Identify parent_flow of Crew and LiteAgent (#2723)

This commit adds a new crew field called parent_flow, evaluated when the Crew
instance is instantiated. The stacktrace is traversed to look up if the caller
is an instance of Flow, and if so, it fills in the field.

Other alternatives were considered, such as a global context or even a new
field to be manually filled, however, this is the most magical solution that
was thread-safe and did not require public API changes.

src/crewai/crew.py

@@ -6,7 +6,17 @@ import warnings
 from concurrent.futures import Future
 from copy import copy as shallow_copy
 from hashlib import md5
-from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple, Union, cast
+from typing import (
+    Any,
+    Callable,
+    Dict,
+    List,
+    Optional,
+    Set,
+    Tuple,
+    Union,
+    cast,
+)
 
 from pydantic import (
     UUID4,
@@ -24,6 +34,7 @@ from crewai.agent import Agent
 from crewai.agents.agent_builder.base_agent import BaseAgent
 from crewai.agents.cache import CacheHandler
 from crewai.crews.crew_output import CrewOutput
+from crewai.flow.flow_trackable import FlowTrackable
 from crewai.knowledge.knowledge import Knowledge
 from crewai.knowledge.source.base_knowledge_source import BaseKnowledgeSource
 from crewai.llm import LLM, BaseLLM
@@ -69,7 +80,7 @@ from crewai.utilities.training_handler import CrewTrainingHandler
 warnings.filterwarnings("ignore", category=SyntaxWarning, module="pysbd")
 
 
-class Crew(BaseModel):
+class Crew(FlowTrackable, BaseModel):
     """
     Represents a group of agents, defining how they should collaborate and the tasks they should perform.
 

src/crewai/flow/flow_trackable.py

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import inspect
+from typing import Optional
+
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, InstanceOf, model_validator
+
+from crewai.flow import Flow
+
+
+class FlowTrackable(BaseModel):
+    """Mixin that tracks the Flow instance that instantiated the object, e.g. a
+    Flow instance that created a Crew or Agent.
+
+    Automatically finds and stores a reference to the parent Flow instance by
+    inspecting the call stack.
+    """
+
+    parent_flow: Optional[InstanceOf[Flow]] = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description="The parent flow of the instance, if it was created inside a flow.",
+    )
+
+    @model_validator(mode="after")
+    def _set_parent_flow(self, max_depth: int = 5) -> "FlowTrackable":
+        frame = inspect.currentframe()
+
+        try:
+            if frame is None:
+                return self
+
+            frame = frame.f_back
+            for _ in range(max_depth):
+                if frame is None:
+                    break
+
+                candidate = frame.f_locals.get("self")
+                if isinstance(candidate, Flow):
+                    self.parent_flow = candidate
+                    break
+
+                frame = frame.f_back
+        finally:
+            del frame
+
+        return self

src/crewai/lite_agent.py

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from crewai.agents.parser import (
     AgentFinish,
     OutputParserException,
 )
+from crewai.flow.flow_trackable import FlowTrackable
 from crewai.llm import LLM
 from crewai.tools.base_tool import BaseTool
 from crewai.tools.structured_tool import CrewStructuredTool
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ class LiteAgentOutput(BaseModel):
         return self.raw
 
 
-class LiteAgent(BaseModel):
+class LiteAgent(FlowTrackable, BaseModel):
     """
     A lightweight agent that can process messages and use tools.
 

tests/cli/tools/test_main.py

@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@ import tempfile
 import unittest
 import unittest.mock
 from contextlib import contextmanager
-from io import StringIO
 from unittest import mock
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
+import pytest
 from pytest import raises
 
+from crewai.cli.authentication.utils import TokenManager
 from crewai.cli.tools.main import ToolCommand
 
 
@@ -23,17 +24,20 @@ def in_temp_dir():
             os.chdir(original_dir)
 
