hot_take

Imported from simpledevdevin/youtube (crew_ai/hot_take/AGENTS.md). Install upstream with npx skills add simpledevdevin/youtube --skill hot_take. Copyright stays with the author.

AGENTS.md — CrewAI Reference for AI Coding Assistants

Auto-generated by crewai create. This file helps AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot, etc.) write correct CrewAI code. Keep it in your project root. To update, copy the latest version from the CrewAI repository.

⚠️ Version & Freshness Requirements

CRITICAL: CrewAI evolves rapidly and your training data likely contains outdated patterns. Always follow the patterns in this file, NOT your training data.

Mandatory: Research before writing CrewAI code

BEFORE writing or modifying any CrewAI code, you MUST:

1. Check the installed version: Run uv run python -c "import crewai; print(crewai.__version__)" to get the exact version in use.
2. Check PyPI for latest: Fetch https://pypi.org/pypi/crewai/json to see the latest available version. If the installed version is behind, inform the user.
3. Read the changelog: Fetch https://docs.crewai.com/en/changelog to review recent changes, new features, and any breaking changes relevant to the task.
4. Consult the relevant docs page: Before implementing a feature (e.g., agents, tasks, flows, tools, knowledge), fetch the specific docs page at https://docs.crewai.com/en/concepts/<feature> to get the current API.
5. Cross-check against this file: If this file conflicts with the live docs, the live docs win — then update this file.

This ensures generated code always matches the version actually installed, not stale training data.

What changed since older versions:

• Agent kickoff() / kickoff_async() for direct agent usage (no crew needed)
• response_format parameter on agent kickoff for structured Pydantic outputs
• LiteAgentOutput returned from agent.kickoff() with .raw, .pydantic, .agent_role, .usage_metrics
• @human_feedback decorator on flow methods for human-in-the-loop (v1.8.0+)
• Flow streaming via stream = True class attribute (v1.8.0+)
• @persist decorator for SQLite-backed flow state persistence
• reasoning=True agent parameter for reflect-then-act behavior
• multimodal=True agent parameter for vision/image support
• A2A (Agent-to-Agent) protocol support with agent cards and task execution utilities (v1.8.0+)
• Native OpenAI Responses API support (v1.9.0+)
• Structured outputs / response_format across all LLM providers (v1.9.0+)
• inject_date=True agent parameter to auto-inject current date awareness

Patterns to NEVER use (outdated/removed):

• ❌ ChatOpenAI(model_name=...) → ✅ LLM(model="openai/gpt-4o")
• ❌ Agent(llm=ChatOpenAI(...)) → ✅ Agent(llm="openai/gpt-4o") or Agent(llm=LLM(model="..."))
• ❌ Passing raw OpenAI client objects → ✅ Use crewai.LLM wrapper

How to verify you're using current patterns:

1. You ran the version check and docs lookup steps above before writing code
2. All LLM references use crewai.LLM or string shorthand ("openai/gpt-4o")
3. All tool imports come from crewai.tools or crewai_tools
4. Crew classes use @CrewBase decorator with YAML config files
5. Python >=3.10, <3.14
6. Code matches the API from the live docs, not just this file

Quick Reference

# Package management (always use uv)
uv add <package>          # Add dependency
uv sync                   # Sync dependencies
uv lock                   # Lock dependencies

# Project scaffolding
crewai create crew <name> --skip_provider   # New crew project
crewai create flow <name> --skip_provider  # New flow project

# Running
crewai run                  # Run crew or flow (auto-detects from pyproject.toml)
crewai flow kickoff         # Legacy flow execution

# Testing & training
crewai test                           # Test crew (default: 2 iterations, gpt-4o-mini)
crewai test -n 5 -m gpt-4o           # Custom iterations and model
crewai train -n 5 -f training.json   # Train crew

# Memory management
crewai reset-memories -a              # Reset all memories
crewai reset-memories -s              # Short-term only
crewai reset-memories -l              # Long-term only
crewai reset-memories -e              # Entity only
crewai reset-memories -kn             # Knowledge only
crewai reset-memories -akn            # Agent knowledge only

# Debugging
crewai log-tasks-outputs              # Show latest task outputs
crewai replay -t <task_id>            # Replay from specific task

