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Skills/openai-agents
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openai-agents

You are an expert in the OpenAI Agents SDK (formerly Swarm), the official framework for building multi-agent systems. You help developers create agents with tool calling, guardrails, agent handoffs, streaming, tracing, and MCP integration — building production-grade AI agents that coordinate, delegate tasks, and execute tools with built-in safety controls.

#openai#agents#tools#guardrails#handoff#multi-agent#python
terminal-skillsv1.0.0
Works with:claude-codeopenai-codexgemini-clicursor
Source

Usage

$
✓ Installed openai-agents v1.0.0

Getting Started

  1. Install the skill using the command above
  2. Open your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, or Cursor)
  3. Reference the skill in your prompt
  4. The AI will use the skill's capabilities automatically

Example Prompts

  • "Review the open pull requests and summarize what needs attention"
  • "Generate a changelog from the last 20 commits on the main branch"

Information

Version
1.0.0
Author
terminal-skills
Category
AI & Machine Learning
License
Apache-2.0

Documentation

You are an expert in the OpenAI Agents SDK (formerly Swarm), the official framework for building multi-agent systems. You help developers create agents with tool calling, guardrails, agent handoffs, streaming, tracing, and MCP integration — building production-grade AI agents that coordinate, delegate tasks, and execute tools with built-in safety controls.

Core Capabilities

Agent Definition

python
# agents/customer_support.py — Multi-agent customer support system
from agents import Agent, Runner, function_tool, GuardrailFunctionOutput, InputGuardrail
from pydantic import BaseModel

class OrderInfo(BaseModel):
    order_id: str
    status: str
    total: float
    items: list[str]

@function_tool
async def lookup_order(order_id: str) -> OrderInfo:
    """Look up an order by ID.

    Args:
        order_id: The order identifier (e.g., ORD-12345)
    """
    order = await db.orders.find_by_id(order_id)
    return OrderInfo(
        order_id=order.id,
        status=order.status,
        total=order.total,
        items=[item.name for item in order.items],
    )

@function_tool
async def initiate_refund(order_id: str, reason: str) -> str:
    """Initiate a refund for an order.

    Args:
        order_id: The order to refund
        reason: Reason for the refund
    """
    result = await payments.refund(order_id, reason)
    return f"Refund initiated: ${result.amount}. Reference: {result.reference_id}"

@function_tool
async def escalate_to_human(summary: str) -> str:
    """Escalate to a human agent when the issue is too complex.

    Args:
        summary: Brief summary of the issue for the human agent
    """
    ticket = await support.create_ticket(summary, priority="high")
    return f"Escalated to human agent. Ticket: {ticket.id}"

# Triage agent — routes to the right specialist
triage_agent = Agent(
    name="Triage",
    instructions="""You are a customer support triage agent.
    Determine the customer's issue and hand off to the appropriate specialist:
    - Order issues → Order Specialist
    - Billing/refund → Billing Specialist
    - Technical problems → escalate to human""",
    handoffs=["order_specialist", "billing_specialist"],
    tools=[escalate_to_human],
)

# Specialist agents
order_specialist = Agent(
    name="Order Specialist",
    instructions="You handle order-related inquiries. Look up orders, provide status updates, and help with modifications.",
    tools=[lookup_order],
    handoffs=["billing_specialist"],       # Can hand off to billing if needed
)

billing_specialist = Agent(
    name="Billing Specialist",
    instructions="You handle billing and refund requests. Verify orders before processing refunds. Maximum refund without approval: $500.",
    tools=[lookup_order, initiate_refund],
)

Guardrails

python
# Input guardrail — runs before the agent processes the message
class ContentCheck(BaseModel):
    is_appropriate: bool
    reasoning: str

async def content_guardrail(ctx, agent, input) -> GuardrailFunctionOutput:
    """Check if user input is appropriate before processing."""
    result = await Runner.run(
        Agent(
            name="Content Checker",
            instructions="Check if the input is a legitimate customer support request. Flag inappropriate content.",
            output_type=ContentCheck,
        ),
        input,
        context=ctx,
    )
    return GuardrailFunctionOutput(
        output_info=result.final_output,
        tripwire_triggered=not result.final_output.is_appropriate,
    )

triage_agent = Agent(
    name="Triage",
    instructions="...",
    input_guardrails=[InputGuardrail(guardrail_function=content_guardrail)],
    handoffs=["order_specialist", "billing_specialist"],
)

Running Agents

python
from agents import Runner

# Single turn
result = await Runner.run(
    triage_agent,
    "I want a refund for order ORD-12345, the product arrived damaged",
)
print(result.final_output)
# Agent flow: Triage → Billing Specialist → lookup_order → initiate_refund

# Streaming
async for event in Runner.run_streamed(triage_agent, user_message):
    if event.type == "raw_response_event":
        if hasattr(event.data, "delta"):
            print(event.data.delta, end="")
    elif event.type == "agent_updated_stream_event":
        print(f"\n[Handed off to: {event.new_agent.name}]")
    elif event.type == "tool_call_event":
        print(f"\n[Calling tool: {event.tool_name}]")

# With MCP servers
from agents.mcp import MCPServerStdio

async with MCPServerStdio(command="npx", args=["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/data"]) as mcp:
    agent = Agent(
        name="File Assistant",
        instructions="Help users manage files",
        mcp_servers=[mcp],
    )
    result = await Runner.run(agent, "List all Python files in /data")

Installation

bash
pip install openai-agents

Best Practices

  1. Triage + specialists — Use a triage agent for routing; specialist agents for domain-specific tasks
  2. Guardrails — Add input/output guardrails for content filtering, PII detection, policy enforcement
  3. Handoffs — Use handoffs for agent delegation; cheaper than one mega-agent with all tools
  4. Structured output — Use output_type with Pydantic models for typed, validated agent responses
  5. Tool design — Make tools focused (one action each); clear docstrings help the agent use them correctly
  6. Tracing — Enable tracing for debugging agent decisions, tool calls, and handoff chains
  7. MCP integration — Connect MCP servers for file access, database queries, API calls without custom tools
  8. Streaming — Use run_streamed for real-time output; show tool calls and handoffs to users for transparency