Deep Agents Orchestration

langchain-ai/deep-agents-orchestration

INVOKE THIS SKILL when using subagents, task planning, or human approval in Deep Agents. Covers SubAgentMiddleware, TodoList for planning, and HITL interrupts.

3k tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

instructions only

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

1080

stars on the repo

on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository

npx skills add https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain-skills --skill deep-agents-orchestration

What it tells the agent to use

found in the instruction text

Task spawns other agents

The instruction itself

5 sections, as written by the author

Deep Agents include three orchestration capabilities:

SubAgentMiddleware: Delegate work via task tool to specialized agents
TodoListMiddleware: Plan and track tasks via write_todos tool
HumanInTheLoopMiddleware: Require approval before sensitive operations

All three are automatically included in create_deep_agent().

</overview>

Subagents (Task Delegation)

<when-to-use-subagents>

| Use Subagents When | Use Main Agent When |

|-------------------|-------------------|

| Task needs specialized tools | General-purpose tools sufficient |

| Want to isolate complex work | Single-step operation |

| Need clean context for main agent | Context bloat acceptable |

</when-to-use-subagents>

<how-subagents-work>

Main agent has task tool -> creates fresh subagent -> subagent executes autonomously -> returns final report.

Default subagent: "general-purpose" - automatically available with same tools/config as main agent.

</how-subagents-work>

<ex-custom-subagents>

Create a custom "researcher" subagent with specialized tools for academic paper search.

from deepagents import create_deep_agent
from langchain.tools import tool

@tool
def search_papers(query: str) -> str:
    """Search academic papers."""
    return f"Found 10 papers about {query}"

agent = create_deep_agent(
    subagents=[
        {
            "name": "researcher",
            "description": "Conduct web research and compile findings",
            "system_prompt": "Search thoroughly, return concise summary",
            "tools": [search_papers],
        }
    ]
)

# Main agent delegates: task(agent="researcher", instruction="Research AI trends")

</python>

Create a custom "researcher" subagent with specialized tools for academic paper search.

import { createDeepAgent } from "deepagents";
import { tool } from "@langchain/core/tools";
import { z } from "zod";

const searchPapers = tool(
  async ({ query }) => `Found 10 papers about ${query}`,
  { name: "search_papers", description: "Search papers", schema: z.object({ query: z.string() }) }
);

const agent = await createDeepAgent({
  subagents: [
    {
      name: "researcher",
      description: "Conduct web research and compile findings",
      systemPrompt: "Search thoroughly, return concise summary",
      tools: [searchPapers],
    }
  ]
});

// Main agent delegates: task(agent="researcher", instruction="Research AI trends")

</typescript>

</ex-custom-subagents>

<ex-subagent-with-hitl>

Configure a subagent with HITL approval for sensitive operations.

from deepagents import create_deep_agent
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver

agent = create_deep_agent(
    subagents=[
        {
            "name": "code-deployer",
            "description": "Deploy code to production",
            "system_prompt": "You deploy code after tests pass.",
            "tools": [run_tests, deploy_to_prod],
            "interrupt_on": {"deploy_to_prod": True},  # Require approval
        }
    ],
    checkpointer=MemorySaver()  # Required for interrupts
)

</python>

</ex-subagent-with-hitl>

<fix-subagents-are-stateless>

Subagents are stateless - provide complete instructions in a single call.

# WRONG: Subagents don't remember previous calls
# task(agent='research', instruction='Find data')
# task(agent='research', instruction='What did you find?')  # Starts fresh!

# CORRECT: Complete instructions upfront
# task(agent='research', instruction='Find data on AI, save to /research/, return summary')

</python>

Subagents are stateless - provide complete instructions in a single call.

// WRONG: Subagents don't remember previous calls
// task research: Find data
// task research: What did you find?  // Starts fresh!

// CORRECT: Complete instructions upfront
// task research: Find data on AI, save to /research/, return summary

</typescript>

</fix-subagents-are-stateless>

<fix-custom-subagents-dont-inherit-skills>

Custom subagents don't inherit skills from the main agent.

