deep-agents

Build batteries-included agents with planning, context management, subagent delegation, and sandboxed execution. Use for complex, multi-step tasks that need…

npx skills add https://github.com/langchain-ai/docs --skill deep-agents

Deep Agents

Deep Agents is the easiest way to start building agents powered by LLMs—with built-in capabilities for task planning, file systems for context management, subagent delegation, and long-term memory. It is an "agent harness" built on LangChain core building blocks and the LangGraph runtime.

When to use

Use Deep Agents when you need to:

  • Build agents fast with sensible defaults and minimal configuration
  • Handle complex, multi-step tasks that benefit from automatic planning
  • Manage context with a built-in virtual filesystem for large inputs
  • Delegate subtasks to specialized subagents
  • Run code safely in sandboxed execution environments
  • Use a terminal agent via Deep Agents Code

When NOT to use

  • For simple tool-calling agents without planning or subagents, use LangChain agents instead—lighter weight
  • For custom graph-based orchestration with explicit control flow, use LangGraph directly
  • Deep Agents is the highest-level abstraction—it trades flexibility for convenience

Install

# Python
pip install deepagents

# JavaScript/TypeScript
npm install deepagents langchain @langchain/core

Quick reference

Create a deep agent

# pip install deepagents langchain-anthropic
from deepagents import create_deep_agent

def get_weather(city: str) -> str:
    """Get weather for a given city."""
    return f"It's always sunny in {city}!"

agent = create_deep_agent(
    model="anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-6",
    tools=[get_weather],
    system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant",
)

result = agent.invoke(
    {"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What is the weather in SF?"}]}
)

Use Deep Agents Code

# Install Deep Agents Code
pip install deepagents-code

# Run an interactive terminal agent
deepagents

Built-in capabilities

CapabilityDescription
PlanningAutomatic task decomposition for complex requests
File systemVirtual filesystem for reading, writing, and managing context
SubagentsSpawn child agents for parallel subtask execution
Context managementAutomatic context compression for long conversations
Sandboxed executionRun code in isolated environments (Modal, Runloop, Daytona)
ProtocolsACP, MCP, and A2A support for interoperability

Key documentation

  • Overview—What Deep Agents is and how it compares to LangChain and LangGraph
  • Quickstart—Build your first deep agent
  • Customization—Configure models, tools, and behavior
  • Context engineering—Manage context for complex tasks
  • Subagents—Delegate work to child agents
  • Sandboxes—Run code in isolated environments
  • Code—Deep Agents Code, the terminal agent interface
  • Deploy—Deploy to production

API reference

For SDK class and method details, use the LangChain API Reference site:

  • MCP server: https://reference.langchain.com/mcp

Related skills

  • langchain—Core building blocks that Deep Agents is built on
  • langgraph—Runtime that powers Deep Agents' durable execution
  • langsmith—Trace, evaluate, and deploy your deep agents

More skills from langchain-ai

langgraph-docs
langchain-ai
Access LangGraph documentation to build stateful agents and multi-agent workflows. Fetches official LangGraph Python docs covering state machines, graph-based agent design, and human-in-the-loop patterns Prioritizes relevant documentation by query type: implementation guides for how-to questions, concept pages for theory, tutorials for end-to-end examples, and API references for technical details Automatically selects 2–4 most relevant documentation URLs and retrieves their content to answer...
official
langgraph-human-in-the-loop
langchain-ai
Pause graph execution for human review, approval, or validation, then resume with their input. Requires three components: a checkpointer (InMemorySaver or PostgresSaver), a thread ID in config, and JSON-serializable interrupt payloads interrupt(value) pauses and surfaces data; Command(resume=value) resumes and returns that value to the paused node All code before interrupt() re-executes on resume, so side effects must be idempotent (use upsert, not insert) Supports approval workflows,...
official
web-research
langchain-ai
Use this skill for requests related to web research; it provides a structured approach to conducting comprehensive web research
official
langchain-oss-primer
langchain-ai
ALWAYS START HERE for any LangChain, Deep Agents, or LangGraph agent building project. Required starting point before choosing other skills or writing any…
official
skill-creator
langchain-ai
Guide for creating effective skills that extend agent capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations. Use this skill when the user…
official
social-media
langchain-ai
Drafts platform-specific social media posts with research-backed content and generated companion images. Supports LinkedIn posts (1,300 characters with professional tone) and Twitter/X threads (280 characters per tweet with 1/🧵 format) Requires delegating research to a subagent before writing, then reading findings to ensure accuracy and relevance Generates eye-catching social images automatically using generate_social_image tool with bold, high-contrast compositions optimized for small...
official
deep-agents-memory
langchain-ai
Pluggable memory and file backends for Deep Agents with ephemeral, persistent, and hybrid routing options. Four backend types: StateBackend (thread-scoped, ephemeral), StoreBackend (cross-session persistent), FilesystemBackend (real disk access for local dev), and CompositeBackend (route different paths to different backends) FilesystemMiddleware provides six file operation tools: ls , read_file , write_file , edit_file , glob , grep CompositeBackend uses longest-prefix matching to route...
official
deep-agents-orchestration
langchain-ai
Orchestrate subagents, plan multi-step tasks, and require human approval for sensitive operations. Delegate work to specialized subagents via the task tool; custom subagents support isolated tool sets and system prompts, while the default "general-purpose" subagent inherits main agent configuration Plan and track complex workflows with write_todos , organizing tasks across pending, in-progress, and completed states; requires a thread_id for persistence across invocations Implement...
official