diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/.env.example b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..46a6ae748c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:8088
+ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent.csproj b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent.csproj
index b84faccf9e..d925172007 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent.csproj
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent.csproj
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 
   <ItemGroup>
     <PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.AgentServer.Invocations" />
+    <PackageReference Include="DotNetEnv" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <!-- For contributors: uses ProjectReference to build against local source -->
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Program.cs b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Program.cs
index 1650253dfc..d5944560ae 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Program.cs
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Program.cs
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 // Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
 
 using Azure.AI.AgentServer.Invocations;
+using DotNetEnv;
 using HostedInvocationsEchoAgent;
 using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
 
+// Load .env file if present (for local development)
+Env.TraversePath().Load();
+
 var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
 
 // Register the echo agent as a singleton (no LLM needed).
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 7722815b12..0000000000
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "profiles": {
-    "Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent": {
-      "commandName": "Project",
-      "environmentVariables": {
-        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
-      },
-      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:8088"
-    }
-  }
-}
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/README.md b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/README.md
index 91bb9aac53..5fcfddab22 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/README.md
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/invocations/Hosted-Invocations-EchoAgent/README.md
@@ -6,6 +6,16 @@ A minimal echo agent hosted as a Foundry Hosted Agent using the **Invocations pr
 
 - [.NET 10 SDK](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0)
 
+## Configuration
+
+Copy the template:
+
+```bash
+cp .env.example .env
+```
+
+> **Note:** `.env` is gitignored. The `.env.example` template is checked in as a reference.
+
 ## Running directly (contributors)
 
 This project uses `ProjectReference` to build against the local Agent Framework source.
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/.env.example b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/.env.example
index cbf693b3a9..984e8625cf 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/.env.example
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/.env.example
@@ -2,4 +2,5 @@ AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT=<your-azure-ai-project-endpoint>
 ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:8088
 ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
 AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-4o
-AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=
+AGENT_NAME=hosted-chat-client-agent
+AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=DefaultAzureCredential
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/Program.cs b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/Program.cs
index 5e26322079..ee86bbae1b 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/Program.cs
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/Program.cs
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ internal sealed class DevTemporaryTokenCredential : TokenCredential
 
     private AccessToken GetAccessToken()
     {
-        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token))
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token) || this._token == "DefaultAzureCredential")
         {
             throw new CredentialUnavailableException($"{EnvironmentVariable} environment variable is not set.");
         }
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json
deleted file mode 100644
index cc21f3dd2e..0000000000
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-ChatClientAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "profiles": {
-    "Hosted-ChatClientAgent": {
-      "commandName": "Project",
-      "environmentVariables": {
-        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
-      },
-      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:8088"
-    }
-  }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/.env.example b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/.env.example
index 1fefe43ebd..77f0476f8d 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/.env.example
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/.env.example
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT=<your-azure-ai-project-endpoint>
 ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:8088
 ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
-AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=
+AGENT_NAME=hosted-foundry-agent
+AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=DefaultAzureCredential
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/Program.cs b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/Program.cs
index 11069c6403..b593b16671 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/Program.cs
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/Program.cs
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ internal sealed class DevTemporaryTokenCredential : TokenCredential
 
     private AccessToken GetAccessToken()
     {
-        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token))
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token) || this._token == "DefaultAzureCredential")
         {
             throw new CredentialUnavailableException($"{EnvironmentVariable} environment variable is not set.");
         }
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json
deleted file mode 100644
index b4c4e005d3..0000000000
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-FoundryAgent/Properties/launchSettings.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "profiles": {
-    "HostedFoundryAgent": {
-      "commandName": "Project",
-      "environmentVariables": {
-        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
-      },
-      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:8088"
-    }
-  }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/.env.example b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/.env.example
index 6d7831229d..b8fe9e8e7a 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/.env.example
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/.env.example
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT=<your-azure-ai-project-endpoint>
 ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:8088
 ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
 AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-4o
+AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=DefaultAzureCredential
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/Program.cs b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/Program.cs
index 20a9cf079a..f0e3566fe1 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/Program.cs
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/Program.cs
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ internal sealed class DevTemporaryTokenCredential : TokenCredential
 