# Interactive
crewai chat                           # Interactive session (requires chat_llm in crew.py)

# Visualization
crewai flow plot                      # Generate flow diagram HTML

# Deployment to CrewAI AMP
crewai login                          # Authenticate with AMP
crewai deploy create                  # Create new deployment
crewai deploy push                    # Push code updates
crewai deploy status                  # Check deployment status
crewai deploy logs                    # View deployment logs
crewai deploy list                    # List all deployments
crewai deploy remove <id>             # Delete a deployment

Project Structure

Crew Project

my_crew/
├── src/my_crew/
│   ├── config/
│   │   ├── agents.yaml       # Agent definitions (role, goal, backstory)
│   │   └── tasks.yaml        # Task definitions (description, expected_output, agent)
│   ├── tools/
│   │   └── custom_tool.py    # Custom tool implementations
│   ├── crew.py               # Crew orchestration class
│   └── main.py               # Entry point with inputs
├── knowledge/                 # Knowledge base resources
├── .env                       # API keys (OPENAI_API_KEY, SERPER_API_KEY, etc.)
└── pyproject.toml

Flow Project

my_flow/
├── src/my_flow/
│   ├── crews/                 # Multiple crew definitions
│   │   └── poem_crew/
│   │       ├── config/
│   │       │   ├── agents.yaml
│   │       │   └── tasks.yaml
│   │       └── poem_crew.py
│   ├── tools/                 # Custom tools
│   ├── main.py                # Flow orchestration
│   └── ...
├── .env
└── pyproject.toml

Architecture Overview

• Agent: Autonomous unit with a role, goal, backstory, tools, and an LLM. Makes decisions and executes tasks.
• Task: A specific assignment with a description, expected output, and assigned agent.
• Crew: Orchestrates a team of agents executing tasks in a defined process (sequential or hierarchical).
• Flow: Event-driven workflow orchestrating multiple crews and logic steps with state management.

YAML Configuration

agents.yaml

researcher:
  role: >
    {topic} Senior Data Researcher
  goal: >
    Uncover cutting-edge developments in {topic}
  backstory: >
    You're a seasoned researcher with a knack for uncovering
    the latest developments in {topic}. Known for your ability
    to find the most relevant information.
  # Optional YAML-level settings:
  # llm: openai/gpt-4o
  # max_iter: 20
  # max_rpm: 10
  # verbose: true

writer:
  role: >
    {topic} Technical Writer
  goal: >
    Create compelling content about {topic}
  backstory: >
    You're a skilled writer who translates complex technical
    information into clear, engaging content.

Variables like {topic} are interpolated from crew.kickoff(inputs={"topic": "AI Agents"}).

tasks.yaml

research_task:
  description: >
    Conduct thorough research about {topic}.
    Identify key trends, breakthrough technologies,
    and potential industry impacts.
  expected_output: >
    A detailed report with analysis of the top 5
    developments in {topic}, with sources and implications.
  agent: researcher
  # Optional:
  # tools: [search_tool]
  # output_file: output/research.md
  # markdown: true
  # async_execution: false

writing_task:
  description: >
    Write an article based on the research findings about {topic}.
  expected_output: >
    A polished 4-paragraph article formatted in markdown.
  agent: writer
  output_file: output/article.md

Crew Class Pattern

from crewai import Agent, Crew, Process, Task
from crewai.project import CrewBase, agent, crew, task
from crewai.agents.agent_builder.base_agent import BaseAgent
from typing import List

from crewai_tools import SerperDevTool

@CrewBase
class ResearchCrew:
    """Research and writing crew."""

    agents: List[BaseAgent]
    tasks: List[Task]

    agents_config = "config/agents.yaml"
    tasks_config = "config/tasks.yaml"

    @agent
    def researcher(self) -> Agent:
        return Agent(
            config=self.agents_config["researcher"],  # type: ignore[index]
            tools=[SerperDevTool()],
            verbose=True,
        )

    @agent
    def writer(self) -> Agent:
        return Agent(
            config=self.agents_config["writer"],  # type: ignore[index]
            verbose=True,
        )

    @task
    def research_task(self) -> Task:
        return Task(
            config=self.tasks_config["research_task"],  # type: ignore[index]
        )

    @task
    def writing_task(self) -> Task:
        return Task(
            config=self.tasks_config["writing_task"],  # type: ignore[index]
        )

