount
```
from botbuilder.schema import ConversationAccount
```
Used to represent a conversation's identity.
ChannelAccount
```
from botbuilder.schema import ChannelAccount
```
Represents the identity of a user or bot in a channel.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to instantiate core schema objects like `Activity`, `ConversationAccount`, and `ChannelAccount`, which are fundamental for representing messages and participants in the Bot Framework.

import datetime
from botbuilder.schema import Activity, ActivityTypes, ConversationAccount, ChannelAccount

# Create a sample conversation account
conversation = ConversationAccount(
    id="conversationId123",
    conversation_type="personal",
    is_group=False,
    tenant_id="tenantId123"
)

# Create a sample channel account for the user
user = ChannelAccount(
    id="userId123",
    name="Test User",
    role="user"
)

# Create a sample channel account for the bot
bot = ChannelAccount(
    id="botId456",
    name="Test Bot",
    role="bot"
)

# Create an Activity object
activity = Activity(
    type=ActivityTypes.message,
    id="messageId789",
    timestamp=datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc),
    service_url="https://example.azurewebsites.net/api/messages",
    channel_id="emulator",
    conversation=conversation,
    from_property=user, # 'from' is a reserved keyword in Python, hence from_property
    recipient=bot,
    text="Hello from the botbuilder-schema quickstart!",
    locale="en-US"
)

print(f"Created Activity of type: {activity.type}")
print(f"Activity text: {activity.text}")
print(f"From: {activity.from_property.name} ({activity.from_property.id})")
print(f"To: {activity.recipient.name} ({activity.recipient.id})")

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