 
-@patch("crewai.cli.tools.main.subprocess.run")
+@pytest.fixture
-def test_create_success(mock_subprocess):
+def tool_command():
-    with in_temp_dir():
+    TokenManager().save_tokens("test-token", 36000)
     tool_command = ToolCommand()
+    with patch.object(tool_command, "login"):
+        yield tool_command
 
-        with (
+
-            patch.object(tool_command, "login") as mock_login,
+@patch("crewai.cli.tools.main.subprocess.run")
-            patch("sys.stdout", new=StringIO()) as fake_out,
+def test_create_success(mock_subprocess, capsys, tool_command):
-        ):
+    with in_temp_dir():
         tool_command.create("test-tool")
-            output = fake_out.getvalue()
+        output = capsys.readouterr().out
+        assert "Creating custom tool test_tool..." in output
 
         assert os.path.isdir("test_tool")
         assert os.path.isfile(os.path.join("test_tool", "README.md"))
@@ -47,15 +51,12 @@ def test_create_success(mock_subprocess):
             content = f.read()
             assert "class TestTool" in content
 
-        mock_login.assert_called_once()
         mock_subprocess.assert_called_once_with(["git", "init"], check=True)
 
-        assert "Creating custom tool test_tool..." in output
-
 
 @patch("crewai.cli.tools.main.subprocess.run")
 @patch("crewai.cli.plus_api.PlusAPI.get_tool")
-def test_install_success(mock_get, mock_subprocess_run):
+def test_install_success(mock_get, mock_subprocess_run, capsys, tool_command):
     mock_get_response = MagicMock()
     mock_get_response.status_code = 200
     mock_get_response.json.return_value = {
@@ -65,11 +66,9 @@ def test_install_success(mock_get, mock_subprocess_run):
     mock_get.return_value = mock_get_response
     mock_subprocess_run.return_value = MagicMock(stderr=None)
 
-    tool_command = ToolCommand()
-
-    with patch("sys.stdout", new=StringIO()) as fake_out:
     tool_command.install("sample-tool")
-        output = fake_out.getvalue()
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert "Successfully installed sample-tool" in output
 
     mock_get.assert_has_calls([mock.call("sample-tool"), mock.call().json()])
     mock_subprocess_run.assert_any_call(
@@ -86,54 +85,42 @@ def test_install_success(mock_get, mock_subprocess_run):
         env=unittest.mock.ANY,
     )
 
-    assert "Successfully installed sample-tool" in output
-
 
 @patch("crewai.cli.plus_api.PlusAPI.get_tool")
-def test_install_tool_not_found(mock_get):
+def test_install_tool_not_found(mock_get, capsys, tool_command):
     mock_get_response = MagicMock()
     mock_get_response.status_code = 404
     mock_get.return_value = mock_get_response
 
-    tool_command = ToolCommand()
+    with raises(SystemExit):
-
-    with patch("sys.stdout", new=StringIO()) as fake_out:
-        try:
         tool_command.install("non-existent-tool")
-        except SystemExit:
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
-            pass
+    assert "No tool found with this name" in output
-        output = fake_out.getvalue()
 
     mock_get.assert_called_once_with("non-existent-tool")
-    assert "No tool found with this name" in output
 
 
 @patch("crewai.cli.plus_api.PlusAPI.get_tool")
-def test_install_api_error(mock_get):
+def test_install_api_error(mock_get, capsys, tool_command):
     mock_get_response = MagicMock()
     mock_get_response.status_code = 500
     mock_get.return_value = mock_get_response
 
-    tool_command = ToolCommand()
+    with raises(SystemExit):
-
-    with patch("sys.stdout", new=StringIO()) as fake_out:
-        try:
         tool_command.install("error-tool")
-        except SystemExit:
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
-            pass
+    assert "Failed to get tool details" in output
-        output = fake_out.getvalue()
 
     mock_get.assert_called_once_with("error-tool")
-    assert "Failed to get tool details" in output
 
