
deep-agents-orchestration
โ 108by langchain-ai ยท part of langchain-ai/skills-benchmarks
INVOKE THIS SKILL when using subagents, task planning, or human approval in Deep Agents. Covers SubAgentMiddleware, TodoList for planning, and HITL interrupts.
This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates โ you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.
- SubAgentMiddleware: Delegate work via
tasktool to specialized agents - TodoListMiddleware: Plan and track tasks via
write_todostool - HumanInTheLoopMiddleware: Require approval before sensitive operations
All three are automatically included in create_deep_agent().
Subagents (Task Delegation)
| Use Subagents When | Use Main Agent When |
|---|---|
| Task needs specialized tools | General-purpose tools sufficient |
| Want to isolate complex work | Single-step operation |
| Need clean context for main agent | Context bloat acceptable |
Default subagent: "general-purpose" - automatically available with same tools/config as main agent.
Create a custom "researcher" subagent with specialized tools for academic paper search. ```python from deepagents import create_deep_agent from langchain.tools import tool@tool def search_papers(query: str) -> str: """Search academic papers.""" return f"Found 10 papers about {query}"
agent = create_deep_agent( subagents=[ { "name": "researcher", "description": "Conduct web research and compile findings", "system_prompt": "Search thoroughly, return concise summary", "tools": [search_papers], } ] )
Main agent delegates: task(agent="researcher", instruction="Research AI trends")
</python>
<typescript>
Create a custom "researcher" subagent with specialized tools for academic paper search.
```typescript
import { createDeepAgent } from "deepagents";
import { tool } from "@langchain/core/tools";
import { z } from "zod";
const searchPapers = tool(
async ({ query }) => `Found 10 papers about ${query}`,
{ name: "search_papers", description: "Search papers", schema: z.object({ query: z.string() }) }
);
const agent = await createDeepAgent({
subagents: [
{
name: "researcher",
description: "Conduct web research and compile findings",
systemPrompt: "Search thoroughly, return concise summary",
tools: [searchPapers],
}
]
});
// Main agent delegates: task(agent="researcher", instruction="Research AI trends")builder = StateGraph(MessagesState)
... add nodes/edges ...
graph = builder.compile()
agent = create_deep_agent( subagents=[ CompiledSubAgent( name="my-graph", description="Run the custom LangGraph workflow", runnable=graph, # Must be a compiled graph; state must have "messages" key ) ] )
</python>
</ex-compiledsubagent>
<ex-subagent-with-hitl>
<python>
Configure a subagent with HITL approval for sensitive operations.
```python
from deepagents import create_deep_agent
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
agent = create_deep_agent(
subagents=[
{
"name": "code-deployer",
"description": "Deploy code to production",
"system_prompt": "You deploy code after tests pass.",
"tools": [run_tests, deploy_to_prod],
"interrupt_on": {"deploy_to_prod": True}, # Require approval
}
],
checkpointer=MemorySaver() # Required for interrupts
)CORRECT: Complete instructions upfront
task(agent='research', instruction='Find data on AI, save to /research/, return summary')
</python>
<typescript>
Subagents are stateless - provide complete instructions in a single call.
```typescript
// WRONG: Subagents don't remember previous calls
// task research: Find data
// task research: What did you find? // Starts fresh!
// CORRECT: Complete instructions upfront
// task research: Find data on AI, save to /research/, return summaryCORRECT: Provide skills explicitly (general-purpose subagent DOES inherit)
agent = create_deep_agent( skills=["/main-skills/"], subagents=[{"name": "helper", "skills": ["/helper-skills/"], ...}] )
</python>
</fix-custom-subagents-dont-inherit-skills>
---
## TodoList (Task Planning)
<when-to-use-todolist>
| Use TodoList When | Skip TodoList When |
|------------------|-------------------|
| Complex multi-step tasks | Simple single-action tasks |
| Long-running operations | Quick operations (< 3 steps) |
</when-to-use-todolist>
<todolist-tool>write_todos(todos: list[dict]) -> None
Each todo item has:
- `content`: Description of the task
- `status`: One of `"pending"`, `"in_progress"`, `"completed"`
</todolist-tool>
<ex-todolist-usage>
<python>
Invoke an agent that automatically creates a todo list for a multi-step task.
```python
from deepagents import create_deep_agent
agent = create_deep_agent() # TodoListMiddleware included by default
result = agent.invoke({
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Create a REST API: design models, implement CRUD, add auth, write tests"}]
}, config={"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}})
# Agent's planning via write_todos:
# [
# {"content": "Design data models", "status": "in_progress"},
# {"content": "Implement CRUD endpoints", "status": "pending"},
# {"content": "Add authentication", "status": "pending"},
# {"content": "Write tests", "status": "pending"}
# ]const agent = await createDeepAgent(); // TodoListMiddleware included
const result = await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Create a REST API: design models, implement CRUD, add auth, write tests" }] }, { configurable: { thread_id: "session-1" } });
</typescript>
</ex-todolist-usage>
<ex-access-todo-state>
<python>
Access the todo list from the agent's final state after invocation.