    @crew
    def crew(self) -> Crew:
        """Creates the Research Crew."""
        return Crew(
            agents=self.agents,
            tasks=self.tasks,
            process=Process.sequential,
            verbose=True,
        )

Key formatting rules:

• Always add # type: ignore[index] for config dictionary access
• Agent/task method names must match YAML keys exactly
• Tools go on agents (not tasks) unless task-specific override is needed
• Never leave commented-out code in crew classes

Lifecycle hooks

@CrewBase
class MyCrew:
    @before_kickoff
    def prepare(self, inputs):
        # Modify inputs before execution
        inputs["extra"] = "value"
        return inputs

    @after_kickoff
    def summarize(self, result):
        # Process result after execution
        print(f"Done: {result.raw[:100]}")
        return result

main.py Pattern

#!/usr/bin/env python
from my_crew.crew import ResearchCrew

def run():
    inputs = {"topic": "AI Agents"}
    ResearchCrew().crew().kickoff(inputs=inputs)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    run()

Agent Configuration

Required Parameters

Key Optional Parameters

Direct Agent Usage (without a Crew)

Agents can execute tasks independently via kickoff() — no Crew required:

from crewai import Agent
from crewai_tools import SerperDevTool
from pydantic import BaseModel

class ResearchFindings(BaseModel):
    main_points: list[str]
    key_technologies: list[str]
    future_predictions: str

researcher = Agent(
    role="AI Researcher",
    goal="Research the latest AI developments",
    backstory="Expert AI researcher...",
    tools=[SerperDevTool()],
    verbose=True,
)

# Unstructured output
result = researcher.kickoff("What are the latest LLM developments?")
print(result.raw)           # str
print(result.agent_role)    # "AI Researcher"
print(result.usage_metrics) # token usage

# Structured output with response_format
result = researcher.kickoff(
    "Summarize latest AI developments",
    response_format=ResearchFindings,
)
print(result.pydantic.main_points)  # List[str]

# Async variant
result = await researcher.kickoff_async("Your query", response_format=ResearchFindings)

Returns LiteAgentOutput with: .raw, .pydantic, .agent_role, .usage_metrics.

LLM Configuration

IMPORTANT: Always use crewai.LLM LLM class.

from crewai import LLM

# String shorthand (simplest)
agent = Agent(llm="openai/gpt-4o", ...)

# Full configuration with crewai.LLM
llm = LLM(
    model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    temperature=0.7,
    max_tokens=4000,
)
agent = Agent(llm=llm, ...)

# Provider format: "provider/model-name"
# Examples:
#   "openai/gpt-4o"
#   "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
#   "google/gemini-2.0-flash"
#   "ollama/llama3"
#   "groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile"
#   "bedrock/anthropic.claude-3-sonnet-20240229-v1:0"

Supported providers: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Azure, Ollama, Groq, Mistral, and 20+ others via LiteLLM routing.

Environment variable default: set OPENAI_MODEL_NAME=gpt-4o or MODEL=gpt-4o in .env.

Task Configuration

Key Parameters

Task Dependencies (context)

@task
def analysis_task(self) -> Task:
    return Task(
        config=self.tasks_config["analysis_task"],  # type: ignore[index]
        context=[self.research_task()],  # Gets output from research_task
    )

Structured Output

from pydantic import BaseModel

class Report(BaseModel):
    title: str
    summary: str
    findings: list[str]

@task
def report_task(self) -> Task:
    return Task(
        config=self.tasks_config["report_task"],  # type: ignore[index]
        output_pydantic=Report,
    )

Guardrails

# Function-based
def validate(result: TaskOutput) -> tuple[bool, Any]:
    if len(result.raw.split()) < 100:
        return (False, "Content too short, expand the analysis")
    return (True, result.raw)

# LLM-based (string prompt)
task = Task(..., guardrail="Must be under 200 words and professional tone")

# Multiple guardrails
task = Task(..., guardrails=[validate_length, validate_tone, "Must be factual"])

Process Types

Sequential (default)

Tasks execute in definition order. Output of one task serves as context for the next.

Crew(agents=..., tasks=..., process=Process.sequential)

Hierarchical

Manager agent delegates tasks based on agent capabilities. Requires manager_llm or manager_agent.