# WRONG: Custom subagent won't have main agent's skills
agent = create_deep_agent(
    skills=["/main-skills/"],
    subagents=[{"name": "helper", ...}]  # No skills inherited
)

# CORRECT: Provide skills explicitly (general-purpose subagent DOES inherit)
agent = create_deep_agent(
    skills=["/main-skills/"],
    subagents=[{"name": "helper", "skills": ["/helper-skills/"], ...}]
)

</python>

</fix-custom-subagents-dont-inherit-skills>

TodoList (Task Planning)

<when-to-use-todolist>

| Use TodoList When | Skip TodoList When |

|------------------|-------------------|

| Complex multi-step tasks | Simple single-action tasks |

| Long-running operations | Quick operations (< 3 steps) |

</when-to-use-todolist>

<todolist-tool>

write_todos(todos: list[dict]) -> None

Each todo item has:

content: Description of the task
status: One of "pending", "in_progress", "completed"

</todolist-tool>

<ex-todolist-usage>

Invoke an agent that automatically creates a todo list for a multi-step task.

from deepagents import create_deep_agent

agent = create_deep_agent()  # TodoListMiddleware included by default

result = agent.invoke({
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Create a REST API: design models, implement CRUD, add auth, write tests"}]
}, config={"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}})

# Agent's planning via write_todos:
# [
#   {"content": "Design data models", "status": "in_progress"},
#   {"content": "Implement CRUD endpoints", "status": "pending"},
#   {"content": "Add authentication", "status": "pending"},
#   {"content": "Write tests", "status": "pending"}
# ]

</python>

Invoke an agent that automatically creates a todo list for a multi-step task.

import { createDeepAgent } from "deepagents";

const agent = await createDeepAgent();  // TodoListMiddleware included

const result = await agent.invoke({
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Create a REST API: design models, implement CRUD, add auth, write tests" }]
}, { configurable: { thread_id: "session-1" } });

</typescript>

</ex-todolist-usage>

<ex-access-todo-state>

Access the todo list from the agent's final state after invocation.

result = agent.invoke({...}, config={"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}})

# Access todo list from final state
todos = result.get("todos", [])
for todo in todos:
    print(f"[{todo['status']}] {todo['content']}")

</python>

</ex-access-todo-state>

<fix-todolist-requires-thread-id>

Todo list state requires a thread_id for persistence across invocations.

# WRONG: Fresh state each time without thread_id
agent.invoke({"messages": [...]})

# CORRECT: Use thread_id
config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "user-session"}}
agent.invoke({"messages": [...]}, config=config)  # Todos preserved

</python>

</fix-todolist-requires-thread-id>

Human-in-the-Loop (Approval Workflows)

<when-to-use-hitl>

| Use HITL When | Skip HITL When |

|--------------|---------------|

| High-stakes operations (DB writes, deployments) | Read-only operations |

| Compliance requires human oversight | Fully automated workflows |

</when-to-use-hitl>

<ex-hitl-setup>

Configure which tools require human approval before execution.

from deepagents import create_deep_agent
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver

agent = create_deep_agent(
    interrupt_on={
        "write_file": True,  # All decisions allowed
        "execute_sql": {"allowed_decisions": ["approve", "reject"]},
        "read_file": False,  # No interrupts
    },
    checkpointer=MemorySaver()  # REQUIRED for interrupts
)

</python>

Configure which tools require human approval before execution.

import { createDeepAgent } from "deepagents";
import { MemorySaver } from "@langchain/langgraph";

const agent = await createDeepAgent({
  interruptOn: {
    write_file: true,
    execute_sql: { allowedDecisions: ["approve", "reject"] },
    read_file: false,
  },
  checkpointer: new MemorySaver()  // REQUIRED
});

</typescript>

</ex-hitl-setup>

<ex-approval-workflow>

Complete workflow: trigger an interrupt, check state, approve action, and resume execution.

from deepagents import create_deep_agent
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
from langgraph.types import Command

agent = create_deep_agent(
    interrupt_on={"write_file": True},
    checkpointer=MemorySaver()
)

config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}}

# Step 1: Agent proposes write_file - execution pauses
result = agent.invoke({
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Write config to /prod.yaml"}]
}, config=config)

