diff --git a/docs/design/02 - Topics.md b/docs/design/02 - Topics.md
index 7d7149c37c9..bf3ed8d9dca 100644
--- a/docs/design/02 - Topics.md	
+++ b/docs/design/02 - Topics.md	
@@ -51,3 +51,16 @@ Agents are able to handle certain types of messages. This is an internal detail
 
 > [!NOTE]
 > This might be revisited based on scaling and performance considerations.
+
+## Well known topic types
+
+Agents should subscribe via a prefix subscription to the `{AgentType}:` topic as a direct message channel for the agent type.
+
+For this subscription source should map directly to agent key.
+
+This subscription will therefore receive all events for the following well known topics:
+
+- `{AgentType}:` - General purpose direct messages. These should be routed to the approriate message handler.
+- `{AgentType}:rpc_request` - RPC request messages. These should be routed to the approriate RPC handler.
+- `{AgentType}:rpc_response={RequestId}` - RPC response messages. These should be routed back to the response future of the caller.
+- `{AgentType}:error={RequestId}` - Error message that corresponds to the given request.
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-agentchat/pyproject.toml b/python/packages/autogen-agentchat/pyproject.toml
index c2336a6eeba..705a125528a 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-agentchat/pyproject.toml
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-agentchat/pyproject.toml
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ include = ["src/**", "tests/*.py"]
 [tool.pyright]
 extends = "../../pyproject.toml"
 include = ["src", "tests"]
+reportDeprecated = true
 
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
 minversion = "6.0"
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_base_group_chat.py b/python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_base_group_chat.py
index fbca2644920..b038d857305 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_base_group_chat.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_base_group_chat.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     MessageContext,
 )
 from autogen_core.components import ClosureAgent, TypeSubscription
+from autogen_core.components._closure_agent import ClosureContext
 
 from ... import EVENT_LOGGER_NAME
 from ...base import ChatAgent, TaskResult, Team, TerminationCondition
@@ -139,8 +140,7 @@ async def _init(self, runtime: AgentRuntime) -> None:
         )
 
         async def collect_output_messages(
-            _runtime: AgentRuntime,
-            id: AgentId,
+            _runtime: ClosureContext,
             message: GroupChatStart | GroupChatMessage | GroupChatTermination,
             ctx: MessageContext,
         ) -> None:
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ async def collect_output_messages(
                 return
             await self._output_message_queue.put(message.message)
 
-        await ClosureAgent.register(
+        await ClosureAgent.register_closure(
             runtime,
             type=self._collector_agent_type,
             closure=collect_output_messages,
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/docs/src/user-guide/core-user-guide/cookbook/extracting-results-with-an-agent.ipynb b/python/packages/autogen-core/docs/src/user-guide/core-user-guide/cookbook/extracting-results-with-an-agent.ipynb
index c386699f0d7..e86b807d783 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/docs/src/user-guide/core-user-guide/cookbook/extracting-results-with-an-agent.ipynb
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/docs/src/user-guide/core-user-guide/cookbook/extracting-results-with-an-agent.ipynb
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
   },
   {
    "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": 1,
+   "execution_count": null,
    "metadata": {},
    "outputs": [],
    "source": [
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@
     "from dataclasses import dataclass\n",
     "\n",
     "from autogen_core.application import SingleThreadedAgentRuntime\n",
-    "from autogen_core.base import AgentId, AgentRuntime, MessageContext\n",
-    "from autogen_core.components import ClosureAgent, DefaultSubscription, DefaultTopicId"
+    "from autogen_core.base import MessageContext\n",
+    "from autogen_core.components import ClosureAgent, ClosureContext, DefaultSubscription, DefaultTopicId"
    ]
   },
   {
@@ -77,11 +77,11 @@
   },
   {
    "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": 4,
+   "execution_count": null,
    "metadata": {},
    "outputs": [],
    "source": [
-    "async def output_result(_runtime: AgentRuntime, id: AgentId, message: FinalResult, ctx: MessageContext) -> None:\n",
+    "async def output_result(_agent: ClosureContext, message: FinalResult, ctx: MessageContext) -> None:\n",
     "    await queue.put(message)"
    ]
   },
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
   },
   {
    "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": 5,
+   "execution_count": null,
    "metadata": {},
    "outputs": [
     {
@@ -110,7 +110,9 @@
    ],
    "source": [
     "runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()\n",
-    "await ClosureAgent.register(runtime, \"output_result\", output_result, subscriptions=lambda: [DefaultSubscription()])"
+    "await ClosureAgent.register_closure(\n",
+    "    runtime, \"output_result\", output_result, subscriptions=lambda: [DefaultSubscription()]\n",
+    ")"
    ]
   },
   {
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/pyproject.toml b/python/packages/autogen-core/pyproject.toml
index 8727f5ee0c2..8f70a64ebeb 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/pyproject.toml
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/pyproject.toml
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ include = ["src/**", "samples/*.py", "docs/**/*.ipynb", "tests/**"]
 extends = "../../pyproject.toml"
 include = ["src", "tests", "samples"]
 exclude = ["src/autogen_core/application/protos", "tests/protos"]
-reportDeprecated = false
+reportDeprecated = true
 
