Merge branch 'main' into fix/_should_force_answer

Co-authored-by: Devin AI <158243242+devin-ai-integration[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Joe Moura <joao@crewai.com>

README.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 # **CrewAI**
 
-🤖 **CrewAI**: Cutting-edge framework for orchestrating role-playing, autonomous AI agents. By fostering collaborative intelligence, CrewAI empowers agents to work together seamlessly, tackling complex tasks.
+🤖 **CrewAI**: Production-grade framework for orchestrating sophisticated AI agent systems. From simple automations to complex real-world applications, CrewAI provides precise control and deep customization. By fostering collaborative intelligence through flexible, production-ready architecture, CrewAI empowers agents to work together seamlessly, tackling complex business challenges with predictable, consistent results.
 
 <h3>
 
@@ -22,13 +22,17 @@
 - [Why CrewAI?](#why-crewai)
 - [Getting Started](#getting-started)
 - [Key Features](#key-features)
+- [Understanding Flows and Crews](#understanding-flows-and-crews)
+- [CrewAI vs LangGraph](#how-crewai-compares)
 - [Examples](#examples)
   - [Quick Tutorial](#quick-tutorial)
   - [Write Job Descriptions](#write-job-descriptions)
   - [Trip Planner](#trip-planner)
   - [Stock Analysis](#stock-analysis)
+  - [Using Crews and Flows Together](#using-crews-and-flows-together)
 - [Connecting Your Crew to a Model](#connecting-your-crew-to-a-model)
 - [How CrewAI Compares](#how-crewai-compares)
+- [Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)](#frequently-asked-questions-faq)
 - [Contribution](#contribution)
 - [Telemetry](#telemetry)
 - [License](#license)
@@ -36,10 +40,40 @@
 ## Why CrewAI?
 
 The power of AI collaboration has too much to offer.
-CrewAI is designed to enable AI agents to assume roles, share goals, and operate in a cohesive unit - much like a well-oiled crew. Whether you're building a smart assistant platform, an automated customer service ensemble, or a multi-agent research team, CrewAI provides the backbone for sophisticated multi-agent interactions.
+CrewAI is a standalone framework, built from the ground up without dependencies on Langchain or other agent frameworks. It's designed to enable AI agents to assume roles, share goals, and operate in a cohesive unit - much like a well-oiled crew. Whether you're building a smart assistant platform, an automated customer service ensemble, or a multi-agent research team, CrewAI provides the backbone for sophisticated multi-agent interactions.
 
 ## Getting Started
 
+### Learning Resources
+
+Learn CrewAI through our comprehensive courses:
+- [Multi AI Agent Systems with CrewAI](https://www.deeplearning.ai/short-courses/multi-ai-agent-systems-with-crewai/) - Master the fundamentals of multi-agent systems
+- [Practical Multi AI Agents and Advanced Use Cases](https://www.deeplearning.ai/short-courses/practical-multi-ai-agents-and-advanced-use-cases-with-crewai/) - Deep dive into advanced implementations
+
+### Understanding Flows and Crews
+
+CrewAI offers two powerful, complementary approaches that work seamlessly together to build sophisticated AI applications:
+
+1. **Crews**: Teams of AI agents with true autonomy and agency, working together to accomplish complex tasks through role-based collaboration. Crews enable:
+   - Natural, autonomous decision-making between agents
+   - Dynamic task delegation and collaboration
+   - Specialized roles with defined goals and expertise
+   - Flexible problem-solving approaches
+
+2. **Flows**: Production-ready, event-driven workflows that deliver precise control over complex automations. Flows provide:
+   - Fine-grained control over execution paths for real-world scenarios
+   - Secure, consistent state management between tasks
+   - Clean integration of AI agents with production Python code
+   - Conditional branching for complex business logic
+
+The true power of CrewAI emerges when combining Crews and Flows. This synergy allows you to:
+- Build complex, production-grade applications
+- Balance autonomy with precise control
+- Handle sophisticated real-world scenarios
+- Maintain clean, maintainable code structure
+
+### Getting Started with Installation
+
 To get started with CrewAI, follow these simple steps:
 
 ### 1. Installation
@@ -264,13 +298,16 @@ In addition to the sequential process, you can use the hierarchical process, whi
 
