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Getting Started: Creating ADK Agents

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Getting Started: Creating ADK Agents

Step-by-step guide covering environment setup, basic LLM agents, and workflow agents.

1. Set Up the Environment

Create a virtual environment and install the ADK:

bash
# Create and activate virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # macOS/Linux

# Install the ADK package
pip install google-adk

Or with uv:

bash
uv venv --python "python3.11" ".venv"
source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install google-adk

2. Configure API Keys

Obtain an API key from Google AI Studio.

Create a .env file in the agent directory:

GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=FALSE
GOOGLE_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY

Vertex AI

For production use with Google Cloud:

GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=TRUE
GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=your-project-id
GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=us-central1

Run gcloud auth application-default login to authenticate.

Vertex AI Express Mode

Combines Vertex AI with API key authentication:

GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=TRUE
GOOGLE_API_KEY=YOUR_EXPRESS_MODE_KEY

3. Agent Directory Structure

The ADK CLI discovers agents by directory convention. Each agent directory must have:

my_agent/
├── __init__.py    # Must import the agent module
├── agent.py       # Must define root_agent
└── .env           # API keys (not committed to git)

init.py

python
from . import agent

Or generate the project with the CLI:

bash
adk create my_agent

4. Basic LLM Agent with Tools

Before building workflow agents, understand the basic LLM agent pattern. An LlmAgent (also aliased as Agent) connects an LLM to tools and instructions:

agent.py

python
from google.adk.agents.llm_agent import Agent

def get_weather(city: str) -> dict:
  """Returns the current weather for a specified city."""
  # In production, call a real weather API
  return {
      "status": "success",
      "city": city,
      "weather": "sunny",
      "temperature": "72F",
  }

def get_current_time(city: str) -> dict:
  """Returns the current time in a specified city."""
  import datetime
  return {
      "status": "success",
      "city": city,
      "time": datetime.datetime.now().strftime("%I:%M %p"),
  }

root_agent = Agent(
    model="gemini-2.5-flash",
    name="root_agent",
    description="An assistant that provides weather and time information.",
    instruction="""You are a helpful assistant.
Use the get_weather tool to look up weather and
get_current_time to check the time in any city.
Always be friendly and concise.""",
    tools=[get_weather, get_current_time],
)

Key concepts

  • model: The LLM to use (e.g., "gemini-2.5-flash", "gemini-2.5-pro")
  • instruction: System prompt guiding the agent's behavior
  • tools: Python functions the LLM can call. The function name, docstring, and type hints are sent to the LLM as the tool schema
  • description: Used when this agent is a sub-agent (for transfer routing)
  • output_key: Store the agent's final text output in session state under this key

Tool function conventions

  • Use clear function names and docstrings — the LLM sees these
  • Type-hint all parameters — they define the tool's input schema
  • Return a dict or str — the return value becomes the tool response

5. Run the Agent

Web UI (primary debugging tool)

bash
adk web my_agent/

Open http://localhost:8000. Select the agent from the dropdown, type a message, and see events in the Events tab.

Note: adk web is for development only, not production.

CLI mode

bash
adk run my_agent/

API server

bash
adk api_server my_agent/

Programmatic execution

python
import asyncio
from google.adk.runners import InMemoryRunner
from google.genai import types

async def main():
  from my_agent import agent

  runner = InMemoryRunner(
      app_name="my_app",
      agent=agent.root_agent,
  )

  session = await runner.session_service.create_session(
      app_name="my_app", user_id="user1"
  )

  content = types.Content(
      role="user", parts=[types.Part.from_text(text="What's the weather in Paris?")]
  )

  async for event in runner.run_async(
      user_id="user1",
      session_id=session.id,
      new_message=content,
  ):
    if event.content and event.content.parts:
      if event.content.parts[0].text:
        print(f"{event.author}: {event.content.parts[0].text}")

asyncio.run(main())

6. From LLM Agent to Workflow Agent

A Workflow extends the basic agent pattern with graph-based execution. Instead of a single LLM deciding what to do, define explicit nodes and edges:

agent.py — Minimal Workflow

python
from google.adk.workflow import Workflow

def greet(node_input: str) -> str:
  return f"Hello! You said: {node_input}"

root_agent = Workflow(
    name="my_workflow",
    edges=[
        ('START', greet),
    ],
)