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
 minversion = "6.0"
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/samples/semantic_router/run_semantic_router.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/samples/semantic_router/run_semantic_router.py
index 48f57eece71..35d057fb994 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/samples/semantic_router/run_semantic_router.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/samples/semantic_router/run_semantic_router.py
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@
     WorkerAgentMessage,
 )
 from autogen_core.application import WorkerAgentRuntime
-from autogen_core.base import AgentId, AgentRuntime, MessageContext
-from autogen_core.components import ClosureAgent, DefaultSubscription, DefaultTopicId
+from autogen_core.base import MessageContext
+from autogen_core.components import ClosureAgent, ClosureContext, DefaultSubscription, DefaultTopicId
 
 
 class MockIntentClassifier(IntentClassifierBase):
@@ -60,12 +60,12 @@ async def get_agent(self, intent: str) -> str:
 
 
 async def output_result(
-    _runtime: AgentRuntime, id: AgentId, message: WorkerAgentMessage | FinalResult, ctx: MessageContext
+    closure_ctx: ClosureContext, message: WorkerAgentMessage | FinalResult, ctx: MessageContext
 ) -> None:
     if isinstance(message, WorkerAgentMessage):
         print(f"{message.source} Agent: {message.content}")
         new_message = input("User response: ")
-        await _runtime.publish_message(
+        await closure_ctx.publish_message(
             UserProxyMessage(content=new_message, source="user"),
             topic_id=DefaultTopicId(type=message.source, source="user"),
         )
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ async def output_result(
         print(f"{message.source} Agent: {message.content}")
         print("Conversation ended")
         new_message = input("Enter a new conversation start: ")
-        await _runtime.publish_message(
+        await closure_ctx.publish_message(
             UserProxyMessage(content=new_message, source="user"), topic_id=DefaultTopicId(type="default", source="user")
         )
 
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ async def run_workers():
     await agent_runtime.add_subscription(DefaultSubscription(topic_type="user_proxy", agent_type="user_proxy"))
 
     # A closure agent surfaces the final result to external systems (e.g. an API) so that the system can interact with the user
-    await ClosureAgent.register(
+    await ClosureAgent.register_closure(
         agent_runtime,
         "closure_agent",
         output_result,
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/samples/slow_human_in_loop.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/samples/slow_human_in_loop.py
index cc8012f601c..348b156493b 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/samples/slow_human_in_loop.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/samples/slow_human_in_loop.py
@@ -33,7 +33,13 @@
 from autogen_core.application import SingleThreadedAgentRuntime
 from autogen_core.base import AgentId, CancellationToken, MessageContext
 from autogen_core.base.intervention import DefaultInterventionHandler
-from autogen_core.components import DefaultSubscription, DefaultTopicId, FunctionCall, RoutedAgent, message_handler
+from autogen_core.components import (
+    DefaultTopicId,
+    FunctionCall,
+    RoutedAgent,
+    message_handler,
+    type_subscription,
+)
 from autogen_core.components.model_context import BufferedChatCompletionContext
 from autogen_core.components.models import (
     AssistantMessage,
@@ -81,6 +87,7 @@ def save_content(self, content: Mapping[str, Any]) -> None:
 state_persister = MockPersistence()
 
 
+@type_subscription("scheduling_assistant_conversation")
 class SlowUserProxyAgent(RoutedAgent):
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -132,6 +139,7 @@ async def run(self, args: ScheduleMeetingInput, cancellation_token: Cancellation
         return ScheduleMeetingOutput()
 
