agents

@ai-sdk-tools/agents

Multi-agent orchestration for AI SDK v5. Build intelligent workflows with specialized agents, automatic handoffs, and seamless coordination. Works with any AI provider.

npm install @ai-sdk-tools/agents ai zod

Why Multi-Agent Systems?

Complex tasks benefit from specialized expertise. Instead of a single model handling everything, break work into focused agents:

Customer Support: Triage → Technical Support → Billing
Content Pipeline: Research → Writing → Editing → Publishing
Code Development: Planning → Implementation → Testing → Documentation
Data Analysis: Collection → Processing → Visualization → Insights

Benefits

• Specialization - Each agent focuses on its domain with optimized instructions and tools
• Context Preservation - Full conversation history maintained across handoffs
• Provider Flexibility - Use different models for different tasks (GPT-4 for analysis, Claude for writing)
• Programmatic Routing - Pattern matching and automatic agent selection
• Production Ready - Built on AI SDK v5 with streaming, error handling, and observability

When to Use Agents

Use multi-agent systems when:

• Tasks require distinct expertise (technical vs. creative vs. analytical)
• Workflow has clear stages that could be handled independently
• Different models excel at different parts of the task
• You need better control over specialized behavior

Use single model when:

• Task is straightforward and can be handled by general instructions
• No clear separation of concerns
• Response time is critical (multi-agent adds orchestration overhead)

Core Concepts

Agent

An AI with specialized instructions, tools, and optional context. Each agent is configured with a language model and system prompt tailored to its role.

Memory & Conversation History

Agents automatically load conversation history from storage when memory is enabled. This creates a clean separation of concerns:

• Frontend: Sends only the new user message
• Backend: Loads conversation history from storage
• Storage: Single source of truth for all conversations

This approach:

• Reduces network payload (no need to send full history)
• Provides consistent context across requests
• Enables server-side control of context window size via lastMessages config
• Integrates seamlessly with @ai-sdk-tools/memory providers

Handoffs

Agents can transfer control to other agents while preserving conversation context. Handoffs include the reason for transfer and any relevant context.

Enhanced Context Management: The system now supports OpenAI-style context filtering during handoffs, allowing you to control exactly what information is passed between agents using HandoffInputFilter functions.

Orchestration

Automatic routing between agents based on:

• Programmatic matching: Pattern-based routing with matchOn
• LLM-based routing: The orchestrator agent decides which specialist to invoke
• Hybrid: Combine both for optimal performance

Enhanced Features (v0.3.0+)

Context Management & Handoff Filtering

The package now includes OpenAI-style context management with AgentRunContext and HandoffInputFilter support:

import { Agent, handoff, removeAllTools, keepLastNMessages } from '@ai-sdk-tools/agents';

// Configure handoffs with context filtering
const specialist = new Agent({
  name: 'Specialist',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Specialized instructions...',
});

const orchestrator = new Agent({
  name: 'Orchestrator',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Route to specialists...',
  handoffs: [
    // Remove all tool calls when handing off
    handoff(specialist, {
      inputFilter: removeAllTools,
      onHandoff: async (runContext) => {
        console.log('Handing off to specialist');
      },
    }),
    // Keep only last 10 messages for context windowing
    handoff(anotherSpecialist, {
      inputFilter: keepLastNMessages(10),
    }),
  ],
});

Agent Communication During Handoffs

Agents automatically share context through conversationMessages during handoffs. No separate tools needed.

Working Memory

Working memory automatically loads and provides update capability when enabled:

const agent = createAgent({
  memory: {
    workingMemory: { 
      enabled: true,
      scope: 'user', // Persists across all chats for this user
      template: 'Custom template...'
    }
  }
});

When enabled:

• Working memory loads automatically into system instructions
• Agent gets updateWorkingMemory tool to update preferences/context
• Updates persist in storage via the memory provider

Pre-built Handoff Filters

• removeAllTools() - Remove all tool-related messages
• keepLastNMessages(n) - Keep only the last N messages for context windowing

Quick Start

Basic: Single Agent

import { Agent } from '@ai-sdk-tools/agents';
import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai';

const agent = new Agent({
  name: 'Assistant',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'You are a helpful assistant.',
});

// Generate response
const result = await agent.generate({
  prompt: 'What is 2+2?',
});

console.log(result.text); // "4"

