AutoGen is a framework for building multi-agent AI applications, enabling autonomous or human-assisted AI workflows. It targets developers and researchers looking to create complex AI systems that can collaborate, execute tasks, and interact with the environment. The framework's layered design allows for flexibility, from high-level APIs for rapid prototyping to low-level components for custom implementations, supporting both Python and .NET.

How It Works

AutoGen employs a message-passing architecture with event-driven agents. It supports various multi-agent patterns like two-agent chats and group chats. The framework is extensible through an Extensions API, allowing integration of LLM clients (OpenAI, AzureOpenAI) and capabilities like code execution. This layered approach, from Core API to AgentChat API and Extensions, provides flexibility for different levels of abstraction and customization.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Installation: pip install -U "autogen-agentchat" "autogen-ext[openai]" for core functionality, or pip install -U "autogenstudio" for the no-code GUI.
• Prerequisites: Python 3.10+. For web browsing examples, playwright install is required.
• Documentation: https://microsoft.github.io/autogen/
• Discord: https://aka.ms/autogen-discord

Highlighted Details

• Supports both Python and .NET for cross-language development.
• Includes AutoGen Studio for a no-code GUI to build and run multi-agent workflows.
• Offers a web browsing agent with multimodal capabilities and animated actions.
• Provides AutoGen Bench for evaluating agent performance.

Maintenance & Community

The project is actively maintained by Microsoft, with a strong community presence indicated by Discord and GitHub Discussions. Weekly office hours and talks are hosted.

Licensing & Compatibility

Code is licensed under the MIT License. Documentation is under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License. No restrictions on commercial use are mentioned.

Limitations & Caveats

The README mentions a migration guide for users upgrading from v0.2, suggesting potential breaking changes between versions. The web browsing agent requires playwright and opens a Chromium browser window, which may have resource implications.