     private AccessToken GetAccessToken()
     {
-        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token))
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token) || this._token == "DefaultAzureCredential")
         {
             throw new CredentialUnavailableException($"{EnvironmentVariable} environment variable is not set.");
         }
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/Properties/launchSettings.json b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/Properties/launchSettings.json
deleted file mode 100644
index ae1bb80b7d..0000000000
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-LocalTools/Properties/launchSettings.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "profiles": {
-    "HostedLocalTools": {
-      "commandName": "Project",
-      "environmentVariables": {
-        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
-      },
-      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:8088"
-    }
-  }
-}
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/.env.example b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/.env.example
index 6d7831229d..b8fe9e8e7a 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/.env.example
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/.env.example
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT=<your-azure-ai-project-endpoint>
 ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:8088
 ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
 AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-4o
+AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=DefaultAzureCredential
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/Program.cs b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/Program.cs
index 0e97e5f84f..a027047a1d 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/Program.cs
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/Program.cs
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ internal sealed class DevTemporaryTokenCredential : TokenCredential
 
     private AccessToken GetAccessToken()
     {
-        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token))
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token) || this._token == "DefaultAzureCredential")
         {
             throw new CredentialUnavailableException($"{EnvironmentVariable} environment variable is not set.");
         }
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/Properties/launchSettings.json b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/Properties/launchSettings.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 3042eb4d44..0000000000
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-McpTools/Properties/launchSettings.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "profiles": {
-    "HostedMcpTools": {
-      "commandName": "Project",
-      "environmentVariables": {
-        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
-      },
-      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:8088"
-    }
-  }
-}
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/.env.example b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/.env.example
index cbf693b3a9..b8fe9e8e7a 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/.env.example
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/.env.example
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@ AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT=<your-azure-ai-project-endpoint>
 ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:8088
 ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
 AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-4o
-AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=
+AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=DefaultAzureCredential
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/Program.cs b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/Program.cs
index 45d027f740..33edb58901 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/Program.cs
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/Program.cs
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ internal sealed class DevTemporaryTokenCredential : TokenCredential
     private static AccessToken GetAccessToken()
     {
         var token = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(EnvironmentVariable);
-        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(token))
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(token) || token == "DefaultAzureCredential")
         {
             throw new CredentialUnavailableException($"{EnvironmentVariable} environment variable is not set.");
         }
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/Properties/launchSettings.json b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/Properties/launchSettings.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 932d4e67fc..0000000000
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-TextRag/Properties/launchSettings.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "profiles": {
-    "HostedTextRag": {
-      "commandName": "Project",
-      "environmentVariables": {
-        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
-      },
-      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:8088"
-    }
-  }
-}
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/.env.example b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/.env.example
index 6d7831229d..b8fe9e8e7a 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/.env.example
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/.env.example
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ AZURE_AI_PROJECT_ENDPOINT=<your-azure-ai-project-endpoint>
 ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:8088
 ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
 AZURE_AI_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-4o
+AZURE_BEARER_TOKEN=DefaultAzureCredential
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/Program.cs b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/Program.cs
index 279daf5f24..558aef11d4 100644
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/Program.cs
+++ b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/Program.cs
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ internal sealed class DevTemporaryTokenCredential : TokenCredential
 
     private AccessToken GetAccessToken()
     {
-        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token))
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._token) || this._token == "DefaultAzureCredential")
         {
             throw new CredentialUnavailableException($"{EnvironmentVariable} environment variable is not set.");
         }
diff --git a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/Properties/launchSettings.json b/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/Properties/launchSettings.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 0e2908985a..0000000000
--- a/dotnet/samples/04-hosting/FoundryHostedAgents/responses/Hosted-Workflows/Properties/launchSettings.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "profiles": {
-    "HostedWorkflows": {
-      "commandName": "Project",
-      "environmentVariables": {
-        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
-      },
-      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:8088"
-    }
-  }
-}