What it does
The Agent Development Kit (ADK) is a code library for building AI agents: programs where an AI model follows instructions, uses tools and carries out tasks. Developers define agents and their tools in Python and can combine several specialised agents into a team.
It includes a workflow engine for laying out step-by-step processes with branches, loops, retries and human approval steps, a built-in web interface for testing and debugging, and tools for measuring how well an agent performs. Finished agents can be packaged and deployed to Google Cloud or elsewhere.
It is tuned for Google's Gemini models but works with others. Versions also exist for Java, Kotlin, Go and TypeScript.
Who it's for
Developers building AI agents, especially on Google Cloud.
Can I use it without coding?
Developers only. A Python library. Agents can also be described in configuration files, but setup still needs programming tools. New to this? Start here.
Can I run it?
- Cost
- FreeNothing to pay or sign up for.
- API key
- Not needed
Try it
Using Claude Code, Cursor or another AI coding assistant? Paste the prompt and it will walk you through the setup.New to this?
Before you install
- Only download from the official GitHub page. Copies with similar names exist for many popular projects.
- License (Apache-2.0): Permissive: free to use, change and share, including for business.
- More on staying safe