Agent Frameworks

Best AI Agent Frameworks for Developers

Agent frameworks organize model calls, tools, state, memory, handoffs, and traces into repeatable application structure.

Search intent

Compare frameworks before committing to an agent runtime, workflow model, or orchestration style.

Last reviewed

June 23, 2026

Tools considered

15

Open source options

15

Definition

An agent framework is the application layer that turns model calls into controlled workflows with tools, state, and evaluation hooks.

Use cases

  • Tool-using assistants
  • Long-running workflows with checkpoints
  • Multi-agent collaboration and review loops

Selection criteria

  • Does the framework match your state model?
  • Can you test and replay agent runs?
  • Will the deployment runtime fit your team's stack?

Selection advice

Choose the framework that makes failure modes visible. A simpler SDK with strong tracing usually beats a large abstraction that hides state.

Tool comparison snapshot

ToolBest forOpen sourceMain tradeoffOpen
LangGraphstateful workflowsYessimple one-shot assistantsOpen
OpenAI Agents SDKOpenAI-first teamsYesteams requiring model-neutral orchestration from day oneOpen
LlamaIndexRAGYespure tool orchestration without retrievalOpen
CrewAIrole modelingYeslow-level graph controlOpen
Microsoft AutoGenmulti-party dialogueYesteams that need a narrow production workflow immediatelyOpen
browser-usebrowser agentsYessimple page scraping with static selectorsOpen