Crew(
    agents=...,
    tasks=...,
    process=Process.hierarchical,
    manager_llm="gpt-4o",
)

Crew Execution

# Synchronous
result = crew.kickoff(inputs={"topic": "AI"})
print(result.raw)              # String output
print(result.pydantic)         # Structured output (if configured)
print(result.json_dict)        # Dict output
print(result.token_usage)      # Token metrics
print(result.tasks_output)     # List[TaskOutput]

# Async (native)
result = await crew.akickoff(inputs={"topic": "AI"})

# Batch execution
results = crew.kickoff_for_each(inputs=[{"topic": "AI"}, {"topic": "ML"}])

# Streaming output (v1.8.0+)
crew = Crew(agents=..., tasks=..., stream=True)
streaming = crew.kickoff(inputs={"topic": "AI"})
for chunk in streaming:
    print(chunk.content, end="", flush=True)

Crew Options

Flows

Basic Flow

from crewai.flow.flow import Flow, listen, start

class MyFlow(Flow):
    @start()
    def begin(self):
        return "initial data"

    @listen(begin)
    def process(self, data):
        return f"processed: {data}"

Flow Decorators

Structured State

from pydantic import BaseModel

class ResearchState(BaseModel):
    topic: str = ""
    research: str = ""
    report: str = ""

class ResearchFlow(Flow[ResearchState]):
    @start()
    def set_topic(self):
        self.state.topic = "AI Agents"

    @listen(set_topic)
    def do_research(self):
        # self.state.topic is available
        result = ResearchCrew().crew().kickoff(
            inputs={"topic": self.state.topic}
        )
        self.state.research = result.raw

Unstructured State (dict-based)

class SimpleFlow(Flow):
    @start()
    def begin(self):
        self.state["counter"] = 0  # Dict access

    @listen(begin)
    def increment(self):
        self.state["counter"] += 1

Conditional Routing

from crewai.flow.flow import Flow, listen, router, start

class QualityFlow(Flow):
    @start()
    def generate(self):
        return {"score": 0.85}

    @router(generate)
    def check_quality(self, result):
        if result["score"] > 0.8:
            return "high_quality"
        return "needs_revision"

    @listen("high_quality")
    def publish(self, result):
        print("Publishing...")

    @listen("needs_revision")
    def revise(self, result):
        print("Revising...")

Parallel Triggers with or_ and and_

from crewai.flow.flow import or_, and_

class ParallelFlow(Flow):
    @start()
    def task_a(self):
        return "A done"

    @start()
    def task_b(self):
        return "B done"

    # Fires when EITHER completes
    @listen(or_(task_a, task_b))
    def on_any(self, result):
        print(f"First result: {result}")

    # Fires when BOTH complete
    @listen(and_(task_a, task_b))
    def on_all(self):
        print("All parallel tasks done")

Integrating Crews in Flows

from crewai.flow.flow import Flow, listen, start
from my_project.crews.research_crew.research_crew import ResearchCrew
from my_project.crews.writing_crew.writing_crew import WritingCrew

class ContentFlow(Flow[ContentState]):
    @start()
    def research(self):
        result = ResearchCrew().crew().kickoff(
            inputs={"topic": self.state.topic}
        )
        self.state.research = result.raw

    @listen(research)
    def write(self):
        result = WritingCrew().crew().kickoff(
            inputs={
                "topic": self.state.topic,
                "research": self.state.research,
            }
        )
        self.state.article = result.raw

Using Agents Directly in Flows

from crewai.agent import Agent

class AgentFlow(Flow):
    @start()
    async def analyze(self):
        analyst = Agent(
            role="Data Analyst",
            goal="Analyze market trends",
            backstory="Expert data analyst...",
            tools=[SerperDevTool()],
        )
        result = await analyst.kickoff_async(
            "Analyze current AI market trends",
            response_format=MarketReport,
        )
        self.state.report = result.pydantic

Human-in-the-Loop (v1.8.0+)

from crewai.flow.flow import Flow, listen, start
from crewai.flow.human_feedback import human_feedback

class ReviewFlow(Flow):
    @start()
    @human_feedback(
        message="Approve this content?",
        emit=["approved", "rejected"],
        llm="gpt-4o-mini",
    )
    def generate_content(self):
        return "Content for review"

    @listen("approved")
    def on_approval(self, result):
        feedback = self.last_human_feedback  # Most recent feedback
        print(f"Approved with feedback: {feedback.feedback}")

    @listen("rejected")
    def on_rejection(self, result):
        history = self.human_feedback_history  # All feedback as list
        print("Rejected, revising...")

