Introduction

Tarko (Tool-augmented Agent Runtime Kernel, Open-source), pronounced /ˈtɑːrkoʊ/, is a tool-call and event-stream driven Agent runtime framework with powerful Context Engineering capabilities.

What is Tarko?

Tarko provides:

• Context Engineering: Build agents capable of long-running operations
• Tool Call Engine: Support for multiple LLM providers with custom parsers
• Event Stream Processing: Native streaming and Agent Protocol support
• Agent Hooks: Powerful extension capabilities
• Agent Protocol: Standard format definitions for agent lifecycle

Key Features

🔧 Tool Call Engine

Support for multiple Tool Call engines including native Function Call, custom parsers, and models that don't support native Function Tool.

🌊 Event Stream

Built-in event stream processing with native streaming support and standardized Agent Protocol.

🧠 Context Engineering

Advanced context management for long-running agent operations with automatic context optimization.

🔌 Agent Hooks

Extensible hook system for customizing agent behavior at every stage of execution.

Architecture Overview

Tarko is built with a three-layer architecture:

1. Engineering Layer: CLI, Server, and UI components
2. Application Layer: Tarko-based Agent implementations
3. Kernel Layer: Core runtime with Context Engineering and Agent Protocol

Who Uses Tarko?

Tarko powers several production systems:

• UI-TARS-2: Advanced UI automation
• UI-TARS-desktop: Desktop automation
• Agent TARS: General-purpose multimodal agent

Documentation Overview

Getting Started

• Quick Start - Create your first Tarko agent in minutes
• Architecture - Understand Tarko's design principles
• SDK Reference - Complete API reference and examples

Core Concepts

• Configuration - Configure agents, models, and runtime settings
• Model Providers - OpenAI, Anthropic, Volcengine, and custom providers
• Tools - Create and register custom tools for your agents
• Tool Call Engine - Native, prompt-engineering, and structured outputs
• Event Stream - Real-time agent execution monitoring

Advanced Features

• Agent Hooks - Customize agent behavior with lifecycle hooks
• Agent Protocol - Standard communication protocol
• Context Engineering - Long-running agent context management
• Agent Snapshot - Save and replay agent execution states

UI Integration

• UI Integration - Build web interfaces for your agents

Deployment

• CLI Deployment - Command-line tools and scripts
• Server Deployment - Production server setup

API Reference

• Agent API - Complete Agent class reference
• Hooks API - Agent lifecycle hooks
• Tool Call Engine API - Tool execution engines
• Context Engineering API - Context management
• Agent Server API - Server endpoints and protocols

Examples

• Getting Started - Basic usage examples
• Custom Tools - Building domain-specific tools
• Custom Hooks - Extending agent behavior
• Server Integration - Web server integration
• Protocol Integration - Custom protocol implementation

Quick Navigation

New to Tarko? Start with Quick Start

Building agents? Check out SDK Reference and Tools

Need customization? Explore Agent Hooks and Context Engineering

Deploying to production? See Server Deployment and Agent Snapshot

Building UI? Start with UI Integration