 
+@type_subscription("scheduling_assistant_conversation")
 class SchedulingAssistantAgent(RoutedAgent):
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -256,16 +264,13 @@ async def main(latest_user_input: Optional[str] = None) -> None | str:
     needs_user_input_handler = NeedsUserInputHandler()
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime(intervention_handlers=[needs_user_input_handler, termination_handler])
 
-    await runtime.register(
-        "User",
-        lambda: SlowUserProxyAgent("User", "I am a user"),
-        subscriptions=lambda: [DefaultSubscription("scheduling_assistant_conversation")],
-    )
+    await SlowUserProxyAgent.register(runtime, "User", lambda: SlowUserProxyAgent("User", "I am a user"))
 
     initial_schedule_assistant_message = AssistantTextMessage(
         content="Hi! How can I help you? I can help schedule meetings", source="User"
     )
-    await runtime.register(
+    await SchedulingAssistantAgent.register(
+        runtime,
         "SchedulingAssistant",
         lambda: SchedulingAssistantAgent(
             "SchedulingAssistant",
@@ -273,7 +278,6 @@ async def main(latest_user_input: Optional[str] = None) -> None | str:
             model_client=get_chat_completion_client_from_envs(model="gpt-4o-mini"),
             initial_message=initial_schedule_assistant_message,
         ),
-        subscriptions=lambda: [DefaultSubscription("scheduling_assistant_conversation")],
     )
 
     if latest_user_input is not None:
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/components/__init__.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/components/__init__.py
index 75bb5eabcbe..37d1ad48a06 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/components/__init__.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/components/__init__.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 """
 
 from ..base._type_prefix_subscription import TypePrefixSubscription
-from ._closure_agent import ClosureAgent
+from ._closure_agent import ClosureAgent, ClosureContext
 from ._default_subscription import DefaultSubscription, default_subscription, type_subscription
 from ._default_topic import DefaultTopicId
 from ._image import Image
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
     "RoutedAgent",
     "TypeRoutedAgent",
     "ClosureAgent",
+    "ClosureContext",
     "message_handler",
     "event",
     "rpc",
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/components/_closure_agent.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/components/_closure_agent.py
index 1123c3ee40e..12e5faae6bf 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/components/_closure_agent.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/components/_closure_agent.py
@@ -1,32 +1,38 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import inspect
-from typing import Any, Awaitable, Callable, List, Mapping, Sequence, TypeVar, get_type_hints
+from typing import Any, Awaitable, Callable, List, Mapping, Protocol, Sequence, TypeVar, get_type_hints
+
+from autogen_core.base._serialization import try_get_known_serializers_for_type
+from autogen_core.base._subscription_context import SubscriptionInstantiationContext
 
 from ..base import (
-    Agent,
     AgentId,
     AgentInstantiationContext,
     AgentMetadata,
     AgentRuntime,
     AgentType,
+    BaseAgent,
+    CancellationToken,
     MessageContext,
     Subscription,
-    SubscriptionInstantiationContext,
-    try_get_known_serializers_for_type,
+    TopicId,
 )
 from ..base._type_helpers import get_types
 from ..base.exceptions import CantHandleException
 
 T = TypeVar("T")
+ClosureAgentType = TypeVar("ClosureAgentType", bound="ClosureAgent")
 
 
 def get_handled_types_from_closure(
-    closure: Callable[[AgentRuntime, AgentId, T, MessageContext], Awaitable[Any]],
+    closure: Callable[[ClosureAgent, T, MessageContext], Awaitable[Any]],
 ) -> Sequence[type]:
     args = inspect.getfullargspec(closure)[0]
-    if len(args) != 4:
+    if len(args) != 3:
         raise AssertionError("Closure must have 4 arguments")
 
-    message_arg_name = args[2]
+    message_arg_name = args[1]
 
     type_hints = get_type_hints(closure)
 