```python
result = agent.invoke({...}, config={"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}})
# Access todo list from final state
todos = result.get("todos", [])
for todo in todos:
print(f"[{todo['status']}] {todo['content']}")CORRECT: Use thread_id
config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "user-session"}} agent.invoke({"messages": [...]}, config=config) # Todos preserved
</python>
</fix-todolist-requires-thread-id>
---
## Human-in-the-Loop (Approval Workflows)
<when-to-use-hitl>
| Use HITL When | Skip HITL When |
|--------------|---------------|
| High-stakes operations (DB writes, deployments) | Read-only operations |
| Compliance requires human oversight | Fully automated workflows |
</when-to-use-hitl>
<ex-hitl-setup>
<python>
Configure which tools require human approval before execution.
```python
from deepagents import create_deep_agent
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
agent = create_deep_agent(
interrupt_on={
"write_file": True, # All decisions allowed
"execute_sql": {"allowed_decisions": ["approve", "reject"]},
"read_file": False, # No interrupts
},
checkpointer=MemorySaver() # REQUIRED for interrupts
)const agent = await createDeepAgent({ interruptOn: { write_file: true, execute_sql: { allowedDecisions: ["approve", "reject"] }, read_file: false, }, checkpointer: new MemorySaver() // REQUIRED });
</typescript>
</ex-hitl-setup>
<ex-approval-workflow>
<python>
Complete workflow: trigger an interrupt, check state, approve action, and resume execution.
```python
from deepagents import create_deep_agent
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
from langgraph.types import Command
agent = create_deep_agent(
interrupt_on={"write_file": True},
checkpointer=MemorySaver()
)
config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}}
# Step 1: Agent proposes write_file - execution pauses
result = agent.invoke({
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Write config to /prod.yaml"}]
}, config=config)
# Step 2: Check for interrupts
state = agent.get_state(config)
if state.next:
print(f"Pending action")
# Step 3: Approve and resume
result = agent.invoke(Command(resume={"decisions": [{"type": "approve"}]}), config=config)const agent = await createDeepAgent({ interruptOn: { write_file: true }, checkpointer: new MemorySaver() });
const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "session-1" } };
// Step 1: Agent proposes write_file - execution pauses let result = await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Write config to /prod.yaml" }] }, config);
// Step 2: Check for interrupts const state = await agent.getState(config); if (state.next) { console.log("Pending action"); }
// Step 3: Approve and resume result = await agent.invoke( new Command({ resume: { decisions: [{ type: "approve" }] } }), config );
</typescript>
</ex-approval-workflow>
<ex-reject-with-feedback>
<python>
Reject a pending action with feedback, prompting the agent to try a different approach.
```python
result = agent.invoke(
Command(resume={"decisions": [{"type": "reject", "message": "Run tests first"}]}),
config=config,
)- Subagent names, tools, models, system prompts
- Which tools require approval
- Allowed decision types per tool
- TodoList content and structure
What Agents CANNOT Configure
- Tool names (
task,write_todos) - HITL protocol (approve/edit/reject structure)
- Skip checkpointer requirement for interrupts
- Make subagents stateful (they're ephemeral)
CORRECT
agent = create_deep_agent(interrupt_on={"write_file": True}, checkpointer=MemorySaver())
</python>
<typescript>
Checkpointer is required when using interruptOn for HITL workflows.
```typescript
// WRONG
const agent = await createDeepAgent({ interruptOn: { write_file: true } });
// CORRECT
const agent = await createDeepAgent({ interruptOn: { write_file: true }, checkpointer: new MemorySaver() });CORRECT
config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}} agent.invoke({...}, config=config)
Resume with Command using same config
agent.invoke(Command(resume={"decisions": [{"type": "approve"}]}), config=config)
</python>
<typescript>
A consistent thread_id is required to resume interrupted workflows.
```typescript
// WRONG: Can't resume without thread_id
await agent.invoke({ messages: [...] });
// CORRECT
const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "session-1" } };
await agent.invoke({ messages: [...] }, config);
// Resume with Command using same config
await agent.invoke(new Command({ resume: { decisions: [{ type: "approve" }] } }), config);npx skills add langchain-ai/skills-benchmarks --skill "deep-agents-orchestration" --full-depthRun this in your project โ your agent picks the skill up automatically.
No common issues documented yet. If you hit a problem, the repository's GitHub Issues page is the best place to look.
Licensed under MITโ you can use, modify, and redistribute it under that license's terms.
View the full license file on GitHub โ