 ## Key Features
 
-- **Role-Based Agent Design**: Customize agents with specific roles, goals, and tools.
-- **Autonomous Inter-Agent Delegation**: Agents can autonomously delegate tasks and inquire amongst themselves, enhancing problem-solving efficiency.
-- **Flexible Task Management**: Define tasks with customizable tools and assign them to agents dynamically.
-- **Processes Driven**: Currently only supports `sequential` task execution and `hierarchical` processes, but more complex processes like consensual and autonomous are being worked on.
-- **Save output as file**: Save the output of individual tasks as a file, so you can use it later.
-- **Parse output as Pydantic or Json**: Parse the output of individual tasks as a Pydantic model or as a Json if you want to.
-- **Works with Open Source Models**: Run your crew using Open AI or open source models refer to the [Connect CrewAI to LLMs](https://docs.crewai.com/how-to/LLM-Connections/) page for details on configuring your agents' connections to models, even ones running locally!
+**Note**: CrewAI is a standalone framework built from the ground up, without dependencies on Langchain or other agent frameworks.
+
+- **Deep Customization**: Build sophisticated agents with full control over the system - from overriding inner prompts to accessing low-level APIs. Customize roles, goals, tools, and behaviors while maintaining clean abstractions.
+- **Autonomous Inter-Agent Delegation**: Agents can autonomously delegate tasks and inquire amongst themselves, enabling complex problem-solving in real-world scenarios.
+- **Flexible Task Management**: Define and customize tasks with granular control, from simple operations to complex multi-step processes.
+- **Production-Grade Architecture**: Support for both high-level abstractions and low-level customization, with robust error handling and state management.
+- **Predictable Results**: Ensure consistent, accurate outputs through programmatic guardrails, agent training capabilities, and flow-based execution control. See our [documentation on guardrails](https://docs.crewai.com/how-to/guardrails/) for implementation details.
+- **Model Flexibility**: Run your crew using OpenAI or open source models with production-ready integrations. See [Connect CrewAI to LLMs](https://docs.crewai.com/how-to/LLM-Connections/) for detailed configuration options.
+- **Event-Driven Flows**: Build complex, real-world workflows with precise control over execution paths, state management, and conditional logic.
+- **Process Orchestration**: Achieve any workflow pattern through flows - from simple sequential and hierarchical processes to complex, custom orchestration patterns with conditional branching and parallel execution.
 
 ![CrewAI Mind Map](./docs/crewAI-mindmap.png "CrewAI Mind Map")
 
@@ -305,6 +342,98 @@ You can test different real life examples of AI crews in the [CrewAI-examples re
 
 [![Stock Analysis](https://img.youtube.com/vi/e0Uj4yWdaAg/maxresdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Uj4yWdaAg "Stock Analysis")
 
