Files
crewAI/docs/edge/en/learn/kickoff-async.mdx
Lucas Gomide a237ebabba feat: adopt directory-based docs versioning with Edge channel (#6202)
* feat: adopt directory-based docs versioning with Edge channel

Switch docs.crewai.com from navigation-only versioning (every version
selector entry rendered the same docs/<lang>/* source files) to
Mintlify's directory-based versioning so each version selector entry
renders its own snapshot. Add an "Edge" channel under docs/edge/<lang>/*
that always reflects main HEAD for unreleased work, eliminating
pre-release leakage onto frozen release labels. External links to
canonical /<lang>/* URLs are preserved via wildcard redirects that
always land on the current default version.

Layout:
- docs/edge/<lang>/*         rolling source (you edit here)
- docs/edge/enterprise-api.*.yaml
- docs/v<X.Y.Z>/<lang>/*     frozen, immutable snapshots
- docs/v<X.Y.Z>/enterprise-api.*.yaml
- docs/images/               shared, append-only
- docs/docs.json             nav + redirects

URLs follow the Mintlify-idiomatic shape: /edge/<lang>/<page> for
Edge, /v<X.Y.Z>/<lang>/<page> for every frozen snapshot. The wildcard
redirects /<lang>/:slug* -> /<default>/<lang>/:slug* keep stale links
working, and every freeze rewrites them (plus all per-section/per-page
redirects) so destinations always resolve to the current default
without depending on a second redirect hop.

Release flow integration (devtools release):
- New module crewai_devtools.docs_versioning.freeze() materialises
  docs/v<X.Y.Z>/ from docs/edge/, rewrites openapi: refs inside the
  snapshot, inserts the version into every language block in
  docs.json, and refreshes all redirect destinations.
- _update_docs_and_create_pr() in cli.py now calls that freeze during
  Phase 2 of devtools release. Edge changelogs are updated first (so
  the snapshot freeze picks them up), then the snapshot is staged
  alongside docs.json, branched as docs/freeze-v<X.Y.Z>, and the PR
  is titled [docs-freeze] docs: snapshot and changelog for v<X.Y.Z>
  — the title prefix the new CI guard reads.
- The PR still gates tag, GitHub release, PyPI publish, and the
  enterprise release as before; no new PRs are added.
- Pre-releases (1.X.YaN, 1.X.YbN, ...) skip the snapshot — they ride
  Edge — and the docs PR title omits the [docs-freeze] prefix.
- docs_check (AI-generated docs scaffolding) writes to
  docs/edge/<lang>/* so newly-generated unreleased docs land in Edge
  and never accidentally touch a frozen snapshot.

Migration scripts (one-shot):
- scripts/docs/freeze_historical_versions.py reconstructs all 16
  historical snapshots (v1.10.0 .. v1.14.7) from git tags via
  git archive | tar, rewriting openapi: MDX refs so each snapshot
  reads its own enterprise-api YAML rather than the live one.
- scripts/docs/prefix_version_paths.py one-shot-migrates docs.json:
  rewrites every page path in 16 versioned blocks to point under
  docs/v<X.Y.Z>/, inserts a new Edge entry per language, tags
  v1.14.7 as Latest (default), prunes pages whose target file
  doesn't exist in the snapshot (e.g. docs/ar/ didn't exist before
  v1.12.0), and writes the wildcard + per-section redirects.
- scripts/docs/freeze_current_edge.py is now a thin CLI wrapper
  around docs_versioning.freeze for manual one-off freezes (e.g.
  retroactively snapshotting a forgotten release).

CI guards (.github/workflows/docs-snapshots.yml):
- Frozen snapshots under docs/v[0-9]*/ are immutable; only PRs whose
  title contains [docs-freeze] (i.e. release-cut PRs generated by
  devtools release or the manual wrapper) may modify them.
- Images under docs/images/ are append-only since snapshots share a
  single image directory. Deleting or renaming an image breaks every
  historical snapshot that still references it.

Restored docs/images/crewai-otel-export.png from PR #3673; it was
deleted in PR #4908 but v1.10.0 / v1.10.1 snapshots still reference
it. Restoring instead of editing the snapshots preserves historical
rendering fidelity and validates the new append-only rule
retroactively.

Tests:
- lib/devtools/tests/test_docs_versioning.py covers the freeze: file
  copy, openapi rewrite, version insertion, default demotion, redirect
  upserts, per-section redirect rewriting, idempotency, and invalid
  inputs.

