Why AutoGen?

Why AutoGen?

  

Pioneered in Microsoft Research, AutoGen opened the door to experimental multi-agent orchestration patterns that inspired the community. While AutoGen is now in maintenance mode, existing users can continue to use the framework with the architecture described below. **For new projects, we recommend [Microsoft Agent Framework](https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework)**, which builds on the lessons learned from AutoGen with enterprise-grade support.

The autogen _framework_ uses a layered and extensible design. Layers have clearly divided responsibilities and build on top of layers below. This design enables you to use the framework at different levels of abstraction, from high-level APIs to low-level components.

- [Core API](./python/packages/autogen-core/) implements message passing, event-driven agents, and local and distributed runtime for flexibility and power. It also support cross-language support for .NET and Python.
- [AgentChat API](./python/packages/autogen-agentchat/) implements a simpler but opinionated API for rapid prototyping. This API is built on top of the Core API and is closest to what users of v0.2 are familiar with and supports common multi-agent patterns such as two-agent chat or group chats.
- [Extensions API](./python/packages/autogen-ext/) enables first- and third-party extensions continuously expanding framework capabilities. It support specific implementation of LLM clients (e.g., OpenAI, AzureOpenAI), and capabilities such as code execution.

The ecosystem also supports two essential _developer tools_:

  

- [AutoGen Studio](./python/packages/autogen-studio/) provides a no-code GUI for building multi-agent applications.
- [AutoGen Bench](./python/packages/agbench/) provides a benchmarking suite for evaluating agent performance.

You can use the AutoGen framework and developer tools to create applications for your domain. For example, [Magentic-One](./python/packages/magentic-one-cli/) is a state-of-the-art multi-agent team built using AgentChat API and Extensions API that can handle a variety of tasks that require web browsing, code execution, and file handling.

For community support, visit our [Discord server](https://aka.ms/autogen-discord) or [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/microsoft/autogen/discussions). Note that AutoGen is now community-managed and responses may be limited.