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Strands Agents SDK

Build AI agents in Python using the Strands SDK (Apache-2.0, from AWS).

Validated against: strands-agents==1.23.0, strands-agents-tools==0.2.19

Prerequisites

# Install SDK + tools (via pipx for isolation — recommended)
pipx install strands-agents-builder  # includes strands-agents + strands-agents-tools + CLI

# Or install directly
pip install strands-agents strands-agents-tools

Core Concept: Bedrock Is the Default

Agent() with no model= argument defaults to Amazon Bedrock — specifically us.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-20250514-v1:0 in us-west-2. This requires AWS credentials. To use a different provider, pass model= explicitly.

Default model constant: strands.models.bedrock.DEFAULT_BEDROCK_MODEL_ID

Quick Start — Local Agent (Ollama)

from strands import Agent
from strands.models.ollama import OllamaModel

# host is a required positional argument
model = OllamaModel("http://localhost:11434", model_id="qwen3:latest")
agent = Agent(model=model)
result = agent("What is the capital of France?")
print(result)

Note: Not all open-source models support tool-calling. Abliterated models often lose function-calling during the abliteration process. Test with a stock model (qwen3, llama3.x, mistral) first.

Quick Start — Bedrock (Default Provider)

from strands import Agent

# No model specified → BedrockModel (Claude Sonnet 4, us-west-2)
# Requires AWS credentials (~/.aws/credentials or env vars)
agent = Agent()
result = agent("Explain quantum computing")

# Explicit Bedrock model:
from strands.models import BedrockModel
model = BedrockModel(model_id="us.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-20250514-v1:0")
agent = Agent(model=model)

Quick Start — Anthropic (Direct API)

from strands import Agent
from strands.models.anthropic import AnthropicModel

# max_tokens is Required[int] — must be provided
model = AnthropicModel(model_id="claude-sonnet-4-20250514", max_tokens=4096)
agent = Agent(model=model)
result = agent("Explain quantum computing")

Requires ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable.

Quick Start — OpenAI

from strands import Agent
from strands.models.openai import OpenAIModel

model = OpenAIModel(model_id="gpt-4.1")
agent = Agent(model=model)

Requires OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.

Creating Custom Tools

Use the @tool decorator. Type hints become the schema; the docstring becomes the description:

from strands import Agent, tool

@tool
def read_file(path: str) -> str:
    """Read contents of a file at the given path.

    Args:
        path: Filesystem path to read.
    """
    with open(path) as f:
        return f.read()

@tool
def write_file(path: str, content: str) -> str:
    """Write content to a file.

    Args:
        path: Filesystem path to write.
        content: Text content to write.
    """
    with open(path, 'w') as f:
        f.write(content)
    return f"Wrote {len(content)} bytes to {path}"

agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[read_file, write_file])
agent("Read /tmp/test.txt and summarize it")

ToolContext

Tools can access agent state via ToolContext:

from strands import tool
from strands.types.tools import ToolContext

@tool
def stateful_tool(query: str, tool_context: ToolContext) -> str:
    """A tool that accesses agent state.

    Args:
        query: Input query.
    """
    # Access shared agent state
    count = tool_context.state.get("call_count", 0) + 1
    tool_context.state["call_count"] = count
    return f"Call #{count}: {query}"

Built-in Tools (46 available)

strands-agents-tools provides pre-built tools:

from strands_tools import calculator, file_read, file_write, shell, http_request
agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[calculator, file_read, shell])

Full list: calculator, file_read, file_write, shell, http_request, editor, image_reader, python_repl, current_time, think, stop, sleep, environment, retrieve, search_video, chat_video, speak, generate_image, generate_image_stability, diagram, journal, memory, agent_core_memory, elasticsearch_memory, mongodb_memory, mem0_memory, rss, cron, batch, workflow, use_agent, use_llm, use_aws, use_computer, load_tool, handoff_to_user, slack, swarm, graph, a2a_client, mcp_client, exa, tavily, bright_data, nova_reels.

Hot reload: Agent(load_tools_from_directory=True) watches ./tools/ for changes.

MCP Integration

Connect to any Model Context Protocol server. MCPClient implements ToolProvider — pass it directly in the tools list:

from strands import Agent
from strands.tools.mcp import MCPClient
from mcp import stdio_client, StdioServerParameters

# MCPClient takes a callable that returns the transport
mcp = MCPClient(lambda: stdio_client(StdioServerParameters(
    command="uvx",
    args=["some-mcp-server@latest"]
)))

# Use as context manager — MCPClient is a ToolProvider
with mcp:
    agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[mcp])
    agent("Use the MCP tools to do something")

SSE transport:

from mcp.client.sse import sse_client
mcp = MCPClient(lambda: sse_client("http://localhost:8080/sse"))

Multi-Agent Patterns

Agents as Tools

Nest agents — inner agents become tools for the outer agent:

researcher = Agent(model=model, system_prompt="You are a research assistant.")
writer = Agent(model=model, system_prompt="You are a writer.")

orchestrator = Agent(
    model=model,
    tools=[researcher, writer],
    system_prompt="You coordinate research and writing tasks."
)
orchestrator("Research quantum computing and write a blog post")

Swarm Pattern

Self-organizing agent teams with shared context and autonomous handoff coordination:

from strands.multiagent.swarm import Swarm

# Agents need name + description for handoff identification
researcher = Agent(
    model=model,
    name="researcher",
    description="Finds and summarizes information"
)
writer = Agent(
    model=model,
    name="writer",
    description="Creates polished content"
)

swarm = Swarm(
    nodes=[researcher, writer],
    entry_point=researcher,    # optional — defaults to first agent
    max_handoffs=20,           # default
    max_iterations=20,         # default
    execution_timeout=900.0,   # 15 min default
    node_timeout=300.0         # 5 min per node default
)
result = swarm("Research AI agents, then hand off to writer for a blog post")

Swarm auto-injects a handoff_to_agent tool. Agents hand off by calling it with the target agent's name. Supports interrupt/resume, session persistence, and repetitive-handoff detection.