5. Sample: Sequential Pipeline with LLM Agents

A code write-review-refactor pipeline using SequentialAgent:

agent.py

python
from google.adk.agents.llm_agent import LlmAgent
from google.adk.agents.sequential_agent import SequentialAgent

code_writer_agent = LlmAgent(
    name="CodeWriterAgent",
    model="gemini-2.5-flash",
    instruction="""You are a Python Code Generator.
Based *only* on the user's request, write Python code that fulfills the requirement.
Output *only* the complete Python code block.
""",
    description="Writes initial Python code based on a specification.",
    output_key="generated_code",
)

code_reviewer_agent = LlmAgent(
    name="CodeReviewerAgent",
    model="gemini-2.5-flash",
    instruction="""You are an expert Python Code Reviewer.
Review the following code:

```python
{generated_code}

Provide feedback as a concise, bulleted list. If the code is excellent, state: "No major issues found." """, description="Reviews code and provides feedback.", output_key="review_comments", )

code_refactorer_agent = LlmAgent( name="CodeRefactorerAgent", model="gemini-2.5-flash", instruction="""You are a Python Code Refactoring AI. Improve the code based on the review comments.

Original Code:

python
{generated_code}

Review Comments: {review_comments}

If no issues found, return the original code unchanged. Output only the final Python code block. """, description="Refactors code based on review comments.", output_key="refactored_code", )

root_agent = SequentialAgent( name="CodePipelineAgent", sub_agents=[code_writer_agent, code_reviewer_agent, code_refactorer_agent], description="Executes a sequence of code writing, reviewing, and refactoring.", )


### Key patterns in this sample

- **`output_key`**: Each agent stores its output in session state, making it available to later agents
- **`{generated_code}`**: Instruction placeholders are resolved from session state at runtime
- **`SequentialAgent`**: Convenience wrapper that auto-generates `START -> agent1 -> agent2 -> agent3` edges

## 6. Sample: Graph Workflow with Functions and Routing

A data processing pipeline with conditional routing:

### agent.py

```python
from google.adk.workflow import Workflow
from google.adk.events.event import Event
from google.adk.agents.context import Context

def parse_input(node_input: str) -> dict:
  """Parse the user's input into a structured format."""
  words = node_input.strip().split()
  return {"text": node_input, "word_count": len(words)}

def classify(node_input: dict):
  """Route based on input length."""
  if node_input["word_count"] > 10:
    return Event(output=node_input, route="long")
  return Event(output=node_input, route="short")

def handle_short(node_input: dict) -> str:
  return f"Short input ({node_input['word_count']} words): {node_input['text']}"

def handle_long(node_input: dict) -> str:
  return f"Long input ({node_input['word_count']} words). Summary: {node_input['text'][:50]}..."

root_agent = Workflow(
    name="classifier_workflow",
    input_schema=str,
    edges=[
        ('START', parse_input),
        (parse_input, classify),
        (classify, handle_short, "short"),
        (classify, handle_long, "long"),
    ],
)

7. Sample: Parallel Processing

Process a list of items concurrently:

agent.py

python
from google.adk.workflow import Workflow
from google.adk.workflow import node

def split_input(node_input: str) -> list:
  """Split comma-separated input into a list."""
  return [item.strip() for item in node_input.split(",")]

@node(parallel_worker=True)
def process_item(node_input: str) -> dict:
  """Process a single item (runs in parallel for each list item)."""
  return {"item": node_input, "length": len(node_input), "upper": node_input.upper()}

def format_results(node_input: list) -> str:
  """Format the parallel results into a readable summary."""
  lines = [f"- {r['item']}: {r['length']} chars -> {r['upper']}" for r in node_input]
  return "Results:\n" + "\n".join(lines)

root_agent = Workflow(
    name="parallel_processor",
    input_schema=str,
    edges=[
        ('START', split_input),
        (split_input, process_item),
        (process_item, format_results),
    ],
)

8. Sample: Workflow with LLM Agent and Tools

Combine function nodes with an LLM agent that has tools:

agent.py

python
from google.adk.agents.llm_agent import LlmAgent
from google.adk.workflow import Workflow
from google.adk.agents.context import Context

def get_weather(city: str) -> dict:
  """Get the current weather for a city."""
  # In production, call a real API
  return {"city": city, "temp": "72F", "condition": "sunny"}

def extract_city(node_input: str) -> str:
  """Extract city name from user input."""
  # Simple extraction; in production, use NLP or LLM
  return node_input.strip()

weather_agent = LlmAgent(
    name="weather_reporter",
    model="gemini-2.5-flash",
    instruction="""You are a friendly weather reporter.
Use the get_weather tool to look up the weather, then give
a natural-language weather report for the city.""",
    tools=[get_weather],
)

def format_output(ctx: Context, node_input: str) -> str:
  """Add a friendly sign-off."""
  return f"{node_input}\n\nHave a great day!"

root_agent = Workflow(
    name="weather_workflow",
    input_schema=str,
    edges=[
        ('START', extract_city),
        (extract_city, weather_agent),
        (weather_agent, format_output),
    ],
)

Troubleshooting

"No module named 'google.adk'"

Ensure the virtual environment is activated and google-adk is installed.

Agent not showing in adk web

Check that __init__.py contains from . import agent and agent.py defines root_agent.

API key errors

Verify .env is in the agent directory (not the parent) and contains a valid GOOGLE_API_KEY.

Model not found

Check the model name. Common models: gemini-2.5-flash, gemini-2.5-pro. The ADK also supports non-Google models (Anthropic, LiteLLM) with extra dependencies.