+### Using Crews and Flows Together
+
+CrewAI's power truly shines when combining Crews with Flows to create sophisticated automation pipelines. Here's how you can orchestrate multiple Crews within a Flow:
+
+```python
+from crewai.flow.flow import Flow, listen, start, router
+from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task
+from pydantic import BaseModel
+
+# Define structured state for precise control
+class MarketState(BaseModel):
+    sentiment: str = "neutral"
+    confidence: float = 0.0
+    recommendations: list = []
+
+class AdvancedAnalysisFlow(Flow[MarketState]):
+    @start()
+    def fetch_market_data(self):
+        # Demonstrate low-level control with structured state
+        self.state.sentiment = "analyzing"
+        return {"sector": "tech", "timeframe": "1W"}  # These parameters match the task description template
+
+    @listen(fetch_market_data)
+    def analyze_with_crew(self, market_data):
+        # Show crew agency through specialized roles
+        analyst = Agent(
+            role="Senior Market Analyst",
+            goal="Conduct deep market analysis with expert insight",
+            backstory="You're a veteran analyst known for identifying subtle market patterns"
+        )
+        researcher = Agent(
+            role="Data Researcher",
+            goal="Gather and validate supporting market data",
+            backstory="You excel at finding and correlating multiple data sources"
+        )
+        
+        analysis_task = Task(
+            description="Analyze {sector} sector data for the past {timeframe}",
+            expected_output="Detailed market analysis with confidence score",
+            agent=analyst
+        )
+        research_task = Task(
+            description="Find supporting data to validate the analysis",
+            expected_output="Corroborating evidence and potential contradictions",
+            agent=researcher
+        )
+        
+        # Demonstrate crew autonomy
+        analysis_crew = Crew(
+            agents=[analyst, researcher],
+            tasks=[analysis_task, research_task],
+            process=Process.sequential,
+            verbose=True
+        )
+        return analysis_crew.kickoff(inputs=market_data)  # Pass market_data as named inputs
+
+    @router(analyze_with_crew)
+    def determine_next_steps(self):
+        # Show flow control with conditional routing
+        if self.state.confidence > 0.8:
+            return "high_confidence"
+        elif self.state.confidence > 0.5:
+            return "medium_confidence"
+        return "low_confidence"
+
+    @listen("high_confidence")
+    def execute_strategy(self):
+        # Demonstrate complex decision making
+        strategy_crew = Crew(
+            agents=[
+                Agent(role="Strategy Expert",
+                      goal="Develop optimal market strategy")
+            ],
+            tasks=[
+                Task(description="Create detailed strategy based on analysis",
+                     expected_output="Step-by-step action plan")
+            ]
+        )
+        return strategy_crew.kickoff()
+
+    @listen("medium_confidence", "low_confidence")
+    def request_additional_analysis(self):
+        self.state.recommendations.append("Gather more data")
+        return "Additional analysis required"
+```
+
+This example demonstrates how to:
+1. Use Python code for basic data operations
+2. Create and execute Crews as steps in your workflow
+3. Use Flow decorators to manage the sequence of operations
+4. Implement conditional branching based on Crew results
+
 ## Connecting Your Crew to a Model
 
 CrewAI supports using various LLMs through a variety of connection options. By default your agents will use the OpenAI API when querying the model. However, there are several other ways to allow your agents to connect to models. For example, you can configure your agents to use a local model via the Ollama tool.
@@ -313,9 +442,13 @@ Please refer to the [Connect CrewAI to LLMs](https://docs.crewai.com/how-to/LLM-
 
 ## How CrewAI Compares
 
-**CrewAI's Advantage**: CrewAI is built with production in mind. It offers the flexibility of Autogen's conversational agents and the structured process approach of ChatDev, but without the rigidity. CrewAI's processes are designed to be dynamic and adaptable, fitting seamlessly into both development and production workflows.
+**CrewAI's Advantage**: CrewAI combines autonomous agent intelligence with precise workflow control through its unique Crews and Flows architecture. The framework excels at both high-level orchestration and low-level customization, enabling complex, production-grade systems with granular control.
 
-- **Autogen**: While Autogen does good in creating conversational agents capable of working together, it lacks an inherent concept of process. In Autogen, orchestrating agents' interactions requires additional programming, which can become complex and cumbersome as the scale of tasks grows.
+- **LangGraph**: While LangGraph provides a foundation for building agent workflows, its approach requires significant boilerplate code and complex state management patterns. The framework's tight coupling with LangChain can limit flexibility when implementing custom agent behaviors or integrating with external systems.
+
+*P.S. CrewAI demonstrates significant performance advantages over LangGraph, executing 5.76x faster in certain cases like this QA task example ([see comparison](https://github.com/crewAIInc/crewAI-examples/tree/main/Notebooks/CrewAI%20Flows%20%26%20Langgraph/QA%20Agent)) while achieving higher evaluation scores with faster completion times in certain coding tasks, like in this example ([detailed analysis](https://github.com/crewAIInc/crewAI-examples/blob/main/Notebooks/CrewAI%20Flows%20%26%20Langgraph/Coding%20Assistant/coding_assistant_eval.ipynb)).*
+
+- **Autogen**: While Autogen excels at creating conversational agents capable of working together, it lacks an inherent concept of process. In Autogen, orchestrating agents' interactions requires additional programming, which can become complex and cumbersome as the scale of tasks grows.
 
 - **ChatDev**: ChatDev introduced the idea of processes into the realm of AI agents, but its implementation is quite rigid. Customizations in ChatDev are limited and not geared towards production environments, which can hinder scalability and flexibility in real-world applications.
 
