autogen

autogen Best Practices

Building robust autogen applications requires disciplined adherence to specific patterns. This guide outlines the definitive best practices for our team, focusing on modularity, performance, and testability.

1. Code Organization and Agent Structure

Organize your agents into dedicated modules, ensuring each agent has a single, well-defined responsibility. This mirrors traditional software architecture and enhances maintainability.

❌ BAD: Monolithic agent definitions or generic names.

# agents.py
from autogen import AssistantAgent, UserProxyAgent

# Too many responsibilities, unclear role
def create_complex_agent(llm_config):
    agent = AssistantAgent(
        name="GenericAgent",
        llm_config=llm_config,
        system_message="I can do anything you ask."
    )
    return agent

✅ GOOD: Dedicated modules, clear roles, and explicit system messages.

# agents/planner.py
from autogen import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient

def create_planner_agent(model_client: OpenAIChatCompletionClient) -> AssistantAgent:
    """
    Creates an agent responsible for breaking down complex tasks into actionable steps.
    """
    return AssistantAgent(
        name="TaskPlanner",
        model_client=model_client,
        description="An expert in breaking down complex problems into a sequence of manageable sub-tasks.",
        system_message=(
            "You are a meticulous TaskPlanner. Your sole responsibility is to decompose user requests "
            "into a clear, ordered list of steps. Do not execute tasks, only plan them."
        )
    )

# agents/coder.py
from autogen import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient

def create_coder_agent(model_client: OpenAIChatCompletionClient) -> AssistantAgent:
    """
    Creates an agent capable of writing and executing Python code.
    """
    return AssistantAgent(
        name="PythonCoder",
        model_client=model_client,
        description="An expert Python programmer capable of writing, executing, and debugging code.",
        system_message=(
            "You are an expert Python programmer. You write clean, efficient, and well-tested code. "
            "When asked to solve a problem, provide the Python code in a markdown block. "
            "If execution is needed, state 'EXECUTE' after the code block."
        )
    )