ADK Code Reference skill
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.
by google·Apache-2.0 license·★ 6,046 Stars on the repo·GitHub ↗
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ADK Code Reference
Activate /google-agents-cli-workflow first for required development phases and scaffolding steps.
1. Study Recipes (No Project Needed)
Python — read the topic index in references/samples.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.
2. Prerequisites for Writing Code
Do NOT write agent code until a project is scaffolded.
- Verify project: run
agents-cli info(proceed if config exists). - New project: run
agents-cli scaffold create <name>— add--agent adk_gofor Go. - 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/samples.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). |
Related Skills
/google-agents-cli-workflow— Development workflow, coding guidelines, and operational rules/google-agents-cli-scaffold— Project creation and enhancement withagents-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
| 1 | |
| 2 | name google-agents-cli-adk-code |
| 3 | description > |
| 4 | This skill should be used when the user wants to "write agent code", |
| 5 | "build an agent with ADK", "add a tool", "create a callback", "define an agent", |
| 6 | "use state management" — in a project that needs ADK (Agent Development Kit) API |
| 7 | patterns and code examples. |
| 8 | It provides a quick reference for agent types, tool definitions, orchestration |
| 9 | patterns, callbacks, state management, the graph Workflow API, and reference |
| 10 | recipes to study. |
| 11 | Do NOT use for scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold) or deployment |
| 12 | (use google-agents-cli-deploy). |
| 13 | metadata |
| 14 | author Google |
| 15 | license Apache-2.0 |
| 16 | version 1.8.0 |
| 17 | requires |
| 18 | bins |
| 19 | - agents-cli |
| 20 | install "uv tool install google-agents-cli" |
| 21 | |
| 22 | |
| 23 | # ADK Code Reference |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Activate `/google-agents-cli-workflow` first for required development phases and scaffolding steps. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | ## 1. Study Recipes (No Project Needed) |
| 28 | |
| 29 | **Python — read the topic index in `references/samples.md` before answering "how do I build X".** |
| 30 | Worked implementations exist for: sandboxed/per-user code execution, agent-loadable `SKILL.md` |
| 31 | skills, cross-session memory, approval gates before risky actions, tool guardrails, per-user |
| 32 | credentials, and scheduled/event-driven runs. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | **Go — read the upstream [`examples/`].** |
| 35 | clone the repo and read the one matching the capability you need before implementing it. |
| 36 | |
| 37 | ## 2. Prerequisites for Writing Code |
| 38 | |
| 39 | Do NOT write agent code until a project is scaffolded. |
| 40 | |
| 41 | Verify project: run `agents-cli info` (proceed if config exists). |
| 42 | New project: run `agents-cli scaffold create <name>` — add `--agent adk_go` for Go. |
| 43 | Existing code: run `agents-cli scaffold enhance .`. |
| 44 | |
| 45 | ## Quick Reference — Most Common Patterns |
| 46 | |
| 47 | See `references/adk-python.md` and `references/adk-go.md` for Python and Go code examples, respectively. |
| 48 | |
| 49 | |
| 50 | |
| 51 | ## References |
| 52 | |
| 53 | Use the cheatsheets for common patterns. For deep knowledge, fetch the docs index or inspect the |
| 54 | installed package. |
| 55 | |
| 56 | | Reference | Language | When to read | |
| 57 | |------|------|-------------| |
| 58 | | `references/samples.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. | |
| 59 | | `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. | |
| 60 | | `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. | |
| 61 | | `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. | |
| 62 | | `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. | |
| 63 | | `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. | |
| 64 | | [`examples/`] | Go | Runnable upstream programs — the closest thing to a recipe catalog for Go. | |
| 65 | | `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. | |
| 66 | | Installed ADK package | Python | Exact signatures and symbols — inspect the source (see "Inspecting ADK Source Code" in `references/adk-python.md`). | |
| 67 | |
| 68 | ## Related Skills |
| 69 | |
| 70 | `/google-agents-cli-workflow` — Development workflow, coding guidelines, and operational rules |
| 71 | `/google-agents-cli-scaffold` — Project creation and enhancement with `agents-cli scaffold create` / `scaffold enhance` |
| 72 | `/google-agents-cli-eval` — Evaluation methodology, dataset schema, and the eval-fix loop |
| 73 | `/google-agents-cli-deploy` — Deployment targets, CI/CD pipelines, and production workflows |
| 74 |
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