
CrewAI
Role-based multi-agent teams with delegation built in
Overview
Models a task as a crew of agents with named roles and goals that hand work to each other. The metaphor makes a multi-agent design readable at a glance, which is why it demos so well. Whether several role-playing agents beat one well-prompted agent on your task is worth measuring before committing — the answer is often no.
What can you do with CrewAI?
- Scaffold a project from the CLI —
crewai create crew <project_name>putscrew.pyandmain.pydirectly undersrc/<project>/, withagents.yamlandtasks.yamlone level down insrc/<project>/config/;crewai runfrom the project root executes the result. - Define agents and tasks in YAML — Each agent gets
role,goalandbackstoryinagents.yaml, while each task getsdescription,expected_output, an assignedagentand an optionaloutput_fileintasks.yaml. - Switch to hierarchical delegation —
Process.sequentialruns tasks in declared order, while the hierarchical process automatically assigns a manager to the crew to coordinate planning, delegation and validation of results. - Wrap crews in event-driven Flows —
Flow[StateModel]with@start,@listenand@routerdecorators, plusor_andand_conditions, gives Pydantic-typed state and conditional branching aroundcrew.kickoff()calls. - Teach a coding agent the framework —
/plugin marketplace add crewAIInc/skillsthen/plugin install crewai-skills@crewai-pluginsloads four skills into Claude Code —getting-started,design-agent,design-taskandask-docs, which queries the live CrewAI docs MCP server — andnpx skills add crewaiinc/skillsinstalls the same set for Cursor, Codex and Windsurf.
Documentation
Reproduced from the crewAIInc/crewAI README, published under MIT. Read the original ↗
Fast and Flexible Multi-Agent Automation Framework
CrewAI is an open-source Python framework with high-level abstractions and low-level APIs for building production-ready multi-agent workflows. It gives developers autonomous agent collaboration through Crews and precise, event-driven control through Flows.
- CrewAI Crews: Optimize for autonomy and collaborative intelligence with role-based AI agents.
- CrewAI Flows: Build event-driven automations that combine precise workflow control, single LLM calls, and native support for Crews.
With over 100,000 developers certified through our community courses at learn.crewai.com, CrewAI is rapidly becoming the standard for production-ready agentic automation.
CrewAI AMP Suite
For organizations that need a commercial control plane around CrewAI, CrewAI AMP Suite adds managed deployment, observability, governance, security, and enterprise support.
You can try one part of the suite, the Crew Control Plane, for free.
Crew Control Plane Key Features:
- Tracing & Observability: Monitor and track your AI agents and workflows in real-time, including metrics, logs, and traces.
- Unified Control Plane: A centralized platform for managing, monitoring, and scaling your AI agents and workflows.
- Seamless Integrations: Easily connect with existing enterprise systems, data sources, and cloud infrastructure.
- Advanced Security: Built-in robust security and compliance measures ensuring safe deployment and management.
- Actionable Insights: Real-time analytics and reporting to optimize performance and decision-making.
- 24/7 Support: Dedicated enterprise support to ensure uninterrupted operation and quick resolution of issues.
- On-premise and Cloud Deployment Options: Deploy CrewAI AMP on-premise or in the cloud, depending on your security and compliance requirements.
CrewAI AMP is designed for enterprises seeking a powerful, reliable solution to transform complex business processes into efficient, intelligent automations.
Table of contents
- Build with AI
- Why CrewAI?
- Getting Started
- Key Features
- Examples
- Connecting Your Crew to a Model
- When to Use CrewAI
- Contribution
- Telemetry
- License
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Build with AI
Using an AI coding agent? Teach it CrewAI best practices in one command:
Claude Code:
/plugin marketplace add crewAIInc/skills
/plugin install crewai-skills@crewai-plugins
/reload-plugins
Four skills that activate automatically when you ask relevant CrewAI questions:
| Skill | When it runs |
|---|---|
getting-started | Scaffolding new projects, choosing between LLM.call() / Agent / Crew / Flow, wiring crew.py / main.py |
design-agent | Configuring agents — role, goal, backstory, tools, LLMs, memory, guardrails |
design-task | Writing task descriptions, dependencies, structured output (output_pydantic, output_json), human review |
ask-docs | Querying the live CrewAI docs MCP server for up-to-date API details |
Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, and others (skills.sh):
npx skills add crewaiinc/skills
This installs the official CrewAI Skills — structured instructions that teach coding agents how to scaffold Flows, configure Crews, design agents and tasks, and follow CrewAI patterns.