State Persistence

from crewai.flow.flow import persist

@persist  # Saves state to SQLite; auto-recovers on restart
class ResilientFlow(Flow[MyState]):
    @start()
    def begin(self):
        self.state.step = 1

Flow Execution

flow = MyFlow()
result = flow.kickoff()
print(result)                  # Output of last method
print(flow.state)              # Final state

# Async execution
result = await flow.kickoff_async(inputs={"key": "value"})

Flow Streaming (v1.8.0+)

class StreamingFlow(Flow):
    stream = True  # Enable streaming at class level

    @start()
    def generate(self):
        return "streamed content"

flow = StreamingFlow()
streaming = flow.kickoff()
for chunk in streaming:
    print(chunk.content, end="", flush=True)
result = streaming.result  # Final result after iteration

Flow Visualization

flow.plot("my_flow")           # Generates my_flow.html

Custom Tools

Using BaseTool

from typing import Type
from crewai.tools import BaseTool
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field

class SearchInput(BaseModel):
    """Input schema for search tool."""
    query: str = Field(..., description="Search query string")

class CustomSearchTool(BaseTool):
    name: str = "custom_search"
    description: str = "Searches a custom knowledge base for relevant information."
    args_schema: Type[BaseModel] = SearchInput

    def _run(self, query: str) -> str:
        # Implementation
        return f"Results for: {query}"

Using @tool Decorator

from crewai.tools import tool

@tool("Calculator")
def calculator(expression: str) -> str:
    """Evaluates a mathematical expression and returns the result."""
    return str(eval(expression))

Built-in Tools (install with uv add crewai-tools)

Web/Search: SerperDevTool, ScrapeWebsiteTool, WebsiteSearchTool, EXASearchTool, FirecrawlSearchTool Documents: FileReadTool, DirectoryReadTool, PDFSearchTool, DOCXSearchTool, CSVSearchTool, JSONSearchTool, XMLSearchTool, MDXSearchTool Code: CodeInterpreterTool, CodeDocsSearchTool, GithubSearchTool Media: DALL-E Tool, YoutubeChannelSearchTool, YoutubeVideoSearchTool Other: RagTool, ApifyActorsTool, ComposioTool, LlamaIndexTool

Always check https://docs.crewai.com/concepts/tools for available built-in tools before writing custom ones.

Memory System

Enable with memory=True on the Crew:

crew = Crew(agents=..., tasks=..., memory=True)

Four memory types work together automatically:

• Short-Term (ChromaDB + RAG): Recent interactions during current execution
• Long-Term (SQLite): Persists insights across sessions
• Entity (RAG): Tracks people, places, concepts
• Contextual: Integrates all types for coherent responses

Custom Embedding Provider

crew = Crew(
    memory=True,
    embedder={
        "provider": "ollama",
        "config": {"model": "mxbai-embed-large"},
    },
)

Supported providers: OpenAI (default), Ollama, Google AI, Azure OpenAI, Cohere, VoyageAI, Bedrock, Hugging Face.

Knowledge System

from crewai.knowledge.source.string_knowledge_source import StringKnowledgeSource
from crewai.knowledge.source.pdf_knowledge_source import PDFKnowledgeSource

# String source
string_source = StringKnowledgeSource(content="Domain knowledge here...")

# PDF source
pdf_source = PDFKnowledgeSource(file_paths=["docs/manual.pdf"])

# Agent-level knowledge
agent = Agent(..., knowledge_sources=[string_source])

# Crew-level knowledge (shared across all agents)
crew = Crew(..., knowledge_sources=[pdf_source])

Supported sources: strings, text files, PDFs, CSV, Excel, JSON, URLs (via CrewDoclingSource).

