OpenAI Agents SDK
Build multi-agent systems with tool definitions, handoffs, context management, and tracing.
Python Agent Flow
from agents import (
Agent, Runner, RunContextWrapper,
function_tool, handoff, trace,
)
from agents.extensions.handoff_prompt import RECOMMENDED_PROMPT_PREFIX
from pydantic import BaseModel
# Context shared across agents
class MyContext(BaseModel):
user_name: str | None = None
session_id: str | None = None
# Define tools with @function_tool
@function_tool(name_override="lookup_tool", description_override="Look up information.")
async def lookup_tool(question: str) -> str:
return f"Answer to: {question}"
@function_tool
async def update_record(
context: RunContextWrapper[MyContext], record_id: str, value: str
) -> str:
"""Update a record. Args: record_id, value."""
context.context.session_id = record_id
return f"Updated {record_id} to {value}"
# Define agents with handoffs
specialist = Agent[MyContext](
name="Specialist",
handoff_description="Handles specific tasks.",
instructions=f"""{RECOMMENDED_PROMPT_PREFIX}
You are a specialist agent. Use your tools to help the customer.""",
tools=[update_record],
)
triage = Agent[MyContext](
name="Triage",
instructions=f"""{RECOMMENDED_PROMPT_PREFIX}
You are a triage agent. Delegate to the appropriate specialist.""",
handoffs=[specialist],
)
# Allow circular handoffs
specialist.handoffs.append(triage)
# Run the agent loop
async def main():
current_agent = triage
input_items = []
context = MyContext()
conversation_id = uuid.uuid4().hex[:16]
while True:
user_input = input("You: ")
with trace("My workflow", group_id=conversation_id):
input_items.append({"content": user_input, "role": "user"})
result = await Runner.run(current_agent, input_items, context=context)
for item in result.new_items:
if isinstance(item, MessageOutputItem):
print(f"{item.agent.name}: {ItemHelpers.text_message_output(item)}")
elif isinstance(item, HandoffOutputItem):
print(f"Handed off: {item.source_agent.name} -> {item.target_agent.name}")
input_items = result.to_input_list()
current_agent = result.last_agentGo Agent Flow
Uses nlpodyssey/openai-agents-go:
import (
"github.com/nlpodyssey/openai-agents-go/agents"
"github.com/nlpodyssey/openai-agents-go/agents/extensions/handoff_prompt"
"github.com/nlpodyssey/openai-agents-go/tracing"
)
// Tools
type LookupArgs struct {
Question string `json:"question"`
}
func Lookup(_ context.Context, args LookupArgs) (string, error) {
return "Answer to: " + args.Question, nil
}
var LookupTool = agents.NewFunctionTool("lookup", "Look up information.", Lookup)
// Agents
var (
Specialist = agents.New("Specialist").
WithHandoffDescription("Handles specific tasks.").
WithInstructions(handoff_prompt.PromptWithHandoffInstructions(`...`)).
WithTools(LookupTool).
WithModel("gpt-4o")
Triage = agents.New("Triage").
WithInstructions(handoff_prompt.PromptWithHandoffInstructions(`...`)).
WithAgentHandoffs(Specialist).
WithModel("gpt-4o")
)
func init() {
Specialist.AgentHandoffs = append(Specialist.AgentHandoffs, Triage)
}
// Run
result, err := agents.RunInputs(ctx, Triage, inputItems)Key Patterns
- Context: Use a Pydantic BaseModel (Python) or context.Value (Go) for shared state across agents
- Handoffs: Agents delegate to each other; use
on_handoffhooks for side effects - Tracing: Wrap runs in
trace()/tracing.RunTrace()with agroup_idfor conversation tracking - Tools: Decorate with
@function_tool; the SDK extracts args from the function signature - Circular handoffs: Append handoffs after agent definition to avoid forward-reference issues
Webhook Validation
from fastapi import FastAPI, Request, Response
from openai import OpenAI, InvalidWebhookSignatureError
app = FastAPI()
client = OpenAI(webhook_secret=os.environ["OPENAI_WEBHOOK_SECRET"])
@app.post("/webhook")
async def webhook(request: Request):
try:
body = await request.body()
headers = dict(request.headers)
event = client.webhooks.unwrap(body, headers)
if event.type == "response.completed":
response = client.responses.retrieve(event.data.id)
print("Response output:", response.output_text)
return Response(status_code=200)
except InvalidWebhookSignatureError:
return Response(content="Invalid signature", status_code=400)