Handoffs: Two Specialists

import { Agent } from '@ai-sdk-tools/agents';
import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai';

// Create specialized agents
const mathAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'Math Tutor',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'You help with math problems. Show step-by-step solutions.',
});

const historyAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'History Tutor',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'You help with history questions. Provide context and dates.',
});

// Create orchestrator with handoff capability
const orchestrator = new Agent({
  name: 'Triage',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Route questions to the appropriate specialist.',
  handoffs: [mathAgent, historyAgent],
});

// LLM decides which specialist to use
const result = await orchestrator.generate({
  prompt: 'What is the quadratic formula?',
});

console.log(`Handled by: ${result.finalAgent}`); // "Math Tutor"
console.log(`Handoffs: ${result.handoffs.length}`); // 1

Orchestration: Auto-Routing

Use programmatic routing for instant agent selection without LLM overhead:

const mathAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'Math Tutor',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'You help with math problems.',
  matchOn: ['calculate', 'math', 'equation', /\d+\s*[\+\-\*\/]\s*\d+/],
});

const historyAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'History Tutor',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'You help with history questions.',
  matchOn: ['history', 'war', 'civilization', /\d{4}/], // Years
});

const orchestrator = new Agent({
  name: 'Smart Router',
  model: openai('gpt-4o-mini'), // Efficient for routing
  instructions: 'Route to specialists. Fall back to handling general questions.',
  handoffs: [mathAgent, historyAgent],
});

// Automatically routes to mathAgent based on pattern match
const result = await orchestrator.generate({
  prompt: 'What is 15 * 23?',
});

Advanced Patterns

Streaming with UI

For Next.js route handlers and real-time UI updates:

// app/api/chat/route.ts
import { Agent } from '@ai-sdk-tools/agents';
import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai';

const supportAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'Support',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Handle customer support inquiries.',
  handoffs: [technicalAgent, billingAgent],
});

export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const { message, chatId } = await req.json();

  return supportAgent.toUIMessageStream({
    message, // Only pass the new user message
    context: { chatId }, // Storage will provide conversation history
    maxRounds: 5, // Max handoffs
    maxSteps: 10, // Max tool calls per agent
    onEvent: async (event) => {
      if (event.type === 'agent-handoff') {
        console.log(`Handoff: ${event.from} → ${event.to}`);
      }
    },
  });
}

Tools and Context

import { tool } from 'ai';
import { z } from 'zod';

const calculatorTool = tool({
  description: 'Perform calculations',
  parameters: z.object({
    expression: z.string(),
  }),
  execute: async ({ expression }) => {
    return eval(expression); // Use safe-eval in production
  },
});

const agent = new Agent({
  name: 'Calculator Agent',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Help with math using the calculator tool.',
  tools: {
    calculator: calculatorTool,
  },
  maxTurns: 20, // Max tool call iterations
});

Context-Aware Agents

Use typed context for team/user-specific behavior:

interface TeamContext {
  teamId: string;
  userId: string;
  preferences: Record<string, string>;
}

const agent = new Agent<TeamContext>({
  name: 'Team Assistant',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: (context) => {
    return `You are helping team ${context.teamId}. 
    User preferences: ${JSON.stringify(context.preferences)}`;
  },
});

// Pass context when streaming
agent.toUIMessageStream({
  message: userMessage, // New user message
  context: {
    teamId: 'team-123',
    userId: 'user-456',
    chatId: 'chat-789', // For conversation history
    preferences: { theme: 'dark', language: 'en' },
  },
});

Custom Routing Function

const expertAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'Expert',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Handle complex technical questions.',
  matchOn: (message) => {
    const complexity = calculateComplexity(message);
    return complexity > 0.7;
  },
});

Multi-Provider Setup

Use the best model for each task:

import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai';
import { anthropic } from '@ai-sdk/anthropic';
import { google } from '@ai-sdk/google';

const researchAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'Researcher',
  model: anthropic('claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022'), // Excellent reasoning
  instructions: 'Research topics thoroughly.',
});

const writerAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'Writer',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'), // Great at creative writing
  instructions: 'Create engaging content.',
});

const editorAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'Editor',
  model: google('gemini-1.5-pro'), // Strong at review
  instructions: 'Review and improve content.',
  handoffs: [writerAgent], // Can send back for rewrites
});

const pipeline = new Agent({
  name: 'Content Manager',
  model: openai('gpt-4o-mini'), // Efficient orchestrator
  instructions: 'Coordinate content creation.',
  handoffs: [researchAgent, writerAgent, editorAgent],
});