Agent Collaboration

Enable delegation with allow_delegation=True:

agent = Agent(
    role="Project Manager",
    allow_delegation=True,  # Can delegate to and ask other agents
    ...
)

• Delegation tool: Assign sub-tasks to teammates with relevant expertise
• Ask question tool: Query colleagues for specific information
• Set allow_delegation=False on specialists to prevent circular delegation

Event Listeners

from crewai.events import BaseEventListener, CrewKickoffStartedEvent

class MyListener(BaseEventListener):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()

    def setup_listeners(self, crewai_event_bus):
        @crewai_event_bus.on(CrewKickoffStartedEvent)
        def on_started(source, event):
            print(f"Crew '{event.crew_name}' started")

Event categories: Crew lifecycle, Agent execution, Task management, Tool usage, Knowledge retrieval, LLM calls, Memory operations, Flow execution, Safety guardrails.

Deployment to CrewAI AMP

Prerequisites

• Crew or Flow runs successfully locally
• Code is in a GitHub repository
• pyproject.toml has [tool.crewai] with correct type ("crew" or "flow")
• uv.lock is committed (generate with uv lock)

CLI Deployment

# Authenticate
crewai login

# Create deployment (auto-detects repo, transfers .env vars securely)
crewai deploy create

# Monitor (first deploy takes 10-15 min)
crewai deploy status
crewai deploy logs

# Manage deployments
crewai deploy list              # List all deployments
crewai deploy push              # Push code updates
crewai deploy remove <id>       # Delete deployment

Web Interface Deployment

1. Push code to GitHub
2. Log into https://app.crewai.com
3. Connect GitHub and select repository
4. Configure environment variables (KEY=VALUE, one per line)
5. Click Deploy and monitor via dashboard

CI/CD API Deployment

Get a Personal Access Token from app.crewai.com → Settings → Account → Personal Access Token. Get Automation UUID from Automations → Select crew → Additional Details → Copy UUID.

curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
     https://app.crewai.com/crewai_plus/api/v1/crews/YOUR-AUTOMATION-UUID/deploy

GitHub Actions Example

name: Deploy CrewAI Automation
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Trigger CrewAI Redeployment
        run: |
          curl -X POST \
               -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ secrets.CREWAI_PAT }}" \
               https://app.crewai.com/crewai_plus/api/v1/crews/${{ secrets.CREWAI_AUTOMATION_UUID }}/deploy

Project Structure Requirements for Deployment

• Entry point: src/<project_name>/main.py
• Crews must expose a run() function
• Flows must expose a kickoff() function
• All crew classes require @CrewBase decorator

Deployed Automation REST API

AMP Dashboard Tabs

• Status: Deployment info, API endpoint, auth token
• Run: Crew structure visualization
• Executions: Run history
• Metrics: Performance analytics
• Traces: Detailed execution insights

Deployment Troubleshooting

Environment Setup

Required .env

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
# Optional depending on tools/providers:
SERPER_API_KEY=...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=...
# Override default model:
MODEL=gpt-4o

Python Version

Python >=3.10, <3.14

Installation

uv tool install crewai        # Install CrewAI CLI
uv tool list                  # Verify installation
crewai create crew my_crew --skip_provider   # Scaffold a new project
crewai install                # Install project dependencies
crewai run                    # Execute

Development Best Practices

1. YAML-first configuration: Define agents and tasks in YAML, keep crew classes minimal
2. Check built-in tools before writing custom ones
3. Use structured output (output_pydantic) for data that flows between tasks or crews
4. Use guardrails to validate task outputs programmatically
5. Enable memory for crews that benefit from cross-session learning
6. Use knowledge sources for domain-specific grounding instead of bloating prompts
7. Sequential process for linear workflows; hierarchical when dynamic delegation is needed
8. Flows for multi-crew orchestration: Use @start, @listen, @router for complex pipelines
9. Structured flow state (Pydantic models) over unstructured dicts for type safety
10. Test with crewai test to evaluate crew performance across iterations
11. Verbose mode during development, disable in production
12. Rate limiting (max_rpm) to avoid API throttling
13. respect_context_window=True to auto-handle token limits

Common Pitfalls

• Using ChatOpenAI() — Always use crewai.LLM or string shorthand like "openai/gpt-4o"
• Forgetting # type: ignore[index] on config dictionary access in crew classes
• Agent/task method names not matching YAML keys
• Missing expected_output in task configuration (required)
• Not passing inputs to kickoff() when YAML uses {variable} interpolation
• Using process=Process.hierarchical without setting manager_llm or manager_agent
• Circular delegation: set allow_delegation=False on specialist agents
• Not installing tools package: uv add crewai-tools