Why CrewAI?
CrewAI unlocks the true potential of multi-agent automation, delivering speed, flexibility, and control through Crews of AI agents and event-driven Flows:
- Purpose-built architecture: Designed specifically for agent orchestration, with a lightweight Python core and clean primitives for real-world automation.
- High Performance: Optimized for speed and minimal resource usage, enabling faster execution.
- Flexible Low-Level Customization: Complete freedom to customize everything from workflows and system architecture to agent behaviors, internal prompts, and execution logic.
- Ideal for Every Use Case: Proven effective for simple tasks, complex workflows, and production-grade automation.
- Robust Community: Backed by a rapidly growing community of over 100,000 certified developers offering comprehensive support and resources.
CrewAI empowers developers and teams to build intelligent automations that balance simplicity, flexibility, and production-grade control.
Getting Started
Setup and run your first CrewAI agents by following this tutorial.
Learning Resources
Learn CrewAI through our comprehensive courses:
- Multi AI Agent Systems with CrewAI - Master the fundamentals of multi-agent systems
- Practical Multi AI Agents and Advanced Use Cases - Deep dive into advanced implementations
Understanding Flows and Crews
CrewAI offers two powerful, complementary approaches that work seamlessly together to build sophisticated AI applications:
-
Crews: Teams of AI agents with true autonomy and agency, working together to accomplish complex tasks through role-based collaboration. Crews enable:
- Natural, autonomous decision-making between agents
- Dynamic task delegation and collaboration
- Specialized roles with defined goals and expertise
- Flexible problem-solving approaches
-
Flows: Production-ready, event-driven workflows that deliver precise control over complex automations. Flows provide:
- Fine-grained control over execution paths for real-world scenarios
- Secure, consistent state management between tasks
- Clean integration of AI agents with production Python code
- Conditional branching for complex business logic
The true power of CrewAI emerges when combining Crews and Flows. This synergy allows you to:
- Build complex, production-grade applications
- Balance autonomy with precise control
- Handle sophisticated real-world scenarios
- Maintain clean, maintainable code structure
Getting Started with Installation
To get started with CrewAI, follow these simple steps:
1. Installation
Ensure you have Python >=3.10 <3.14 installed on your system. CrewAI uses UV for dependency management and package handling, offering a seamless setup and execution experience.
First, install CrewAI:
uv pip install crewai
If you want to install the ‘crewai’ package along with its optional features that include additional tools for agents, you can do so by using the following command:
uv pip install 'crewai[tools]'
The command above installs the basic package and also adds extra components which require more dependencies to function.
Troubleshooting Dependencies
If you encounter issues during installation or usage, here are some common solutions:
Common Issues
-
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named ‘tiktoken’
- Install tiktoken explicitly:
uv pip install 'crewai[embeddings]' - If using embedchain or other tools:
uv pip install 'crewai[tools]'
- Install tiktoken explicitly:
-
Failed building wheel for tiktoken
- Ensure Rust compiler is installed (see installation steps above)
- For Windows: Verify Visual C++ Build Tools are installed
- Try upgrading pip:
uv pip install --upgrade pip - If issues persist, use a pre-built wheel:
uv pip install tiktoken --prefer-binary
2. Setting Up Your Crew with the YAML Configuration
To create a new CrewAI project, run the following CLI (Command Line Interface) command:
crewai create crew <project_name>
This command creates a new project folder with the following structure:
my_project/
├── .gitignore
├── pyproject.toml
├── README.md
├── .env
└── src/
└── my_project/
├── __init__.py
├── main.py
├── crew.py
├── tools/
│ ├── custom_tool.py
│ └── __init__.py
└── config/
├── agents.yaml
└── tasks.yaml
You can now start developing your crew by editing the files in the src/my_project folder. The main.py file is the entry point of the project, the crew.py file is where you define your crew, the agents.yaml file is where you define your agents, and the tasks.yaml file is where you define your tasks.
