Conductor is a CLI tool designed to streamline the definition and execution of multi-agent workflows, addressing the challenges of repeatability, determinism, and version control in complex AI agent interactions. It targets engineers and researchers building sophisticated AI pipelines, offering a robust framework for orchestrating agents powered by GitHub Copilot and Anthropic Claude SDKs, thereby enhancing development efficiency and workflow reliability.

How It Works

Conductor utilizes a YAML-based declarative approach to define agents, their prompts, and the routing logic between them. Core to its design is deterministic orchestration; routing decisions are made via Jinja2 templates and expression evaluation, bypassing LLMs in the control flow. This ensures that identical inputs consistently follow the same execution path, minimizing token expenditure on orchestration and maximizing predictability. The system supports seamless switching between multiple AI providers and allows for complex workflow compositions, including parallel execution and sub-workflows.

Quick Start & Requirements

The recommended installation for macOS and Linux is via curl -sSfL https://aka.ms/conductor/install.sh | sh, and for Windows, powershell irm https://aka.ms/conductor/install.ps1 | iex. The installer manages dependencies, including uv (which it installs if missing), and verifies integrity. Key requirements include Python 3.12+. Optional dependencies like ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or the claude CLI may be needed for specific providers. Official documentation and examples are available within the repository.

Highlighted Details

• YAML-Defined Workflows: Define complex multi-agent interactions, including routing, prompts, and agent configurations, in readable YAML files.
• Multi-Provider Support: Seamlessly integrate with GitHub Copilot, Anthropic Claude, and the Claude Agent SDK, with support for custom LLM endpoints (e.g., Ollama, vLLM, Azure OpenAI).
• Deterministic Orchestration: Routing logic uses Jinja2 templates and expression evaluation, avoiding LLM calls for control flow, ensuring repeatability.
• Advanced Workflow Features: Supports parallel execution (static and dynamic for-each), sub-workflow composition, script steps for shell commands, and set steps for deriving values.
• Interactive Web Dashboard: Real-time visualization of workflow execution, including live agent streaming, interactive DAG graphs, and in-browser human gates.
• Human-in-the-Loop: Pause workflows for human decisions with Markdown-rendered prompts and clickable file links.

Maintenance & Community

As a Microsoft-developed project, Conductor benefits from established development practices. Specific details regarding community channels (e.g., Discord, Slack), notable contributors, or sponsorships are not detailed in the provided README.

Licensing & Compatibility

Conductor is released under the MIT License, which permits broad usage, including commercial applications and integration with closed-source projects, with minimal restrictions.

Limitations & Caveats

The README does not explicitly detail alpha/beta status or known bugs. A specific configuration note is provided for Windows users regarding the COPILOT_CLI_PATH environment variable to resolve potential subprocess issues. Tool support for the Claude provider is noted as "Planned."