@@ -47,9 +53,30 @@ def get_handled_types_from_closure(
     return target_types
 
 
-class ClosureAgent(Agent):
+class ClosureContext(Protocol):
+    @property
+    def id(self) -> AgentId: ...
+
+    async def send_message(
+        self,
+        message: Any,
+        recipient: AgentId,
+        *,
+        cancellation_token: CancellationToken | None = None,
+    ) -> Any: ...
+
+    async def publish_message(
+        self,
+        message: Any,
+        topic_id: TopicId,
+        *,
+        cancellation_token: CancellationToken | None = None,
+    ) -> None: ...
+
+
+class ClosureAgent(BaseAgent, ClosureContext):
     def __init__(
-        self, description: str, closure: Callable[[AgentRuntime, AgentId, T, MessageContext], Awaitable[Any]]
+        self, description: str, closure: Callable[[ClosureContext, T, MessageContext], Awaitable[Any]]
     ) -> None:
         try:
             runtime = AgentInstantiationContext.current_runtime()
@@ -65,6 +92,7 @@ def __init__(
         handled_types = get_handled_types_from_closure(closure)
         self._expected_types = handled_types
         self._closure = closure
+        super().__init__(description)
 
     @property
     def metadata(self) -> AgentMetadata:
@@ -88,7 +116,7 @@ async def on_message(self, message: Any, ctx: MessageContext) -> Any:
             raise CantHandleException(
                 f"Message type {type(message)} not in target types {self._expected_types} of {self.id}"
             )
-        return await self._closure(self._runtime, self._id, message, ctx)
+        return await self._closure(self, message, ctx)
 
     async def save_state(self) -> Mapping[str, Any]:
         raise ValueError("save_state not implemented for ClosureAgent")
@@ -97,16 +125,28 @@ async def load_state(self, state: Mapping[str, Any]) -> None:
         raise ValueError("load_state not implemented for ClosureAgent")
 
     @classmethod
-    async def register(
+    async def register_closure(
         cls,
         runtime: AgentRuntime,
         type: str,
-        closure: Callable[[AgentRuntime, AgentId, T, MessageContext], Awaitable[Any]],
+        closure: Callable[[ClosureContext, T, MessageContext], Awaitable[Any]],
         *,
+        skip_class_subscriptions: bool = False,
+        skip_direct_message_subscription: bool = False,
         description: str = "",
         subscriptions: Callable[[], list[Subscription] | Awaitable[list[Subscription]]] | None = None,
     ) -> AgentType:
-        agent_type = AgentType(type)
+        def factory() -> ClosureAgent:
+            return ClosureAgent(description=description, closure=closure)
+
+        agent_type = await cls.register(
+            runtime=runtime,
+            type=type,
+            factory=factory,  # type: ignore
+            skip_class_subscriptions=skip_class_subscriptions,
+            skip_direct_message_subscription=skip_direct_message_subscription,
+        )
+
         subscriptions_list: List[Subscription] = []
         if subscriptions is not None:
             with SubscriptionInstantiationContext.populate_context(agent_type):
@@ -117,11 +157,6 @@ async def register(
                     # just ignore mypy here
                     subscriptions_list.extend(subscriptions_list_result)  # type: ignore
 
-        agent_type = await runtime.register_factory(
-            type=agent_type,
-            agent_factory=lambda: ClosureAgent(description=description, closure=closure),
-            expected_class=cls,
-        )
         for subscription in subscriptions_list:
             await runtime.add_subscription(subscription)
 
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_cancellation.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_cancellation.py
index d971ef50fc3..67852636f6b 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_cancellation.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_cancellation.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ async def on_new_message(self, message: MessageType, ctx: MessageContext) -> Mes
 async def test_cancellation_with_token() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
 
-    await runtime.register("long_running", LongRunningAgent)
+    await LongRunningAgent.register(runtime, "long_running", LongRunningAgent)
     agent_id = AgentId("long_running", key="default")
     token = CancellationToken()
     response = asyncio.create_task(runtime.send_message(MessageType(), recipient=agent_id, cancellation_token=token))
@@ -85,8 +85,9 @@ async def test_cancellation_with_token() -> None:
 async def test_nested_cancellation_only_outer_called() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
 
-    await runtime.register("long_running", LongRunningAgent)
-    await runtime.register(
+    await LongRunningAgent.register(runtime, "long_running", LongRunningAgent)
+    await NestingLongRunningAgent.register(
+        runtime,
         "nested",
         lambda: NestingLongRunningAgent(AgentId("long_running", key=AgentInstantiationContext.current_agent_id().key)),
     )
@@ -119,8 +120,9 @@ async def test_nested_cancellation_only_outer_called() -> None:
 async def test_nested_cancellation_inner_called() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
 