To customize your project, you can:
- Modify
src/my_project/config/agents.yamlto define your agents. - Modify
src/my_project/config/tasks.yamlto define your tasks. - Modify
src/my_project/crew.pyto add your own logic, tools, and specific arguments. - Modify
src/my_project/main.pyto add custom inputs for your agents and tasks. - Add your environment variables into the
.envfile.
Example of a simple crew with a sequential process:
Instantiate your crew:
crewai create crew latest-ai-development
Modify the files as needed to fit your use case:
agents.yaml
# src/my_project/config/agents.yaml
researcher:
role: >
{topic} Senior Data Researcher
goal: >
Uncover cutting-edge developments in {topic}
backstory: >
You're a seasoned researcher with a knack for uncovering the latest
developments in {topic}. Known for your ability to find the most relevant
information and present it in a clear and concise manner.
reporting_analyst:
role: >
{topic} Reporting Analyst
goal: >
Create detailed reports based on {topic} data analysis and research findings
backstory: >
You're a meticulous analyst with a keen eye for detail. You're known for
your ability to turn complex data into clear and concise reports, making
it easy for others to understand and act on the information you provide.
tasks.yaml
# src/my_project/config/tasks.yaml
research_task:
description: >
Conduct a thorough research about {topic}
Make sure you find any interesting and relevant information given
the current year is 2026.
expected_output: >
A list with 10 bullet points of the most relevant information about {topic}
agent: researcher
reporting_task:
description: >
Review the context you got and expand each topic into a full section for a report.
Make sure the report is detailed and contains any and all relevant information.
expected_output: >
A fully fledged report with the main topics, each with a full section of information.
Formatted as markdown without '```'
agent: reporting_analyst
output_file: report.md
crew.py
# src/my_project/crew.py
from crewai import Agent, Crew, Process, Task
from crewai.project import CrewBase, agent, crew, task
from crewai_tools import SerperDevTool
from crewai.agents.agent_builder.base_agent import BaseAgent
from typing import List
@CrewBase
class LatestAiDevelopmentCrew():
"""LatestAiDevelopment crew"""
agents: List[BaseAgent]
tasks: List[Task]
@agent
def researcher(self) -> Agent:
return Agent(
config=self.agents_config['researcher'],
verbose=True,
tools=[SerperDevTool()]
)
@agent
def reporting_analyst(self) -> Agent:
return Agent(
config=self.agents_config['reporting_analyst'],
verbose=True
)
@task
def research_task(self) -> Task:
return Task(
config=self.tasks_config['research_task'],
)
@task
def reporting_task(self) -> Task:
return Task(
config=self.tasks_config['reporting_task'],
output_file='report.md'
)
@crew
def crew(self) -> Crew:
"""Creates the LatestAiDevelopment crew"""
return Crew(
agents=self.agents, # Automatically created by the @agent decorator
tasks=self.tasks, # Automatically created by the @task decorator
process=Process.sequential,
verbose=True,
)
main.py
#!/usr/bin/env python
# src/my_project/main.py
import sys
from latest_ai_development.crew import LatestAiDevelopmentCrew
def run():
"""
Run the crew.
"""
inputs = {
'topic': 'AI Agents'
}
LatestAiDevelopmentCrew().crew().kickoff(inputs=inputs)
3. Running Your Crew
Before running your crew, make sure you have the following keys set as environment variables in your .env file:
- An OpenAI API key (or other LLM API key):
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... - A Serper.dev API key:
SERPER_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY_HERE
Lock the dependencies and install them by using the CLI command but first, navigate to your project directory:
cd my_project
crewai install (Optional)
To run your crew, execute the following command in the root of your project:
crewai run
or
python src/my_project/main.py
If an error happens due to the usage of poetry, please run the following command to update your crewai package:
crewai update
You should see the output in the console and the report.md file should be created in the root of your project with the full final report.
In addition to the sequential process, you can use the hierarchical process, which automatically assigns a manager to the defined crew to properly coordinate the planning and execution of tasks through delegation and validation of results. See more about the processes here.
Key Features
CrewAI gives developers a practical foundation for building agentic systems that move from prototype to production: autonomous collaboration where it helps, explicit workflow control where it matters, and Python-native customization throughout.
- Crews for autonomy: Model teams of specialized AI agents with roles, goals, tools, and tasks.