Graph Pattern (DAG)

Deterministic dependency-based execution via GraphBuilder:

from strands.multiagent.graph import GraphBuilder

builder = GraphBuilder()
research_node = builder.add_node(researcher, node_id="research")
writing_node = builder.add_node(writer, node_id="writing")
builder.add_edge("research", "writing")
builder.set_entry_point("research")

# Optional: conditional edges
# builder.add_edge("research", "writing",
#     condition=lambda state: "complete" in str(state.completed_nodes))

graph = builder.build()
result = graph("Write a blog post about AI agents")

Supports cycles (feedback loops) with builder.reset_on_revisit(True), execution timeouts, and nested graphs (Graph as a node in another Graph).

A2A Protocol (Agent-to-Agent)

Expose a Strands agent as an A2A-compatible server for inter-agent communication:

from strands.multiagent.a2a import A2AServer

server = A2AServer(
    agent=my_agent,
    host="127.0.0.1",
    port=9000,
    version="0.0.1"
)
server.start()  # runs uvicorn

Connect to A2A agents with the a2a_client tool from strands-agents-tools. A2A implements Google's Agent-to-Agent protocol for standardized cross-process/cross-network agent communication.

Session Persistence

Persist conversations across agent runs:

from strands.session.file_session_manager import FileSessionManager

session = FileSessionManager(session_file_path="./sessions/my_session.json")
agent = Agent(model=model, session_manager=session)

# Also available:
from strands.session.s3_session_manager import S3SessionManager
session = S3SessionManager(bucket_name="my-bucket", session_id="session-1")

Both Swarm and Graph support session managers for persisting multi-agent state.

Bidirectional Streaming (Experimental)

Real-time voice/text conversations with persistent audio streams:

from strands.experimental.bidi.agent import BidiAgent
from strands.experimental.bidi.models.nova_sonic import NovaSonicModel

# Supports: NovaSonicModel, GeminiLiveModel, OpenAIRealtimeModel
model = NovaSonicModel(region="us-east-1")
agent = BidiAgent(model=model, tools=[my_tool])

Supports interruption detection, concurrent tool execution, and continuous back-and-forth audio. Experimental — API subject to change.

System Prompts

agent = Agent(
    model=model,
    system_prompt="You are Hex, a sharp and witty AI assistant.",
    tools=[read_file, write_file]
)

Strands also supports list[SystemContentBlock] for structured system prompts with cache control.

Observability

Native OpenTelemetry tracing:

agent = Agent(
    model=model,
    trace_attributes={"project": "my-agent", "environment": "dev"}
)

Every tool call, model invocation, handoff, and lifecycle event is instrumentable.

Bedrock-Specific Features

• Guardrails: guardrail_id + guardrail_version in BedrockModel config — content filtering, PII detection, input/output redaction
• Cache points: System prompt and tool definition caching for cost optimization
• Streaming: On by default, disable with streaming=False
• Region: Defaults to us-west-2, override via region_name param or AWS_REGION env
• Cross-region inference: Model IDs prefixed with us. use cross-region inference profiles

Scaffolding a New Agent

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/create-agent.py my-agent --provider ollama --model qwen3:latest
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/create-agent.py my-agent --provider anthropic
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/create-agent.py my-agent --provider bedrock
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/create-agent.py my-agent --provider openai --model gpt-4.1

Creates a ready-to-run agent directory with tools, config, and entry point.

Running an Agent

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/run-agent.py path/to/agent.py "Your prompt here"
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/run-agent.py path/to/agent.py --interactive

Model Providers Reference (11 total)

All non-Bedrock providers are lazy-loaded — dependencies imported only when referenced.

Import pattern: from strands.models.<provider> import <Class> (or from strands.models import <Class> for lazy-load).

Tips

• Agent() without model= requires AWS credentials (Bedrock default)
• AnthropicModel requires max_tokens — omitting it causes a runtime error
• OllamaModel host is positional: OllamaModel("http://...", model_id="...")
• Abliterated Ollama models often lose tool-calling support — use stock models for tool-using agents
• Swarm agents need name= and description= for handoff routing
• Agent(load_tools_from_directory=True) watches ./tools/ for hot-reloaded tool files
• Use agent.tool.my_tool() to call tools directly without LLM routing
• MCPClient is a ToolProvider — pass it directly in tools=[mcp], don't call list_tools_sync() manually when using with Agent
• Session managers work with Agent, Swarm, and Graph
• Pin your strands-agents version — the SDK is young and APIs evolve between releases