@@ -440,5 +573,8 @@ A: CrewAI uses anonymous telemetry to collect usage data for improvement purpose
 ### Q: Where can I find examples of CrewAI in action?
 A: You can find various real-life examples in the [CrewAI-examples repository](https://github.com/crewAIInc/crewAI-examples), including trip planners, stock analysis tools, and more.
 
+### Q: What is the difference between Crews and Flows?
+A: Crews and Flows serve different but complementary purposes in CrewAI. Crews are teams of AI agents working together to accomplish specific tasks through role-based collaboration, delivering accurate and predictable results. Flows, on the other hand, are event-driven workflows that can orchestrate both Crews and regular Python code, allowing you to build complex automation pipelines with secure state management and conditional execution paths.
+
 ### Q: How can I contribute to CrewAI?
 A: Contributions are welcome! You can fork the repository, create a new branch for your feature, add your improvement, and send a pull request. Check the Contribution section in the README for more details.

docs/concepts/knowledge.mdx

@@ -171,6 +171,58 @@ crewai reset-memories --knowledge
 
 This is useful when you've updated your knowledge sources and want to ensure that the agents are using the most recent information.
 
+## Agent-Specific Knowledge
+
+While knowledge can be provided at the crew level using `crew.knowledge_sources`, individual agents can also have their own knowledge sources using the `knowledge_sources` parameter:
+
+```python Code
+from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
+from crewai.knowledge.source.string_knowledge_source import StringKnowledgeSource
+
+# Create agent-specific knowledge about a product
+product_specs = StringKnowledgeSource(
+    content="""The XPS 13 laptop features:
+    - 13.4-inch 4K display
+    - Intel Core i7 processor
+    - 16GB RAM
+    - 512GB SSD storage
+    - 12-hour battery life""",
+    metadata={"category": "product_specs"}
+)
+
+# Create a support agent with product knowledge
+support_agent = Agent(
+    role="Technical Support Specialist",
+    goal="Provide accurate product information and support.",
+    backstory="You are an expert on our laptop products and specifications.",
+    knowledge_sources=[product_specs]  # Agent-specific knowledge
+)
+
+# Create a task that requires product knowledge
+support_task = Task(
+    description="Answer this customer question: {question}",
+    agent=support_agent
+)
+
+# Create and run the crew
+crew = Crew(
+    agents=[support_agent],
+    tasks=[support_task]
+)
+
+# Get answer about the laptop's specifications
+result = crew.kickoff(
+    inputs={"question": "What is the storage capacity of the XPS 13?"}
+)
+```
+
+<Info>
+  Benefits of agent-specific knowledge:
+  - Give agents specialized information for their roles
+  - Maintain separation of concerns between agents
+  - Combine with crew-level knowledge for layered information access
+</Info>
+
 ## Custom Knowledge Sources
 
 CrewAI allows you to create custom knowledge sources for any type of data by extending the `BaseKnowledgeSource` class. Let's create a practical example that fetches and processes space news articles.

