Agents SDK
The OpenAI Agents SDK is a lightweight framework for building multi-agent apps — Python and TypeScript flavours, both open-source on GitHub. Three primitives carry most of the weight: Agents (an LLM with instructions + tools), Handoffs (one agent transfers control to another), and Tools (typed functions the agent can call). Plus built-in tracing that visualises every step a run takes. The SDK replaces the older "Swarm" experiment and the higher-level pieces of the Assistants API (which OpenAI is sunsetting). All entries below are sourced from github.com/openai/openai-agents-python and openai-agents-js.
- ASDK.1 OpenAI Agents SDK, plainly sourced
Five-minute orientation to the OpenAI Agents SDK — what it is (a Python + TypeScript framework for building multi-agent apps), what it gives you (agents · handoffs · tools · guardrails · sessions · tracing), and where it fits vs the Assistants API and Anthropic's SDK.
- ASDK.2 Core concepts — agents, handoffs, tools, guardrails sourced
The nine primitives the OpenAI Agents SDK ships — agents, sandbox agents, handoffs, agents-as-tools, tools, guardrails, human-in-the-loop, sessions, tracing — explained with the minimum code to feel each one.
- ASDK.3 Your first agent — from pip install to running sourced
Step-by-step walkthrough from a clean Python environment to a working OpenAI Agents SDK app — install, API key, first agent, add a tool, run it. Docs-level estimate: a short walkthrough.
- ASDK.4 Common patterns — handoffs, agents-as-tools, structured outputs sourced
Six patterns that come up over and over building on the Agents SDK — multi-agent handoffs, the manager pattern (agents-as-tools), structured outputs with Pydantic, parallel runs, sessions, and MCP. Code in Python.
- ASDK.5 Tracing — what gets recorded and how to view it sourced
Tracing is on by default in the OpenAI Agents SDK — every run, model call, tool call, handoff, and guardrail check shows up as a span. This page covers what the SDK records, how to view it in the OpenAI dashboard, and how to export to external observability tools.