# Step 2: Check for interrupts
state = agent.get_state(config)
if state.next:
    print(f"Pending action")

# Step 3: Approve and resume
result = agent.invoke(Command(resume={"decisions": [{"type": "approve"}]}), config=config)

</python>

Complete workflow: trigger an interrupt, check state, approve action, and resume execution.

import { createDeepAgent } from "deepagents";
import { MemorySaver, Command } from "@langchain/langgraph";

const agent = await createDeepAgent({
  interruptOn: { write_file: true },
  checkpointer: new MemorySaver()
});

const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "session-1" } };

// Step 1: Agent proposes write_file - execution pauses
let result = await agent.invoke({
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Write config to /prod.yaml" }]
}, config);

// Step 2: Check for interrupts
const state = await agent.getState(config);
if (state.next) {
  console.log("Pending action");
}

// Step 3: Approve and resume
result = await agent.invoke(
  new Command({ resume: { decisions: [{ type: "approve" }] } }), config
);

</typescript>

</ex-approval-workflow>

<ex-reject-with-feedback>

Reject a pending action with feedback, prompting the agent to try a different approach.

result = agent.invoke(
    Command(resume={"decisions": [{"type": "reject", "message": "Run tests first"}]}),
    config=config,
)

</python>

Reject a pending action with feedback, prompting the agent to try a different approach.

const result = await agent.invoke(
  new Command({ resume: { decisions: [{ type: "reject", message: "Run tests first" }] } }),
  config,
);

</typescript>

</ex-reject-with-feedback>

<ex-edit-before-execution>

Edit the proposed action arguments before allowing execution.

result = agent.invoke(
    Command(resume={"decisions": [{
        "type": "edit",
        "edited_action": {
            "name": "execute_sql",
            "args": {"query": "DELETE FROM users WHERE last_login < '2020-01-01' LIMIT 100"},
        },
    }]}),
    config=config,
)

</python>

</ex-edit-before-execution>

What Agents CAN Configure

Subagent names, tools, models, system prompts
Which tools require approval
Allowed decision types per tool
TodoList content and structure

What Agents CANNOT Configure

Tool names (task, write_todos)
HITL protocol (approve/edit/reject structure)
Skip checkpointer requirement for interrupts
Make subagents stateful (they're ephemeral)

</boundaries>

<fix-checkpointer-required>

Checkpointer is required when using interrupt_on for HITL workflows.

# WRONG
agent = create_deep_agent(interrupt_on={"write_file": True})

# CORRECT
agent = create_deep_agent(interrupt_on={"write_file": True}, checkpointer=MemorySaver())

</python>

Checkpointer is required when using interruptOn for HITL workflows.

// WRONG
const agent = await createDeepAgent({ interruptOn: { write_file: true } });

// CORRECT
const agent = await createDeepAgent({ interruptOn: { write_file: true }, checkpointer: new MemorySaver() });

</typescript>

</fix-checkpointer-required>

<fix-thread-id-required-for-resumption>

A consistent thread_id is required to resume interrupted workflows.

# WRONG: Can't resume without thread_id
agent.invoke({"messages": [...]})

# CORRECT
config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}}
agent.invoke({...}, config=config)
# Resume with Command using same config
agent.invoke(Command(resume={"decisions": [{"type": "approve"}]}), config=config)

</python>

A consistent thread_id is required to resume interrupted workflows.

// WRONG: Can't resume without thread_id
await agent.invoke({ messages: [...] });

// CORRECT
const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "session-1" } };
await agent.invoke({ messages: [...] }, config);
// Resume with Command using same config
await agent.invoke(new Command({ resume: { decisions: [{ type: "approve" }] } }), config);

</typescript>

</fix-thread-id-required-for-resumption>

<fix-interrupt-checks-between-invocations>

Interrupts happen BETWEEN invoke() calls, not mid-execution.

result = agent.invoke({...}, config=config)       # Step 1: triggers interrupt
if "__interrupt__" in result:                      # Step 2: check for interrupt
    result = agent.invoke(                         # Step 3: resume
        Command(resume={"decisions": [{"type": "approve"}]}),
        config=config,
    )

</python>

</fix-interrupt-checks-between-invocations>

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take langchain-ai/deep-agents-orchestration from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.