Guardrails

Control agent behavior with input/output validation:

const agent = new Agent({
  name: 'Moderated Agent',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Answer questions helpfully.',
  inputGuardrails: [
    async (input) => {
      if (containsProfanity(input)) {
        return { 
          pass: false, 
          action: 'block',
          message: 'Input violates content policy',
        };
      }
      return { pass: true };
    },
  ],
  outputGuardrails: [
    async (output) => {
      if (containsSensitiveInfo(output)) {
        return { 
          pass: false, 
          action: 'modify',
          modifiedOutput: redactSensitiveInfo(output),
        };
      }
      return { pass: true };
    },
  ],
});

Tool Permissions

Control which tools agents can access:

const agent = new Agent({
  name: 'Restricted Agent',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Help with tasks.',
  tools: {
    readData: readDataTool,
    writeData: writeDataTool,
    deleteData: deleteDataTool,
  },
  permissions: {
    allowed: ['readData', 'writeData'], // deleteData blocked
    maxCallsPerTool: {
      writeData: 5, // Limit writes
    },
  },
});

Complex Multi-Agent Example

Here's a real-world example: determining if a user can afford a Tesla Model Y by combining web research and financial analysis:

import { Agent, handoff, removeAllTools, keepLastNMessages } from '@ai-sdk-tools/agents';
import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai';

// Research Specialist - gathers current product information
const researchSpecialist = new Agent({
  name: 'Research Specialist',
  model: openai('gpt-4o-mini'),
  instructions: `You research current product information and pricing.
Provide detailed findings for other agents.`,
  tools: {
    webSearch: webSearchTool,
  },
});

// Financial Analyst - evaluates affordability
const financialAnalyst = new Agent({
  name: 'Financial Analyst', 
  model: openai('gpt-4o-mini'),
  instructions: `You analyze financial affordability based on user data and research.
Use previous conversation context to provide comprehensive analysis.`,
  tools: {
    getFinancialData: getFinancialDataTool,
  },
});

// Main Assistant with configured handoffs
const assistant = new Agent({
  name: 'Assistant',
  model: openai('gpt-4o-mini'),
  instructions: `Help users determine if they can afford major purchases.
Coordinate research and financial analysis for comprehensive answers.`,
  handoffs: [
    // Research first, remove tool calls to keep context clean
    handoff(researchSpecialist, {
      inputFilter: removeAllTools,
    }),
    // Then financial analysis, keep recent context
    handoff(financialAnalyst, {
      inputFilter: keepLastNMessages(10),
    }),
  ],
});

// Usage: "Can I afford a Tesla Model Y?"
// 1. Assistant → Research Specialist (searches for Tesla pricing)
// 2. Research Specialist → Financial Analyst (reads pricing, gets user's financial data)
// 3. Financial Analyst provides comprehensive affordability analysis

API Reference

Agent Class

class Agent<TContext extends Record<string, unknown> = Record<string, unknown>>

Constructor Options:

• name: string - Unique agent identifier
• model: LanguageModel - AI SDK language model
• instructions: string | ((context: TContext) => string) - System prompt
• tools?: Record<string, Tool> - Available tools
• handoffs?: Agent[] - Agents this agent can hand off to
• maxTurns?: number - Maximum tool call iterations (default: 10)
• temperature?: number - Model temperature
• matchOn?: (string | RegExp)[] | ((message: string) => boolean) - Routing patterns
• onEvent?: (event: AgentEvent) => void - Lifecycle event handler
• inputGuardrails?: InputGuardrail[] - Pre-execution validation
• outputGuardrails?: OutputGuardrail[] - Post-execution validation
• permissions?: ToolPermissions - Tool access control

Methods:

// Generate response (non-streaming)
async generate(options: {
  prompt: string;
  messages?: ModelMessage[];
}): Promise<AgentGenerateResult>

// Stream response (AI SDK stream)
stream(options: {
  prompt?: string;
  messages?: ModelMessage[];
}): AgentStreamResult

