Agents

An Agent is a configuration object that describes what your AI agent is — its identity, capabilities, and boundaries. Agents don’t execute themselves; they’re run by a Runner.

Your first agent

from afk.agents import Agent

agent = Agent(
    name="assistant",                          # ← Identity (used in logs, telemetry)
    model="gpt-4.1-mini",                      # ← Which LLM to use
    instructions="Be helpful and concise.",     # ← System prompt
)

Those are the fields most examples should set. model is the only required constructor argument, but name and instructions make traces and behavior easier to understand.

Agent fields reference

Field	Type	Default	Purpose
`model`	`str` or `LLM`	required	LLM model name or pre-built client instance
`name`	`str`	`None`	Agent identity for logs, telemetry, and subagent routing
`instructions`	`str`	`None`	System prompt — what the agent knows and how it behaves
`instruction_file`	`str` or `Path`	`None`	Path to a `.txt` or `.md` file containing the system prompt
`prompts_dir`	`str` or `Path`	`None`	Directory containing prompt files resolved by the prompt store
`tools`	`list[tool]`	`None`	Typed functions the agent can call
`subagents`	`list[Agent]`	`None`	Specialist agents this agent can delegate to
`skills`	`list[str]`	`None`	Skill names to resolve from `skills_dir`
`skills_dir`	`str` or `Path`	`".agents/skills"`	Directory containing skill packs
`mcp_servers`	`list[MCPServerLike]`	`None`	MCP server configs for external tool discovery
`fail_safe`	`FailSafeConfig`	defaults	Step limits, cost budgets, timeout, and failure policies
`context_defaults`	`dict`	`None`	Default JSON context merged into each run before caller context
`inherit_context_keys`	`list[str]`	`None`	Context keys inherited from parent agent in delegation
`model_resolver`	`callable`	`None`	Custom function to resolve model names to LLM clients
`instruction_roles`	`list[InstructionRole]`	`None`	Structured instruction sections with role-based ordering
`policy_roles`	`list[PolicyRole]`	`None`	Role-based policy rules applied during execution
`policy_engine`	`PolicyEngine`	`None`	Policy engine for tool/action gating
`subagent_router`	`SubagentRouter`	`None`	Custom routing logic for subagent delegation
`max_steps`	`int`	`20`	Maximum agent loop iterations
`tool_parallelism`	`int`	`None`	Max concurrent tool executions per step
`subagent_parallelism_mode`	`str`	`"configurable"`	How subagent concurrency is managed
`reasoning_enabled`	`bool`	`None`	Enable provider-supported reasoning controls
`reasoning_effort`	`str`	`None`	Thinking effort level (e.g. `"low"`, `"medium"`, `"high"`)
`reasoning_max_tokens`	`int`	`None`	Token budget for extended thinking
`skill_tool_policy`	`SkillToolPolicy`	`None`	Security policy for skill-provided tool execution
`enable_skill_tools`	`bool`	`True`	Whether to expose skill tools to the agent
`enable_mcp_tools`	`bool`	`True`	Whether to expose MCP-discovered tools to the agent
`runner`	`Runner`	`None`	Pre-bound runner instance (advanced usage)

Single agent vs multi-agent

Single agent
Multi-agent

A single agent handles everything. Best for focused tasks.

agent = Agent(
    name="classifier",
    model="gpt-4.1-mini",
    instructions="""
    Classify the input into one of: positive, negative, neutral.
    Output only the label.
    """,
)

result = runner.run_sync(agent, user_message="I love this product!")
print(result.final_text)  # "positive"

Use when: The task is well-defined and doesn’t need specialized sub-expertise.

A coordinator delegates to specialist subagents.

researcher = Agent(
    name="researcher",
    model="gpt-4.1-mini",
    instructions="Find relevant facts. Be thorough.",
)

writer = Agent(
    name="writer",
    model="gpt-4.1-mini",
    instructions="Write clear, concise summaries.",
)

coordinator = Agent(
    name="coordinator",
    model="gpt-4.1-mini",
    instructions="""
    You manage a team:
    - Delegate research to 'researcher'
    - Delegate writing to 'writer'
    Combine outputs into a final response.
    """,
    subagents=[researcher, writer],
)

Use when: Different parts of the task need different expertise, models, or tools.

How subagent delegation works

When an agent has subagents, AFK automatically generates transfer tools (transfer_to_researcher, transfer_to_writer). The coordinator calls these like any other tool. Each subagent runs a full agent loop with its own model, instructions, and tools. The coordinator sees only the subagent’s final_text.

Adding safety limits

Every agent should have a FailSafeConfig in production:

from afk.agents import Agent, FailSafeConfig

agent = Agent(
    name="safe-agent",
    model="gpt-4.1-mini",
    instructions="...",
    tools=[...],
    fail_safe=FailSafeConfig(
        max_steps=15,              # Max agent loop iterations
        max_llm_calls=10,          # Max LLM API calls
        max_tool_calls=20,         # Max tool executions
        max_wall_time_s=60.0,      # Max run duration in seconds
        max_total_cost_usd=0.50,   # Max estimated cost

        # What to do when things fail
        llm_failure_policy="retry_then_degrade",         # "retry_then_fail" | "retry_then_degrade" | "fail_fast"
        tool_failure_policy="continue_with_error",       # "continue_with_error" | "retry_then_continue" | "fail_run"
        subagent_failure_policy="continue",               # "continue" | "retry_then_fail" | "skip_action"

        # Fallback model chain for LLM resilience
        fallback_model_chain=["gpt-4.1-mini", "gpt-4.1-nano"],
    ),
)

Always set max_total_cost_usd in production. A runaway agent loop can spend significant API credits in minutes.

Policy-aware agents

Attach a PolicyEngine to control what the agent can do:

from afk.agents import Agent, PolicyEngine, PolicyRule
from afk.core import Runner

policy = PolicyEngine(rules=[
    PolicyRule(
        rule_id="require-approval-for-writes",
        condition=lambda event: event.tool_name and "write" in event.tool_name,
        action="request_approval",
        reason="Write operations need human approval",
    ),
    PolicyRule(
        rule_id="deny-admin-tools",
        condition=lambda event: event.tool_name and "admin" in event.tool_name,
        action="deny",
        reason="Admin tools are disabled in this environment",
    ),
])

runner = Runner(policy_engine=policy)

Policy decisions: allow (default), deny, request_approval (human-in-the-loop), or request_user_input.

Design guidelines

Start with one agent. Only add subagents when you have clear evidence that the task needs specialized expertise.
Keep instructions focused. Vague instructions produce vague results. Tell the agent exactly what to do and what not to do.
Use typed tools. Every tool argument should be a Pydantic model. Untyped arguments bypass validation.
Set cost limits early. Add FailSafeConfig before your first deployment, not after your first runaway bill.

Your first agent

Agent fields reference

Single agent vs multi-agent

How subagent delegation works

Adding safety limits

Policy-aware agents

Design guidelines

Next steps

Core Runner

Tools

Documentation Index

​Your first agent

​Agent fields reference

​Single agent vs multi-agent

​How subagent delegation works

​Adding safety limits

​Policy-aware agents

​Design guidelines

​Next steps

Core Runner

Tools

Your first agent

Agent fields reference

Single agent vs multi-agent

How subagent delegation works

Adding safety limits

Policy-aware agents

Design guidelines

Next steps