 
 @patch("crewai.cli.tools.main.git.Repository.is_synced", return_value=False)
-def test_publish_when_not_in_sync(mock_is_synced):
+def test_publish_when_not_in_sync(mock_is_synced, capsys, tool_command):
-    with patch("sys.stdout", new=StringIO()) as fake_out, raises(SystemExit):
+    with raises(SystemExit):
-        tool_command = ToolCommand()
         tool_command.publish(is_public=True)
 
-    assert "Local changes need to be resolved before publishing" in fake_out.getvalue()
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert "Local changes need to be resolved before publishing" in output
 
 
 @patch("crewai.cli.tools.main.get_project_name", return_value="sample-tool")
@@ -157,13 +144,13 @@ def test_publish_when_not_in_sync_and_force(
     mock_get_project_description,
     mock_get_project_version,
     mock_get_project_name,
+    tool_command,
 ):
     mock_publish_response = MagicMock()
     mock_publish_response.status_code = 200
     mock_publish_response.json.return_value = {"handle": "sample-tool"}
     mock_publish.return_value = mock_publish_response
 
-    tool_command = ToolCommand()
     tool_command.publish(is_public=True, force=True)
 
     mock_get_project_name.assert_called_with(require=True)
@@ -205,13 +192,13 @@ def test_publish_success(
     mock_get_project_description,
     mock_get_project_version,
     mock_get_project_name,
+    tool_command,
 ):
     mock_publish_response = MagicMock()
     mock_publish_response.status_code = 200
     mock_publish_response.json.return_value = {"handle": "sample-tool"}
     mock_publish.return_value = mock_publish_response
 
-    tool_command = ToolCommand()
     tool_command.publish(is_public=True)
 
     mock_get_project_name.assert_called_with(require=True)
@@ -251,25 +238,22 @@ def test_publish_failure(
     mock_get_project_description,
     mock_get_project_version,
     mock_get_project_name,
+    capsys,
+    tool_command,
 ):
     mock_publish_response = MagicMock()
     mock_publish_response.status_code = 422
     mock_publish_response.json.return_value = {"name": ["is already taken"]}
     mock_publish.return_value = mock_publish_response
 
-    tool_command = ToolCommand()
+    with raises(SystemExit):
-
-    with patch("sys.stdout", new=StringIO()) as fake_out:
-        try:
         tool_command.publish(is_public=True)
-        except SystemExit:
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
-            pass
-        output = fake_out.getvalue()
-
-    mock_publish.assert_called_once()
     assert "Failed to complete operation" in output
     assert "Name is already taken" in output
 
+    mock_publish.assert_called_once()
+
 
 @patch("crewai.cli.tools.main.get_project_name", return_value="sample-tool")
 @patch("crewai.cli.tools.main.get_project_version", return_value="1.0.0")
@@ -290,6 +274,8 @@ def test_publish_api_error(
     mock_get_project_description,
     mock_get_project_version,
     mock_get_project_name,
+    capsys,
+    tool_command,
 ):
     mock_response = MagicMock()
     mock_response.status_code = 500
@@ -297,14 +283,9 @@ def test_publish_api_error(
     mock_response.ok = False
     mock_publish.return_value = mock_response
 
-    tool_command = ToolCommand()
+    with raises(SystemExit):
-
-    with patch("sys.stdout", new=StringIO()) as fake_out:
-        try:
         tool_command.publish(is_public=True)
-        except SystemExit:
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
-            pass
+    assert "Request to Enterprise API failed" in output
-        output = fake_out.getvalue()
 
     mock_publish.assert_called_once()
-    assert "Request to Enterprise API failed" in output

tests/crew_test.py

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ from crewai.agents.cache import CacheHandler
 from crewai.agents.crew_agent_executor import CrewAgentExecutor
 from crewai.crew import Crew
 from crewai.crews.crew_output import CrewOutput
+from crewai.flow import Flow, listen, start
 from crewai.knowledge.source.string_knowledge_source import StringKnowledgeSource
 from crewai.llm import LLM
 from crewai.memory.contextual.contextual_memory import ContextualMemory
@@ -2164,7 +2165,6 @@ def test_tools_with_custom_caching():
     with patch.object(
         CacheHandler, "add", wraps=crew._cache_handler.add
     ) as add_to_cache:
-
         result = crew.kickoff()
 