// Stream as UI messages (Next.js route handler)
toUIMessageStream(options: {
  message: UIMessage; // New user message - history loaded from storage
  strategy?: 'auto' | 'manual';
  maxRounds?: number;
  maxSteps?: number;
  context?: TContext;
  onEvent?: (event: AgentEvent) => void;
  beforeStream?: (ctx: { writer: UIMessageStreamWriter }) => boolean | Promise<boolean>;
  // ... AI SDK stream options
}): Response

// Get handoff agents
getHandoffs(): Agent[]

Utility Functions

// Create handoff instruction
createHandoff(
  targetAgent: string,
  context?: string,
  reason?: string
): HandoffInstruction

// Check if result is handoff
isHandoffResult(result: unknown): result is HandoffInstruction

// Create handoff tool for AI SDK
createHandoffTool(agents: Agent[]): Tool

// Create configured handoff with filtering
handoff<TContext>(agent: Agent<TContext>, config?: HandoffConfig<TContext>): ConfiguredHandoff<TContext>

// Get transfer message for handoff
getTransferMessage<TContext>(agent: Agent<TContext>): string

Handoff Filters

// Remove all tool-related messages
removeAllTools(data: HandoffInputData): HandoffInputData

// Keep only last N messages
keepLastNMessages(n: number): HandoffInputFilter

Context Management

// Run context for workflow state
class AgentRunContext<TContext = Record<string, unknown>> {
  context: TContext;
  metadata: Record<string, unknown>;
  constructor(context?: TContext);
  toJSON(): object;
}

// Execution context
createExecutionContext<T>(options: {
  context?: T;
  writer?: UIMessageStreamWriter;
  metadata?: Record<string, unknown>;
}): ExecutionContext<T>

// Routing utilities
matchAgent(message: string, agents: Agent[]): Agent | null
findBestMatch(message: string, agents: Agent[]): Agent | null

// Streaming utilities
writeAgentStatus(writer: UIMessageStreamWriter, status: {
  status: 'executing' | 'routing' | 'completing';
  agent: string;
}): void

Event Types

type AgentEvent =
  | { type: 'agent-start'; agent: string; round: number }
  | { type: 'agent-step'; agent: string; step: StepResult }
  | { type: 'agent-finish'; agent: string; round: number }
  | { type: 'agent-handoff'; from: string; to: string; reason?: string }
  | { type: 'agent-complete'; totalRounds: number }
  | { type: 'agent-error'; error: Error }

Integration with Other Packages

With @ai-sdk-tools/cache

Cache expensive tool calls across agents:

import { createCached } from '@ai-sdk-tools/cache';
import { Redis } from '@upstash/redis';

const cached = createCached({ cache: Redis.fromEnv() });

const agent = new Agent({
  name: 'Data Agent',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Analyze data.',
  tools: {
    analyze: cached(expensiveAnalysisTool),
  },
});

With @ai-sdk-tools/artifacts

Stream structured artifacts from agents:

import { artifact } from '@ai-sdk-tools/artifacts';
import { tool } from 'ai';
import { z } from 'zod';

const ReportArtifact = artifact('report', z.object({
  title: z.string(),
  sections: z.array(z.object({
    heading: z.string(),
    content: z.string(),
  })),
}));

const reportAgent = new Agent({
  name: 'Report Generator',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Generate structured reports.',
  tools: {
    createReport: tool({
      description: 'Create a report',
      parameters: z.object({
        title: z.string(),
      }),
      execute: async function* ({ title }) {
        const report = ReportArtifact.stream({ title, sections: [] });
        
        yield { text: 'Generating report...' };
        
        await report.update({ 
          sections: [{ heading: 'Introduction', content: '...' }],
        });
        
        yield { text: 'Report complete', forceStop: true };
      },
    }),
  },
});

With @ai-sdk-tools/devtools

Debug agent execution in development:

import { AIDevTools } from '@ai-sdk-tools/devtools';

const agent = new Agent({
  name: 'Debug Agent',
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  instructions: 'Test agent.',
  onEvent: (event) => {
    console.log('[Agent Event]', event);
  },
});

// In your app
export default function App() {
  return (
    <>
      <YourChatInterface />
      <AIDevTools />
    </>
  );
}

Examples

Real-world implementations in /apps/example/src/ai/agents/:

• Triage Agent - Route customer questions to specialists
• Financial Agent - Multi-step analysis with artifacts
• Code Review - Analyze → Test → Document workflow
• Multi-Provider - Use different models for different tasks

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See the contributing guide for details.

License

MIT