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Google Agent ADK Guide

ADK Code Reference

by google · Apache-2.0 license · ★ 6,046 on GitHub

ADK Code Reference cover

This skill should be used when the user wants to "write agent code", build an agent with ADK", "add a tool", "create a callback", "define an agent", use state management" — in a project that needs ADK (Agent Development Kit) API…

---
name: google-agents-cli-adk-code
description: >
  This skill should be used when the user wants to "write agent code",
  "build an agent with ADK", "add a tool", "create a callback", "define an agent",
  "use state management" — in a project that needs ADK (Agent Development Kit) API
  patterns and code examples.
  It provides a quick reference for agent types, tool definitions, orchestration
  patterns, callbacks, state management, the graph Workflow API, and reference
  recipes to study.
  Do NOT use for scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold) or deployment
  (use google-agents-cli-deploy).
metadata:
  author: Google
  license: Apache-2.0
  version: 1.8.0
  requires:
    bins:

Overview

Activate /google-agents-cli-workflow first for required development phases and scaffolding steps.

Manual install (npx, ZIP)
Claude Codenpx skills add google/agents-cli --skill google-agents-cli-adk-code -g -a claude-code
Claude Code (degit)npx degit google/agents-cli/skills/google-agents-cli-adk-code#main ~/.claude/skills/google-agents-cli-adk-code
Claude.ai / desktopZip the folder and upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Codex, Cursor, other agentsPoint them at SKILL.md. The other files are plain text.

Connects with Agent Alley MCP · agentalley.io/mcp

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  • SKILL.md4.3 KB
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ADK Code Reference

Activate /google-agents-cli-workflow first for required development phases and scaffolding steps.

1. Study Recipes (No Project Needed)

Python — read the topic index in references/samples.md before answering "how do I build X". Worked implementations exist for: sandboxed/per-user code execution, agent-loadable SKILL.md skills, cross-session memory, approval gates before risky actions, tool guardrails, per-user credentials, and scheduled/event-driven runs.

Go — read the upstream examples/. clone the repo and read the one matching the capability you need before implementing it.

2. Prerequisites for Writing Code

Do NOT write agent code until a project is scaffolded.

  1. Verify project: run agents-cli info (proceed if config exists).
  2. New project: run agents-cli scaffold create <name> — add --agent adk_go for Go.
  3. Existing code: run agents-cli scaffold enhance ..

Quick Reference — Most Common Patterns

See references/adk-python.md and references/adk-go.md for Python and Go code examples, respectively.

References

Use the cheatsheets for common patterns. For deep knowledge, fetch the docs index or inspect the installed package.

