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This skill should be used when the user wants to "write agent code", "build an agent with ADK", "add a tool", "create a callback", "define an agent", "use state management" — in a project that needs ADK (Agent Development Kit) API patterns and code examples. It provides a quick reference for agent types, tool definitions, orchestration patterns, callbacks, state management, the graph Workflow API, and reference recipes to study. Do NOT use for scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold) or deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy).
npx skills add google/agents-cli --skill google-agents-cli-adk-codeInstalls from the source repository, including any supporting files.
Downloads contain the instructions shown here. Use the install command for the complete skill.
Activate /google-agents-cli-workflow first.
Python — read the topic index in references/recipes.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.
Do NOT write agent code until a project is scaffolded.
agents-cli info (proceed if config exists)./google-agents-cli-workflow and agree the spec with the user (its Phase 0) before you scaffold.agents-cli scaffold enhance ..See references/adk-python.md and references/adk-go.md for Python and Go code examples, respectively.
Use the cheatsheets for common patterns. For deep knowledge, fetch the docs index or inspect the installed package.
| Reference | Language | When to read |
|---|---|---|
references/recipes.md | Python | Topic-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.md | Python | Core 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.md | Python | Graph-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.md | Python | Live 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.md | Go | Core 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.md | Go | Graph-based Workflow API: nodes, edges, fan-out/fan-in, HITL, parallel processing. Use when you need explicit graph topology. |
examples/ | Go | Runnable upstream programs — the closest thing to a recipe catalog for Go. |
curl https://adk.dev/llms.txt | Python | Docs index (every page title + URL). Fetch it, then WebFetch the specific page for anything beyond the cheatsheets. |
| Installed ADK package | Python | Exact signatures and symbols — inspect the source (see "Inspecting ADK Source Code" in references/adk-python.md). |
/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---
name: google-agents-cli-adk-code
description: >
This skill should be used when the user wants to "write agent code",
"build an agent with ADK", "add a tool", "create a callback", "define an agent",
"use state management" — in a project that needs ADK (Agent Development Kit) API
patterns and code examples.
It provides a quick reference for agent types, tool definitions, orchestration
patterns, callbacks, state management, the graph Workflow API, and reference
recipes to study.
Do NOT use for scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold) or deployment
(use google-agents-cli-deploy).
metadata:
author: Google
license: Apache-2.0
version: 1.13.0
requires:
bins:
- agents-cli
install: "uv tool install google-agents-cli"
---
# ADK Code Reference
Activate `/google-agents-cli-workflow` first.
## 1. Study Recipes (No Project Needed)
**Python — read the topic index in `references/recipes.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/`](https://github.com/google/adk-go/tree/main/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. No project: load `/google-agents-cli-workflow` and agree the spec with the user (its Phase 0) before you scaffold.
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.
| Reference | Language | When to read |
|------|------|-------------|
| `references/recipes.md` | Python | **Topic-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.md` | Python | Core 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.md` | Python | Graph-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.md` | Python | Live 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.md` | Go | Core 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.md` | Go | Graph-based Workflow API: nodes, edges, fan-out/fan-in, HITL, parallel processing. Use when you need explicit graph topology. |
| [`examples/`](https://github.com/google/adk-go/tree/main/examples) | Go | Runnable upstream programs — the closest thing to a recipe catalog for Go. |
| `curl https://adk.dev/llms.txt` | Python | Docs index (every page title + URL). Fetch it, then `WebFetch` the specific page for anything beyond the cheatsheets. |
| Installed ADK package | Python | Exact 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