docs/how-to/Portkey-Observability-and-Guardrails.md

@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+# Portkey Integration with CrewAI
+<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/siddharthsambharia-portkey/Portkey-Product-Images/main/Portkey-CrewAI.png" alt="Portkey CrewAI Header Image" width="70%" />
+
+
+[Portkey](https://portkey.ai/?utm_source=crewai&utm_medium=crewai&utm_campaign=crewai) is a 2-line upgrade to make your CrewAI agents reliable, cost-efficient, and fast.
+
+Portkey adds 4 core production capabilities to any CrewAI agent:
+1. Routing to **200+ LLMs**
+2. Making each LLM call more robust
+3. Full-stack tracing & cost, performance analytics
+4. Real-time guardrails to enforce behavior
+
+
+
+
+
+## Getting Started
+
+1. **Install Required Packages:**
+
+```bash
+pip install -qU crewai portkey-ai
+```
+
+2. **Configure the LLM Client:**
+
+To build CrewAI Agents with Portkey, you'll need two keys:
+- **Portkey API Key**: Sign up on the [Portkey app](https://app.portkey.ai/?utm_source=crewai&utm_medium=crewai&utm_campaign=crewai) and copy your API key
+- **Virtual Key**: Virtual Keys securely manage your LLM API keys in one place. Store your LLM provider API keys securely in Portkey's vault
+
+```python
+from crewai import LLM
+from portkey_ai import createHeaders, PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL
+
+gpt_llm = LLM(
+    model="gpt-4",
+    base_url=PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL,
+    api_key="dummy", # We are using Virtual key
+    extra_headers=createHeaders(
+        api_key="YOUR_PORTKEY_API_KEY",
+        virtual_key="YOUR_VIRTUAL_KEY", # Enter your Virtual key from Portkey
+    )
+)
+```
+
+3. **Create and Run Your First Agent:**
+
+```python
+from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
+
+# Define your agents with roles and goals
+coder = Agent(
+    role='Software developer',
+    goal='Write clear, concise code on demand',
+    backstory='An expert coder with a keen eye for software trends.',
+    llm=gpt_llm
+)
+
+# Create tasks for your agents
+task1 = Task(
+    description="Define the HTML for making a simple website with heading- Hello World! Portkey is working!",
+    expected_output="A clear and concise HTML code",
+    agent=coder
+)
+
+# Instantiate your crew
+crew = Crew(
+    agents=[coder],
+    tasks=[task1],
+)
+
+result = crew.kickoff()
+print(result)
+```
+
+
+## Key Features
+
+| Feature | Description |
+|---------|-------------|
+| 🌐 Multi-LLM Support | Access OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Azure, and 250+ providers through a unified interface |
+| 🛡️ Production Reliability | Implement retries, timeouts, load balancing, and fallbacks |
+| 📊 Advanced Observability | Track 40+ metrics including costs, tokens, latency, and custom metadata |
+| 🔍 Comprehensive Logging | Debug with detailed execution traces and function call logs |
+| 🚧 Security Controls | Set budget limits and implement role-based access control |
+| 🔄 Performance Analytics | Capture and analyze feedback for continuous improvement |
+| 💾 Intelligent Caching | Reduce costs and latency with semantic or simple caching |
+
+
+## Production Features with Portkey Configs
+
+All features mentioned below are through Portkey's Config system. Portkey's Config system allows you to define routing strategies using simple JSON objects in your LLM API calls. You can create and manage Configs directly in your code or through the Portkey Dashboard. Each Config has a unique ID for easy reference.
+
+<Frame>
+    <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portkey-AI/docs-core/refs/heads/main/images/libraries/libraries-3.avif"/>
+</Frame>
+
+
+### 1. Use 250+ LLMs
+Access various LLMs like Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral, Azure OpenAI, and more with minimal code changes. Switch between providers or use them together seamlessly. [Learn more about Universal API](https://portkey.ai/docs/product/ai-gateway/universal-api)
+
+
+Easily switch between different LLM providers:
+
+```python
+# Anthropic Configuration
+anthropic_llm = LLM(
+    model="claude-3-5-sonnet-latest",
+    base_url=PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL,
+    api_key="dummy",
+    extra_headers=createHeaders(
+        api_key="YOUR_PORTKEY_API_KEY",
+        virtual_key="YOUR_ANTHROPIC_VIRTUAL_KEY", #You don't need provider when using Virtual keys
+        trace_id="anthropic_agent"
+    )
+)
+
+# Azure OpenAI Configuration
+azure_llm = LLM(
+    model="gpt-4",
+    base_url=PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL,
+    api_key="dummy",
+    extra_headers=createHeaders(
+        api_key="YOUR_PORTKEY_API_KEY",
+        virtual_key="YOUR_AZURE_VIRTUAL_KEY", #You don't need provider when using Virtual keys
+        trace_id="azure_agent"
+    )
+)
+```
+
+
+### 2. Caching
+Improve response times and reduce costs with two powerful caching modes:
+- **Simple Cache**: Perfect for exact matches
+- **Semantic Cache**: Matches responses for requests that are semantically similar
+[Learn more about Caching](https://portkey.ai/docs/product/ai-gateway/cache-simple-and-semantic)
+
+```py
+config = {
+    "cache": {
+        "mode": "semantic",  # or "simple" for exact matching
+    }
+}
+```
+
+### 3. Production Reliability
+Portkey provides comprehensive reliability features:
+- **Automatic Retries**: Handle temporary failures gracefully
+- **Request Timeouts**: Prevent hanging operations
+- **Conditional Routing**: Route requests based on specific conditions
+- **Fallbacks**: Set up automatic provider failovers
+- **Load Balancing**: Distribute requests efficiently
+
+[Learn more about Reliability Features](https://portkey.ai/docs/product/ai-gateway/)
+
+
+
+### 4. Metrics
+
+Agent runs are complex. Portkey automatically logs **40+ comprehensive metrics** for your AI agents, including cost, tokens used, latency, etc. Whether you need a broad overview or granular insights into your agent runs, Portkey's customizable filters provide the metrics you need.
+
+
+- Cost per agent interaction
+- Response times and latency
+- Token usage and efficiency
+- Success/failure rates
+- Cache hit rates
+
+<img src="https://github.com/siddharthsambharia-portkey/Portkey-Product-Images/blob/main/Portkey-Dashboard.png?raw=true" width="70%" alt="Portkey Dashboard" />
+
+### 5. Detailed Logging
+Logs are essential for understanding agent behavior, diagnosing issues, and improving performance. They provide a detailed record of agent activities and tool use, which is crucial for debugging and optimizing processes.
+
+
+Access a dedicated section to view records of agent executions, including parameters, outcomes, function calls, and errors. Filter logs based on multiple parameters such as trace ID, model, tokens used, and metadata.
+
+<details>
+  <summary><b>Traces</b></summary>
+  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/siddharthsambharia-portkey/Portkey-Product-Images/main/Portkey-Traces.png" alt="Portkey Traces" width="70%" />
+</details>
+
+<details>
+  <summary><b>Logs</b></summary>
+  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/siddharthsambharia-portkey/Portkey-Product-Images/main/Portkey-Logs.png" alt="Portkey Logs" width="70%" />
+</details>
+
+### 6. Enterprise Security Features
+- Set budget limit and rate limts per Virtual Key (disposable API keys)
+- Implement role-based access control
+- Track system changes with audit logs
+- Configure data retention policies
+
+
+
+For detailed information on creating and managing Configs, visit the [Portkey documentation](https://docs.portkey.ai/product/ai-gateway/configs).
+
+## Resources
+
+- [📘 Portkey Documentation](https://docs.portkey.ai)
+- [📊 Portkey Dashboard](https://app.portkey.ai/?utm_source=crewai&utm_medium=crewai&utm_campaign=crewai)
+- [🐦 Twitter](https://twitter.com/portkeyai)
+- [💬 Discord Community](https://discord.gg/DD7vgKK299)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

