AI/ML

Google ADK

Quick reference for Google's Agent Development Kit: agents, tools, orchestration.

By google509K installs6,159 stars

What it does

  • Defines agents and tools
  • Writes callbacks and state management
  • Follows runnable recipes

Try saying

Build a weather agent with ADK

Skill Details

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> --agent adk --deployment-target <target> — use --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.

ReferenceLanguageWhen to read
references/samples.mdPythonTopic-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.mdPythonCore 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.mdPythonGraph-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.mdPythonLive 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.mdGoCore 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.mdGoGraph-based Workflow API: nodes, edges, fan-out/fan-in, HITL, parallel processing. Use when you need explicit graph topology.
examples/GoRunnable upstream programs — the closest thing to a recipe catalog for Go.
curl https://adk.dev/llms.txtPythonDocs index (every page title + URL). Fetch it, then WebFetch the specific page for anything beyond the cheatsheets.
Installed ADK packagePythonExact signatures and symbols — inspect the source (see "Inspecting ADK Source Code" in references/adk-python.md).

Related Skills

  • /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