-    await runtime.register("long_running", LongRunningAgent)
-    await runtime.register(
+    await LongRunningAgent.register(runtime, "long_running", LongRunningAgent)
+    await NestingLongRunningAgent.register(
+        runtime,
         "nested",
         lambda: NestingLongRunningAgent(AgentId("long_running", key=AgentInstantiationContext.current_agent_id().key)),
     )
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_closure_agent.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_closure_agent.py
index a8731bca3b8..328fe237434 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_closure_agent.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_closure_agent.py
@@ -3,9 +3,8 @@
 
 import pytest
 from autogen_core.application import SingleThreadedAgentRuntime
-from autogen_core.base import AgentId, AgentRuntime, MessageContext
-from autogen_core.components import ClosureAgent, DefaultSubscription
-from autogen_core.components._default_topic import DefaultTopicId
+from autogen_core.base import MessageContext
+from autogen_core.components import ClosureAgent, ClosureContext, DefaultSubscription, DefaultTopicId
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -19,11 +18,11 @@ async def test_register_receives_publish() -> None:
 
     queue = asyncio.Queue[tuple[str, str]]()
 
-    async def log_message(_runtime: AgentRuntime, id: AgentId, message: Message, ctx: MessageContext) -> None:
-        key = id.key
+    async def log_message(closure_ctx: ClosureContext, message: Message, ctx: MessageContext) -> None:
+        key = closure_ctx.id.key
         await queue.put((key, message.content))
 
-    await ClosureAgent.register(runtime, "name", log_message, subscriptions=lambda: [DefaultSubscription()])
+    await ClosureAgent.register_closure(runtime, "name", log_message, subscriptions=lambda: [DefaultSubscription()])
     runtime.start()
 
     await runtime.publish_message(Message("first message"), topic_id=DefaultTopicId())
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_intervention.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_intervention.py
index 6b3d18c7e0a..105df32988b 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_intervention.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_intervention.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ async def on_send(self, message: MessageType, *, sender: AgentId | None, recipie
 
     handler = DebugInterventionHandler()
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime(intervention_handlers=[handler])
-    await runtime.register("name", LoopbackAgent)
+    await LoopbackAgent.register(runtime, "name", LoopbackAgent)
     loopback = AgentId("name", key="default")
     runtime.start()
 
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ async def on_send(
     handler = DropSendInterventionHandler()
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime(intervention_handlers=[handler])
 
-    await runtime.register("name", LoopbackAgent)
+    await LoopbackAgent.register(runtime, "name", LoopbackAgent)
     loopback = AgentId("name", key="default")
     runtime.start()
 
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ async def on_response(
     handler = DropResponseInterventionHandler()
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime(intervention_handlers=[handler])
 
-    await runtime.register("name", LoopbackAgent)
+    await LoopbackAgent.register(runtime, "name", LoopbackAgent)
     loopback = AgentId("name", key="default")
     runtime.start()
 
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ async def on_send(
     handler = ExceptionInterventionHandler()
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime(intervention_handlers=[handler])
 
-    await runtime.register("name", LoopbackAgent)
+    await LoopbackAgent.register(runtime, "name", LoopbackAgent)
     loopback = AgentId("name", key="default")
     runtime.start()
 
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ async def on_response(
     handler = ExceptionInterventionHandler()
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime(intervention_handlers=[handler])
 
-    await runtime.register("name", LoopbackAgent)
+    await LoopbackAgent.register(runtime, "name", LoopbackAgent)
     loopback = AgentId("name", key="default")
     runtime.start()
     with pytest.raises(InterventionException):
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_routed_agent.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_routed_agent.py
index 8da5bf6073f..cab1b1d467f 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_routed_agent.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_routed_agent.py
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ async def on_broadcast_message(self, message: MessageType, ctx: MessageContext)
 async def test_routed_agent(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
     with caplog.at_level(logging.INFO):
-        await runtime.register("loopback", LoopbackAgent, lambda: [TypeSubscription("default", "loopback")])
+        await LoopbackAgent.register(runtime, "loopback", LoopbackAgent)
+        await runtime.add_subscription(TypeSubscription("default", "loopback"))
         runtime.start()
         await runtime.publish_message(UnhandledMessageType(), topic_id=TopicId("default", "default"))
         await runtime.stop_when_idle()
@@ -47,7 +48,8 @@ async def test_routed_agent(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_message_handler_router() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-    await runtime.register("counter", CounterAgent, lambda: [TypeSubscription("default", "counter")])
+    await CounterAgent.register(runtime, "counter", CounterAgent)
+    await runtime.add_subscription(TypeSubscription("default", "counter"))
     agent_id = AgentId(type="counter", key="default")
 