docs/how-to/multimodal-agents.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+---
+title: Using Multimodal Agents
+description: Learn how to enable and use multimodal capabilities in your agents for processing images and other non-text content within the CrewAI framework.
+icon: image
+---
+
+# Using Multimodal Agents
+
+CrewAI supports multimodal agents that can process both text and non-text content like images. This guide will show you how to enable and use multimodal capabilities in your agents.
+
+## Enabling Multimodal Capabilities
+
+To create a multimodal agent, simply set the `multimodal` parameter to `True` when initializing your agent:
+
+```python
+from crewai import Agent
+
+agent = Agent(
+    role="Image Analyst",
+    goal="Analyze and extract insights from images",
+    backstory="An expert in visual content interpretation with years of experience in image analysis",
+    multimodal=True  # This enables multimodal capabilities
+)
+```
+
+When you set `multimodal=True`, the agent is automatically configured with the necessary tools for handling non-text content, including the `AddImageTool`.
+
+## Working with Images
+
+The multimodal agent comes pre-configured with the `AddImageTool`, which allows it to process images. You don't need to manually add this tool - it's automatically included when you enable multimodal capabilities.
+
+Here's a complete example showing how to use a multimodal agent to analyze an image:
+
+```python
+from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
+
+# Create a multimodal agent
+image_analyst = Agent(
+    role="Product Analyst",
+    goal="Analyze product images and provide detailed descriptions",
+    backstory="Expert in visual product analysis with deep knowledge of design and features",
+    multimodal=True
+)
+
+# Create a task for image analysis
+task = Task(
+    description="Analyze the product image at https://example.com/product.jpg and provide a detailed description",
+    agent=image_analyst
+)
+
+# Create and run the crew
+crew = Crew(
+    agents=[image_analyst],
+    tasks=[task]
+)
+
+result = crew.kickoff()
+```
+
+### Advanced Usage with Context
+
+You can provide additional context or specific questions about the image when creating tasks for multimodal agents. The task description can include specific aspects you want the agent to focus on:
+
+```python
+from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
+
+# Create a multimodal agent for detailed analysis
+expert_analyst = Agent(
+    role="Visual Quality Inspector",
+    goal="Perform detailed quality analysis of product images",
+    backstory="Senior quality control expert with expertise in visual inspection",
+    multimodal=True  # AddImageTool is automatically included
+)
+
+# Create a task with specific analysis requirements
+inspection_task = Task(
+    description="""
+    Analyze the product image at https://example.com/product.jpg with focus on:
+    1. Quality of materials
+    2. Manufacturing defects
+    3. Compliance with standards
+    Provide a detailed report highlighting any issues found.
+    """,
+    agent=expert_analyst
+)
+
+# Create and run the crew
+crew = Crew(
+    agents=[expert_analyst],
+    tasks=[inspection_task]
+)
+
+result = crew.kickoff()
+```
+
+### Tool Details
+
+When working with multimodal agents, the `AddImageTool` is automatically configured with the following schema:
+
+```python
+class AddImageToolSchema:
+    image_url: str  # Required: The URL or path of the image to process
+    action: Optional[str] = None  # Optional: Additional context or specific questions about the image
+```
+
+The multimodal agent will automatically handle the image processing through its built-in tools, allowing it to:
+- Access images via URLs or local file paths
+- Process image content with optional context or specific questions
+- Provide analysis and insights based on the visual information and task requirements
+
+## Best Practices
+
+When working with multimodal agents, keep these best practices in mind:
+
+1. **Image Access**
+   - Ensure your images are accessible via URLs that the agent can reach
+   - For local images, consider hosting them temporarily or using absolute file paths
+   - Verify that image URLs are valid and accessible before running tasks
+
+2. **Task Description**
+   - Be specific about what aspects of the image you want the agent to analyze
+   - Include clear questions or requirements in the task description
+   - Consider using the optional `action` parameter for focused analysis
+
+3. **Resource Management**
+   - Image processing may require more computational resources than text-only tasks
+   - Some language models may require base64 encoding for image data
+   - Consider batch processing for multiple images to optimize performance
+
+4. **Environment Setup**
+   - Verify that your environment has the necessary dependencies for image processing
+   - Ensure your language model supports multimodal capabilities
+   - Test with small images first to validate your setup
+
+5. **Error Handling**
+   - Implement proper error handling for image loading failures
+   - Have fallback strategies for when image processing fails
+   - Monitor and log image processing operations for debugging