Reference Language When to read
references/samples.md Python Topic-indexed catalog of ADK reference recipes. Read in workflow Phase 1 — before scaffolding and before writing code — maps a capability to the recipe that implements it.
references/adk-python.md Python Core ADK API: Agent, tools, callbacks, plugins, state, artifacts, multi-agent systems, SequentialAgent / ParallelAgent / LoopAgent, custom BaseAgent, ManagedAgent (server-hosted first-party agents), A2A protocol, A2UI. Default for most agents.
references/adk-python-workflows.md Python Graph-based Workflow API (ADK Python 2.0): nodes, edges, fan-out/fan-in, HITL, parallel processing. Use when you need explicit graph topology.
references/adk-python-live.md Python Live and voice agents: Runner.run_live, LiveRequestQueue, model and regional availability, voice/speech_config, VAD, session limits, /run_live serving. Use for real-time voice or video agents.
references/adk-go.md Go Core ADK Go API: llmagent, tools, callbacks, plugins, state, artifacts, multi-agent systems, sequential/parallel/loop agents, custom agents, the runner, serving over HTTP, A2A protocol, and ambient triggers. Default for most agents.
references/adk-go-workflows.md Go Graph-based Workflow API: nodes, edges, fan-out/fan-in, HITL, parallel processing. Use when you need explicit graph topology.
examples/ Go Runnable upstream programs — the closest thing to a recipe catalog for Go.
curl https://adk.dev/llms.txt Python Docs index (every page title + URL). Fetch it, then WebFetch the specific page for anything beyond the cheatsheets.
Installed ADK package Python Exact signatures and symbols — inspect the source (see "Inspecting ADK Source Code" in references/adk-python.md).
  • /google-agents-cli-workflow — Development workflow, coding guidelines, and operational rules
  • /google-agents-cli-scaffold — Project creation and enhancement with agents-cli scaffold create / scaffold enhance
  • /google-agents-cli-eval — Evaluation methodology, dataset schema, and the eval-fix loop
  • /google-agents-cli-deploy — Deployment targets, CI/CD pipelines, and production workflows
1---
2name: google-agents-cli-adk-code
3description: >
4 This skill should be used when the user wants to "write agent code",
5 "build an agent with ADK", "add a tool", "create a callback", "define an agent",
6 "use state management" — in a project that needs ADK (Agent Development Kit) API
7 patterns and code examples.
8 It provides a quick reference for agent types, tool definitions, orchestration
9 patterns, callbacks, state management, the graph Workflow API, and reference
10 recipes to study.
11 Do NOT use for scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold) or deployment
12 (use google-agents-cli-deploy).
13metadata:
14 author: Google
15 license: Apache-2.0
16 version: 1.8.0
17 requires:
18 bins:
19 - agents-cli
20 install: "uv tool install google-agents-cli"
21---
22 
23# ADK Code Reference
24 
25Activate `/google-agents-cli-workflow` first for required development phases and scaffolding steps.
26 
27## 1. Study Recipes (No Project Needed)
28 
29**Python — read the topic index in `references/samples.md` before answering "how do I build X".**
30Worked implementations exist for: sandboxed/per-user code execution, agent-loadable `SKILL.md`
31skills, cross-session memory, approval gates before risky actions, tool guardrails, per-user
32credentials, and scheduled/event-driven runs.
33 
34**Go — read the upstream [`examples/`](https://github.com/google/adk-go/tree/main/examples).**
35clone the repo and read the one matching the capability you need before implementing it.
36 
37## 2. Prerequisites for Writing Code
38 
39Do NOT write agent code until a project is scaffolded.
40 
411. Verify project: run `agents-cli info` (proceed if config exists).
422. New project: run `agents-cli scaffold create <name>` — add `--agent adk_go` for Go.
433. Existing code: run `agents-cli scaffold enhance .`.
44 
45## Quick Reference — Most Common Patterns
46 
47See `references/adk-python.md` and `references/adk-go.md` for Python and Go code examples, respectively.
48 
49---
50 
51## References
52 
53Use the cheatsheets for common patterns. For deep knowledge, fetch the docs index or inspect the
54installed package.
55 
56| Reference | Language | When to read |
57|------|------|-------------|
58| `references/samples.md` | Python | **Topic-indexed catalog of ADK reference recipes.** Read in workflow Phase 1 — before scaffolding and before writing code — maps a capability to the recipe that implements it. |
59| `references/adk-python.md` | Python | Core ADK API: `Agent`, tools, callbacks, plugins, state, artifacts, multi-agent systems, `SequentialAgent` / `ParallelAgent` / `LoopAgent`, custom `BaseAgent`, `ManagedAgent` (server-hosted first-party agents), A2A protocol, A2UI. Default for most agents. |
60| `references/adk-python-workflows.md` | Python | Graph-based Workflow API (ADK Python 2.0): nodes, edges, fan-out/fan-in, HITL, parallel processing. Use when you need explicit graph topology. |
61| `references/adk-python-live.md` | Python | Live and voice agents: `Runner.run_live`, `LiveRequestQueue`, model and regional availability, voice/`speech_config`, VAD, session limits, `/run_live` serving. Use for real-time voice or video agents. |
62| `references/adk-go.md` | Go | Core ADK Go API: `llmagent`, tools, callbacks, plugins, state, artifacts, multi-agent systems, sequential/parallel/loop agents, custom agents, the runner, serving over HTTP, A2A protocol, and ambient triggers. Default for most agents. |
63| `references/adk-go-workflows.md` | Go | Graph-based Workflow API: nodes, edges, fan-out/fan-in, HITL, parallel processing. Use when you need explicit graph topology. |
64| [`examples/`](https://github.com/google/adk-go/tree/main/examples) | Go | Runnable upstream programs — the closest thing to a recipe catalog for Go. |
65| `curl https://adk.dev/llms.txt` | Python | Docs index (every page title + URL). Fetch it, then `WebFetch` the specific page for anything beyond the cheatsheets. |
66| Installed ADK package | Python | Exact signatures and symbols — inspect the source (see "Inspecting ADK Source Code" in `references/adk-python.md`). |
67 
68## Related Skills
69 
70- `/google-agents-cli-workflow` — Development workflow, coding guidelines, and operational rules
71- `/google-agents-cli-scaffold` — Project creation and enhancement with `agents-cli scaffold create` / `scaffold enhance`
72- `/google-agents-cli-eval` — Evaluation methodology, dataset schema, and the eval-fix loop
73- `/google-agents-cli-deploy` — Deployment targets, CI/CD pipelines, and production workflows
74 
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Details

License
Apache-2.0
Stars on the repo
★ 6,046
Checked
Source
google/agents-cli ↗
Creator
google · 7 listings
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