- Flows for control: Build event-driven workflows with state, branching, routing, and production logic.
- Seamless integration: Combine Crews and Flows to create complex, real-world automations.
- Python-native customization: Customize prompts, tools, execution paths, state, and integrations without fighting the framework.
- Agent-ready capabilities: Use tools, memory, knowledge, checkpointing, async execution, and MCP/A2A support for more capable production agents.
- Production-ready patterns: Add deterministic steps, human input, structured outputs, and checkpointing as your system grows.
- Thriving community: Backed by robust documentation and over 100,000 certified developers, providing exceptional support and guidance.
Choose CrewAI to build powerful, adaptable, and production-ready AI automations.
Examples
You can test different real life examples of AI crews in the CrewAI-examples repo:
Quick Tutorial
Write Job Descriptions
Check out code for this example or watch a video below:
Trip Planner
Check out code for this example or watch a video below:
Stock Analysis
Check out code for this example or watch a video below:
Using Crews and Flows Together
CrewAI’s power truly shines when combining Crews with Flows to create sophisticated automation pipelines.
CrewAI flows support logical operators like or_ and and_ to combine multiple conditions. This can be used with @start, @listen, or @router decorators to create complex triggering conditions.
or_: Triggers when any of the specified conditions are met.and_: Triggers when all of the specified conditions are met.
Here’s how you can orchestrate multiple Crews within a Flow:
from crewai.flow.flow import Flow, listen, start, router, or_
from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task, Process
from pydantic import BaseModel
# Define structured state for precise control
class MarketState(BaseModel):
sentiment: str = "neutral"
confidence: float = 0.0
recommendations: list = []
class AdvancedAnalysisFlow(Flow[MarketState]):
@start()
def fetch_market_data(self):
# Demonstrate low-level control with structured state
self.state.sentiment = "analyzing"
return {"sector": "tech", "timeframe": "1W"} # These parameters match the task description template
@listen(fetch_market_data)
def analyze_with_crew(self, market_data):
# Show crew agency through specialized roles
analyst = Agent(
role="Senior Market Analyst",
goal="Conduct deep market analysis with expert insight",
backstory="You're a veteran analyst known for identifying subtle market patterns"
)
researcher = Agent(
role="Data Researcher",
goal="Gather and validate supporting market data",
backstory="You excel at finding and correlating multiple data sources"
)
analysis_task = Task(
description="Analyze {sector} sector data for the past {timeframe}",
expected_output="Detailed market analysis with confidence score",
agent=analyst
)
research_task = Task(
description="Find supporting data to validate the analysis",
expected_output="Corroborating evidence and potential contradictions",
agent=researcher
)
# Demonstrate crew autonomy
analysis_crew = Crew(
agents=[analyst, researcher],
tasks=[analysis_task, research_task],
process=Process.sequential,
verbose=True
)
return analysis_crew.kickoff(inputs=market_data) # Pass market_data as named inputs
@router(analyze_with_crew)
def determine_next_steps(self):
# Show flow control with conditional routing
if self.state.confidence > 0.8:
return "high_confidence"
elif self.state.confidence > 0.5:
return "medium_confidence"
return "low_confidence"
@listen("high_confidence")
def execute_strategy(self):
# Demonstrate complex decision making
strategy_crew = Crew(
agents=[
Agent(role="Strategy Expert",
goal="Develop optimal market strategy")
],
tasks=[
Task(description="Create detailed strategy based on analysis",
expected_output="Step-by-step action plan")
]
)
return strategy_crew.kickoff()
@listen(or_("medium_confidence", "low_confidence"))
def request_additional_analysis(self):
self.state.recommendations.append("Gather more data")
return "Additional analysis required"
This example demonstrates how to:
- Use Python code for basic data operations
- Create and execute Crews as steps in your workflow
- Use Flow decorators to manage the sequence of operations
- Implement conditional branching based on Crew results
Connecting Your Crew to a Model
CrewAI supports using various LLMs through a variety of connection options. By default your agents will use the OpenAI API when querying the model. However, there are several other ways to allow your agents to connect to models. For example, you can configure your agents to use a local model via the Ollama tool.
Please refer to the Connect CrewAI to LLMs page for details on configuring your agents’ connections to models.
This README has been shortened. The full version is on GitHub. Read the original ↗




