Step 5: Start Docker Compose for Durable Task Support¶

The agent-framework-azurefunctions library leverages the Durable Task emulator to manage agent state locally. Start it using Docker Compose:

Ensure you're in the repository root directory:

# Navigate to repository root if currently in src/
cd ..

Start the Docker Compose services in detached mode:

All platforms:
```
docker compose up -d
```
If prompted to allow network access, select Allow to continue.

This starts the Durable Task emulator container which the agents will use for state persistence.
Verify the container is running:

All platforms:
```
docker compose ps
```
You should see the durable task emulator service running as well as azurite.

Note: The Durable Task emulator provides local state management for AI agents. In production, this would be handled by the Durable Task Scheduler service.