pyproject.toml

@@ -67,7 +67,6 @@ dev-dependencies = [
     "mkdocs-material-extensions>=1.3.1",
     "pillow>=10.2.0",
     "cairosvg>=2.7.1",
-    "crewai-tools>=0.17.0",
     "pytest>=8.0.0",
     "pytest-vcr>=1.0.2",
     "python-dotenv>=1.0.0",

src/crewai/agents/agent_builder/base_agent_executor_mixin.py

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ class CrewAgentExecutorMixin:
 
     def _should_force_answer(self) -> bool:
         """Determine if a forced answer is required based on iteration count."""
-        return (self.iterations >= self.max_iter) and not self.have_forced_answer
+        return self.iterations >= self.max_iter
 
     def _create_short_term_memory(self, output) -> None:
         """Create and save a short-term memory item if conditions are met."""

src/crewai/knowledge/knowledge.py

@@ -14,13 +14,13 @@ class Knowledge(BaseModel):
     Knowledge is a collection of sources and setup for the vector store to save and query relevant context.
     Args:
         sources: List[BaseKnowledgeSource] = Field(default_factory=list)
-        storage: KnowledgeStorage = Field(default_factory=KnowledgeStorage)
+        storage: Optional[KnowledgeStorage] = Field(default=None)
         embedder_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None
     """
 
     sources: List[BaseKnowledgeSource] = Field(default_factory=list)
     model_config = ConfigDict(arbitrary_types_allowed=True)
-    storage: KnowledgeStorage = Field(default_factory=KnowledgeStorage)
+    storage: Optional[KnowledgeStorage] = Field(default=None)
     embedder_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None
     collection_name: Optional[str] = None
 