         # Check that add_to_cache was called exactly twice
@@ -4351,3 +4351,35 @@ def test_crew_copy_with_memory():
             raise e  # Re-raise other validation errors
     except Exception as e:
         pytest.fail(f"Copying crew raised an unexpected exception: {e}")
+
+
+def test_sets_parent_flow_when_outside_flow(researcher, writer):
+    crew = Crew(
+        agents=[researcher, writer],
+        process=Process.sequential,
+        tasks=[
+            Task(description="Task 1", expected_output="output", agent=researcher),
+            Task(description="Task 2", expected_output="output", agent=writer),
+        ],
+    )
+    assert crew.parent_flow is None
+
+
+def test_sets_parent_flow_when_inside_flow(researcher, writer):
+    class MyFlow(Flow):
+        @start()
+        def start(self):
+            return Crew(
+                agents=[researcher, writer],
+                process=Process.sequential,
+                tasks=[
+                    Task(
+                        description="Task 1", expected_output="output", agent=researcher
+                    ),
+                    Task(description="Task 2", expected_output="output", agent=writer),
+                ],
+            )
+
+    flow = MyFlow()
+    result = flow.kickoff()
+    assert result.parent_flow is flow

tests/test_lite_agent.py

@@ -1,13 +1,16 @@
 import asyncio
 from typing import cast
+from unittest.mock import Mock
 
 import pytest
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 
 from crewai import LLM, Agent
+from crewai.flow import Flow, start
 from crewai.lite_agent import LiteAgent, LiteAgentOutput
 from crewai.tools import BaseTool
 from crewai.utilities.events import crewai_event_bus
+from crewai.utilities.events.agent_events import LiteAgentExecutionStartedEvent
 from crewai.utilities.events.tool_usage_events import ToolUsageStartedEvent
 
 
@@ -255,3 +258,60 @@ async def test_lite_agent_returns_usage_metrics_async():
     assert "21 million" in result.raw or "37 million" in result.raw
     assert result.usage_metrics is not None
     assert result.usage_metrics["total_tokens"] > 0
+
+
+class TestFlow(Flow):
+    """A test flow that creates and runs an agent."""
+
+    def __init__(self, llm, tools):
+        self.llm = llm
+        self.tools = tools
+        super().__init__()
+
+    @start()
+    def start(self):
+        agent = Agent(
+            role="Test Agent",
+            goal="Test Goal",
+            backstory="Test Backstory",
+            llm=self.llm,
+            tools=self.tools,
+        )
+        return agent.kickoff("Test query")
+
+
+def verify_agent_parent_flow(result, agent, flow):
+    """Verify that both the result and agent have the correct parent flow."""
+    assert result.parent_flow is flow
+    assert agent is not None
+    assert agent.parent_flow is flow
+
+
+def test_sets_parent_flow_when_inside_flow():
+    captured_agent = None
+
+    mock_llm = Mock(spec=LLM)
+    mock_llm.call.return_value = "Test response"
+
+    class MyFlow(Flow):
+        @start()
+        def start(self):
+            agent = Agent(
+                role="Test Agent",
+                goal="Test Goal",
+                backstory="Test Backstory",
+                llm=mock_llm,
+                tools=[WebSearchTool()],
+            )
+            return agent.kickoff("Test query")
+
+    flow = MyFlow()
+    with crewai_event_bus.scoped_handlers():
+
+        @crewai_event_bus.on(LiteAgentExecutionStartedEvent)
+        def capture_agent(source, event):
+            nonlocal captured_agent
+            captured_agent = source
+
+        result = flow.kickoff()
+        assert captured_agent.parent_flow is flow