AI Chat Application with RAG and MCP Servers

An .NET Aspire AI chat application that demonstrates how to chat with custom data (RAG - Event Driven) and context extensions (MCP Server) using an AI language model and Qdrant as the Vector Store.

[!NOTE] This version does not deploy to Azure (yet). When this minor work is complete, the web applications (Chat and Admin), the MCP Server and the Functions App will all be Azure Container Apps. Functions Apps integration via .NET Aspire is still in Preview and the only deployment supported [currently] is to an ACA (Azure Container App).

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Table of Contents

• Project Overview
• Solution Structure
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Configuration & Secrets
• Usage
• Deployment
• Troubleshooting
• FAQ
• Contributing
• License
• Acknowledgments
• Contact
• References

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Project Overview

AI Chat with Custom Data enables users to interact with AI models using their own data sources (RAG and MCP Server). It supports multiple providers, including GitHub Models and OpenAI endpoints.

Features

• Interact with AI models using template provided 2x PDFs (OOB with Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates)
• MCP Server WhoIs tool new
• MCP Server GitLab SearchGroups tool (requires 2x user secrets) new
• Upload prewritten PDFs to use when interacting with the AI model new
• Dynamically create PDFs from markdown to then use when interacting with the AI Model new

HLD

Solution Structure

MyChatApp.sln
├── MyAdminApp.Web/
├── MyChatApp.AppHost/
├── MyChatApp.ServiceDefaults/
├── MyChatApp.Web/
├── MyFunctionApp/
└── MyMcpServerHttpApi/

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 9.0+

• Visual Studio 2022+ or Visual Studio Code

• GitHub Account (Copilot enabled)

• Docker for running Azurite (required for emulating Azure Blob Storage and Queues, and Azure Functions)

• (Optional, if you want to use the MCP Inspector) NodeJS

• (Optional) GitLab account if you want to use the MCP SearchGroup tool

• (Optional) C# Dev Kit extension for VS Code

• (Optional, for creating your own project) Install the .NET AI Template:

  dotnet new install Microsoft.Extensions.AI.Templates
  

• (Optional, for debugging and testing the MCP Server tools)

  npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector dotnet run
  

• (Optional, for confirming blobs uploads and queues) Install the Microsoft Azure Storage Explore

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd MyChatApp
   

2. Restore dependencies:

   dotnet restore
   

Configuration & Secrets

Before running, configure API keys and endpoints for your chosen providers.

Using GitHub Models

• Create a GitHub personal access token (PAT) with no scopes or permissions. Guide
• Set the secret:

  dotnet user-secrets set "GitHubModels:Token" "<your-token-value>"
  

Using OpenAI (via Azure)

• Set the connection string:

  dotnet user-secrets set "ConnectionStrings:openai" "Endpoint=https://models.inference.ai.azure.com;Key=<your-token-value>"
  

MyMcpServerHttpApi (GitLab)

• Set the GitLab PAT:

  dotnet user-secrets set "GitLab:Token" "<your-token-value>"
  

• Set the GitLab domain:

  dotnet user-secrets set "GitLab:Domain" "<your-domain-value>"
  

Note: User secrets are stored outside source control. In Visual Studio, right-click the project and select "Manage User Secrets" to edit them directly.

Usage

Running the Application

• Visual Studio:
  1. Open the .sln file.
  2. Press Ctrl+F5 or click "Start".
• Visual Studio Code:
  1. Open the folder.
  2. Install the C# Dev Kit extension.
  3. Open Program.cs in MyChatApp.AppHost.
  4. Click "Run" in the Debug view.

Trust the Localhost Certificate

If running for the first time, trust the self-signed development certificate:

dotnet dev-certs https --trust

See Troubleshoot untrusted localhost certificate in .NET Aspire.

Example Prompts

1. Markdown Table

   Get a list of GitLab groups as a markdown table with name, web_url (as 'click me'), parent_id, and an emoji for has_subgroups. Group by parent id. Include group id in brackets after the name.

   

2. Tree Structure

   Create a tree structure nesting groups by parent id and group id.

   

3. Dynamic PDF creation

   Original request didn't return anything:

   

   Here I've input the markdown that was then converted to a PDF and uploaded:

   

   Here's the response after uploading the above markdown

   

4. PDF Upload

   Druperts

   Here are some facts about Druperts. There maybe some non-Drupert facts in this list too:

   • A Drupert is a fictional creature
   • A Sleepert is meant to make you fall asleep during school time
   • Chicken Jockie!
   • A Drupert is meant to distract
   • A Drupert sole purpose is to make you laugh
   • If someone draws a Drupert during class time and you laugh, you'll likely be told off my your teacher

5. Funny Story prompt

   Create me a funny story about a Drupert. No longer than 5 sentences. It must end with a hugging face emoji on a new line. Please include citations

Deployment

• Standard .NET deployment applies. For cloud or container deployment, ensure secrets are set via environment variables or a secure store.

Troubleshooting

• Untrusted certificate: See the troubleshooting guide.
• Secrets not found: Ensure you have set user secrets for each project as described above.
• Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer Install to view Blobs and Queues:
• MCP Explorer Run to debug and testing the MCP Server:

FAQ

Q: Can I use other AI providers? A: Yes, extend the configuration and services as needed.

Q: Where are secrets stored? A: User secrets are stored outside source control in a local secrets.json file.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open issues or submit pull requests. For major changes, open an issue first to discuss your proposal.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

• .NET Aspire
• AI for .NET Developers
• Third-party libraries as referenced in the project

Contact

For support or inquiries, please open an issue or contact the maintainer via GitHub.

References

• Announcing .NET AI Template Preview 1
• Announcing .NET AI Template Preview 2