@@ -49,8 +49,13 @@ class Knowledge(BaseModel):
         """
         Query across all knowledge sources to find the most relevant information.
         Returns the top_k most relevant chunks.
+        
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If storage is not initialized.
         """
-
+        if self.storage is None:
+            raise ValueError("Storage is not initialized.")
+            
         results = self.storage.search(
             query,
             limit,

src/crewai/knowledge/source/base_file_knowledge_source.py

@@ -22,13 +22,14 @@ class BaseFileKnowledgeSource(BaseKnowledgeSource, ABC):
         default_factory=list, description="The path to the file"
     )
     content: Dict[Path, str] = Field(init=False, default_factory=dict)
-    storage: KnowledgeStorage = Field(default_factory=KnowledgeStorage)
+    storage: Optional[KnowledgeStorage] = Field(default=None)
     safe_file_paths: List[Path] = Field(default_factory=list)
 
     @field_validator("file_path", "file_paths", mode="before")
-    def validate_file_path(cls, v, values):
+    def validate_file_path(cls, v, info):
         """Validate that at least one of file_path or file_paths is provided."""
-        if v is None and ("file_path" not in values or values.get("file_path") is None):
+        # Single check if both are None, O(1) instead of nested conditions
+        if v is None and info.data.get("file_path" if info.field_name == "file_paths" else "file_paths") is None:
             raise ValueError("Either file_path or file_paths must be provided")
         return v
 
@@ -62,7 +63,10 @@ class BaseFileKnowledgeSource(BaseKnowledgeSource, ABC):
 
     def _save_documents(self):
         """Save the documents to the storage."""
-        self.storage.save(self.chunks)
+        if self.storage:
+            self.storage.save(self.chunks)
+        else:
+            raise ValueError("No storage found to save documents.")
 
     def convert_to_path(self, path: Union[Path, str]) -> Path:
         """Convert a path to a Path object."""

src/crewai/knowledge/source/base_knowledge_source.py

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ class BaseKnowledgeSource(BaseModel, ABC):
     chunk_embeddings: List[np.ndarray] = Field(default_factory=list)
 
     model_config = ConfigDict(arbitrary_types_allowed=True)
-    storage: KnowledgeStorage = Field(default_factory=KnowledgeStorage)
+    storage: Optional[KnowledgeStorage] = Field(default=None)
     metadata: Dict[str, Any] = Field(default_factory=dict)  # Currently unused
     collection_name: Optional[str] = Field(default=None)
 
@@ -46,4 +46,7 @@ class BaseKnowledgeSource(BaseModel, ABC):
         Save the documents to the storage.
         This method should be called after the chunks and embeddings are generated.
         """
-        self.storage.save(self.chunks)
+        if self.storage:
+            self.storage.save(self.chunks)
+        else:
+            raise ValueError("No storage found to save documents.")

tests/knowledge/knowledge_test.py

@@ -584,3 +584,28 @@ def test_docling_source_with_local_file():
     docling_source = CrewDoclingSource(file_paths=[pdf_path])
     assert docling_source.file_paths == [pdf_path]
     assert docling_source.content is not None
+
+
+def test_file_path_validation():
+    """Test file path validation for knowledge sources."""
+    current_dir = Path(__file__).parent
+    pdf_path = current_dir / "crewai_quickstart.pdf"
+
+    # Test valid single file_path
+    source = PDFKnowledgeSource(file_path=pdf_path)
+    assert source.safe_file_paths == [pdf_path]
+
+    # Test valid file_paths list
+    source = PDFKnowledgeSource(file_paths=[pdf_path])
+    assert source.safe_file_paths == [pdf_path]
+
+    # Test both file_path and file_paths provided (should use file_paths)
+    source = PDFKnowledgeSource(file_path=pdf_path, file_paths=[pdf_path])
+    assert source.safe_file_paths == [pdf_path]
+
+    # Test neither file_path nor file_paths provided
+    with pytest.raises(
+        ValueError,
+        match="file_path/file_paths must be a Path, str, or a list of these types"
+    ):
+        PDFKnowledgeSource()