ADK Python Development Setup

Set up a working adk-python checkout: a uv-managed virtual environment with every dependency extra, pre-commit hooks, and a green unit-test run.

Prerequisites

Python. ADK supports 3.10 through 3.14 (requires-python = ">=3.10" in pyproject.toml). These steps use 3.11, the version the repo's own tooling defaults to.
bash
```
python3 --version
```
uv. Dependencies are pinned in uv.lock; a hand-rolled pip/venv environment will not reproduce the locked versions.
bash
```
uv --version
```
Install it if missing:
bash
```
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
```

Run these from the repository root.

Create and activate the virtual environment:

bash

uv venv --python "python3.11" ".venv"
source .venv/bin/activate

Install every dependency extra:
bash
```
uv sync --all-extras
```
--all-extras is what pulls in the test and dev extras. Syncing only the default dependencies leaves pytest and the linters uninstalled.
Install pre-commit and tox as standalone tools:
bash
```
uv tool install pre-commit
uv tool install tox --with tox-uv
```
Both are also in the dev extra; installing them as uv tools puts them on PATH so the git hook and multi-version test runs work without an activated venv.
Install addlicense (optional, requires Go):
bash
```
go install github.com/google/addlicense@latest
```
Without it the pre-commit hook prints Warning: addlicense not installed, skipping and passes, so a missing Go toolchain does not block setup — CI catches missing license headers instead.
Install the git hooks:
bash
```
pre-commit install
```
On each commit the hooks auto-format with isort, pyink, and mdformat, then run ruff, addlicense, codespell, and the repo's own compliance checks.
Verify the environment:
bash
```
pytest tests/unittests -n auto
```
A green run here is the success criterion for setup. -n auto needs pytest-xdist, which arrives with the test extra in step 2.

Task	Command
Run unit tests	`pytest tests/unittests`
Run unit tests in parallel	`pytest tests/unittests -n auto`
Run one test file	`pytest tests/unittests/agents/test_base_agent.py`
Run tests on every supported Python	`tox` (uv downloads any missing interpreters)
Format and lint everything	`pre-commit run --all-files`
Launch the web UI	`adk web {agents_dir}`
Run an agent from the CLI	`adk run {agent_dir}`
Build the wheel	`uv build`