     # Send a broadcast message.
@@ -94,7 +96,7 @@ async def handler_two(self, message: TestMessage, ctx: MessageContext) -> None:
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_routed_agent_message_matching() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-    await runtime.register("message_match", RoutedAgentMessageCustomMatch)
+    await RoutedAgentMessageCustomMatch.register(runtime, "message_match", RoutedAgentMessageCustomMatch)
     agent_id = AgentId(type="message_match", key="default")
 
     agent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(agent_id, type=RoutedAgentMessageCustomMatch)
@@ -134,7 +136,8 @@ async def on_event_two(self, message: TestMessage, ctx: MessageContext) -> None:
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_event() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-    await runtime.register("counter", EventAgent, lambda: [TypeSubscription("default", "counter")])
+    await EventAgent.register(runtime, "counter", EventAgent)
+    await runtime.add_subscription(TypeSubscription("default", "counter"))
     agent_id = AgentId(type="counter", key="default")
 
     # Send a broadcast message.
@@ -181,7 +184,8 @@ async def on_rpc_two(self, message: TestMessage, ctx: MessageContext) -> TestMes
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_rpc() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-    await runtime.register("counter", RPCAgent, lambda: [TypeSubscription("default", "counter")])
+    await RPCAgent.register(runtime, "counter", RPCAgent)
+    await runtime.add_subscription(TypeSubscription("default", "counter"))
     agent_id = AgentId(type="counter", key="default")
 
     # Send an RPC message.
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_runtime.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_runtime.py
index 0f56e42a7e0..b327be1461e 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_runtime.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_runtime.py
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import asyncio
 import logging
 
 import pytest
@@ -7,16 +6,10 @@
     AgentId,
     AgentInstantiationContext,
     AgentType,
-    Subscription,
-    SubscriptionInstantiationContext,
     TopicId,
     try_get_known_serializers_for_type,
 )
-from autogen_core.components import (
-    DefaultTopicId,
-    TypeSubscription,
-    type_subscription,
-)
+from autogen_core.components import DefaultTopicId, TypeSubscription, type_subscription
 from opentelemetry.sdk.trace import TracerProvider
 from test_utils import (
     CascadingAgent,
@@ -146,82 +139,9 @@ async def test_register_receives_publish_cascade() -> None:
 async def test_register_factory_explicit_name() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
 
-    await runtime.register("name", LoopbackAgent, lambda: [TypeSubscription("default", "name")])
-    runtime.start()
-    agent_id = AgentId("name", key="default")
-    topic_id = TopicId("default", "default")
-    await runtime.publish_message(MessageType(), topic_id=topic_id)
-
-    await runtime.stop_when_idle()
-
-    # Agent in default namespace should have received the message
-    long_running_agent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(agent_id, type=LoopbackAgent)
-    assert long_running_agent.num_calls == 1
-
-    # Agent in other namespace should not have received the message
-    other_long_running_agent: LoopbackAgent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(
-        AgentId("name", key="other"), type=LoopbackAgent
-    )
-    assert other_long_running_agent.num_calls == 0
-
-
-@pytest.mark.asyncio
-async def test_register_factory_context_var_name() -> None:
-    runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-
-    await runtime.register(
-        "name", LoopbackAgent, lambda: [TypeSubscription("default", SubscriptionInstantiationContext.agent_type().type)]
-    )
-    runtime.start()
-    agent_id = AgentId("name", key="default")
-    topic_id = TopicId("default", "default")
-    await runtime.publish_message(MessageType(), topic_id=topic_id)
-
-    await runtime.stop_when_idle()
-
-    # Agent in default namespace should have received the message
-    long_running_agent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(agent_id, type=LoopbackAgent)
-    assert long_running_agent.num_calls == 1
-
-    # Agent in other namespace should not have received the message
-    other_long_running_agent: LoopbackAgent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(
-        AgentId("name", key="other"), type=LoopbackAgent
-    )
-    assert other_long_running_agent.num_calls == 0
-
-
-@pytest.mark.asyncio
-async def test_register_factory_async() -> None:
-    runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-
-    async def sub_factory() -> list[Subscription]:
-        await asyncio.sleep(0.1)
-        return [TypeSubscription("default", SubscriptionInstantiationContext.agent_type().type)]
-
-    await runtime.register("name", LoopbackAgent, sub_factory)
-    runtime.start()
-    agent_id = AgentId("name", key="default")
-    topic_id = TopicId("default", "default")
-    await runtime.publish_message(MessageType(), topic_id=topic_id)
-
-    await runtime.stop_when_idle()
-
-    # Agent in default namespace should have received the message
-    long_running_agent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(agent_id, type=LoopbackAgent)
-    assert long_running_agent.num_calls == 1
-
-    # Agent in other namespace should not have received the message
-    other_long_running_agent: LoopbackAgent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(
-        AgentId("name", key="other"), type=LoopbackAgent
-    )
-    assert other_long_running_agent.num_calls == 0
-
-
-@pytest.mark.asyncio
-async def test_register_factory_direct_list() -> None:
-    runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
+    await LoopbackAgent.register(runtime, "name", LoopbackAgent)
+    await runtime.add_subscription(TypeSubscription("default", "name"))
 
-    await runtime.register("name", LoopbackAgent, [TypeSubscription("default", "name")])
     runtime.start()
     agent_id = AgentId("name", key="default")
     topic_id = TopicId("default", "default")
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_state.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_state.py
index 5d68447365f..7120a9baab4 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_state.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_state.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ async def load_state(self, state: Mapping[str, Any]) -> None:
 async def test_agent_can_save_state() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
 
-    await runtime.register("name1", StatefulAgent)
+    await StatefulAgent.register(runtime, "name1", StatefulAgent)
     agent1_id = AgentId("name1", key="default")
     agent1: StatefulAgent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(agent1_id, type=StatefulAgent)
     assert agent1.state == 0
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ async def test_agent_can_save_state() -> None:
 async def test_runtime_can_save_state() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
 
-    await runtime.register("name1", StatefulAgent)
+    await StatefulAgent.register(runtime, "name1", StatefulAgent)
     agent1_id = AgentId("name1", key="default")
     agent1: StatefulAgent = await runtime.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(agent1_id, type=StatefulAgent)
     assert agent1.state == 0
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ async def test_runtime_can_save_state() -> None:
     runtime_state = await runtime.save_state()
 
     runtime2 = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-    await runtime2.register("name1", StatefulAgent)
+    await StatefulAgent.register(runtime2, "name1", StatefulAgent)
     agent2_id = AgentId("name1", key="default")
     agent2: StatefulAgent = await runtime2.try_get_underlying_agent_instance(agent2_id, type=StatefulAgent)
 
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_subscription.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_subscription.py
index c339d549be5..91223acbbc8 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_subscription.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_subscription.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ def test_type_subscription_map() -> None:
 async def test_non_default_default_subscription() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
 
-    await runtime.register("MyAgent", LoopbackAgent)
+    await LoopbackAgent.register(runtime, "MyAgent", LoopbackAgent, skip_class_subscriptions=True)
     runtime.start()
     await runtime.publish_message(MessageType(), topic_id=DefaultTopicId())
     await runtime.stop_when_idle()
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_tool_agent.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_tool_agent.py
index 6184e9c78c8..bdbd3b96b72 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_tool_agent.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_tool_agent.py
@@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ async def _async_sleep_function(input: str) -> str:
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_tool_agent() -> None:
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-    await runtime.register(
+    await ToolAgent.register(
+        runtime,
         "tool_agent",
         lambda: ToolAgent(
             description="Tool agent",
@@ -143,7 +144,8 @@ def capabilities(self) -> ModelCapabilities:
     client = MockChatCompletionClient()
     tools: List[Tool] = [FunctionTool(_pass_function, name="pass", description="Pass function")]
     runtime = SingleThreadedAgentRuntime()
-    await runtime.register(
+    await ToolAgent.register(
+        runtime,
         "tool_agent",
         lambda: ToolAgent(
             description="Tool agent",