Verified locally with mintlify broken-links: 0 broken links across
the full site (Edge + 16 frozen versions, 4 locales).

AGENTS.md (repo root) is the contributor guide for the new model;
RELEASING.md is the release-cut runbook; README's Contribution
section links to both.

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>

* style: resolve linter issues

---------

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
2026-06-17 11:56:59 -04:00

307 lines
9.1 KiB
Plaintext

---
title: Kickoff Crew Asynchronously
description: Kickoff a Crew Asynchronously
icon: rocket-launch
mode: "wide"
---
## Introduction
CrewAI provides the ability to kickoff a crew asynchronously, allowing you to start the crew execution in a non-blocking manner.
This feature is particularly useful when you want to run multiple crews concurrently or when you need to perform other tasks while the crew is executing.
CrewAI offers two approaches for async execution:
| Method | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `akickoff()` | Native async | True async/await throughout the entire execution chain |
| `kickoff_async()` | Thread-based | Wraps synchronous execution in `asyncio.to_thread` |
<Note>
For high-concurrency workloads, `akickoff()` is recommended as it uses native async for task execution, memory operations, and knowledge retrieval.
</Note>
## Native Async Execution with `akickoff()`
The `akickoff()` method provides true native async execution, using async/await throughout the entire execution chain including task execution, memory operations, and knowledge queries.
### Method Signature
```python Code
async def akickoff(self, inputs: dict) -> CrewOutput:
```
### Parameters
- `inputs` (dict): A dictionary containing the input data required for the tasks.
### Returns
- `CrewOutput`: An object representing the result of the crew execution.
### Example: Native Async Crew Execution
```python Code
import asyncio
from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task
# Create an agent
coding_agent = Agent(
role="Python Data Analyst",
goal="Analyze data and provide insights using Python",
backstory="You are an experienced data analyst with strong Python skills.",
allow_code_execution=True
)
# Create a task
data_analysis_task = Task(
description="Analyze the given dataset and calculate the average age of participants. Ages: {ages}",
agent=coding_agent,
expected_output="The average age of the participants."
)
# Create a crew
analysis_crew = Crew(
agents=[coding_agent],
tasks=[data_analysis_task]
)
# Native async execution
async def main():
result = await analysis_crew.akickoff(inputs={"ages": [25, 30, 35, 40, 45]})
print("Crew Result:", result)
asyncio.run(main())
```
### Example: Multiple Native Async Crews
Run multiple crews concurrently using `asyncio.gather()` with native async:
```python Code
import asyncio
from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task
coding_agent = Agent(
role="Python Data Analyst",
goal="Analyze data and provide insights using Python",
backstory="You are an experienced data analyst with strong Python skills.",
allow_code_execution=True
)
task_1 = Task(
description="Analyze the first dataset and calculate the average age. Ages: {ages}",
agent=coding_agent,
expected_output="The average age of the participants."
)
task_2 = Task(
description="Analyze the second dataset and calculate the average age. Ages: {ages}",
agent=coding_agent,
expected_output="The average age of the participants."
)
crew_1 = Crew(agents=[coding_agent], tasks=[task_1])
crew_2 = Crew(agents=[coding_agent], tasks=[task_2])
async def main():
results = await asyncio.gather(
crew_1.akickoff(inputs={"ages": [25, 30, 35, 40, 45]}),
crew_2.akickoff(inputs={"ages": [20, 22, 24, 28, 30]})
)
for i, result in enumerate(results, 1):
print(f"Crew {i} Result:", result)
asyncio.run(main())
```
### Example: Native Async for Multiple Inputs
Use `akickoff_for_each()` to execute your crew against multiple inputs concurrently with native async:
```python Code
import asyncio
from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task
coding_agent = Agent(
role="Python Data Analyst",
goal="Analyze data and provide insights using Python",
backstory="You are an experienced data analyst with strong Python skills.",
allow_code_execution=True
)
data_analysis_task = Task(
description="Analyze the dataset and calculate the average age. Ages: {ages}",
agent=coding_agent,
expected_output="The average age of the participants."
)
analysis_crew = Crew(
agents=[coding_agent],
tasks=[data_analysis_task]
)
async def main():
datasets = [
{"ages": [25, 30, 35, 40, 45]},
{"ages": [20, 22, 24, 28, 30]},
{"ages": [30, 35, 40, 45, 50]}
]
results = await analysis_crew.akickoff_for_each(datasets)
for i, result in enumerate(results, 1):
print(f"Dataset {i} Result:", result)
asyncio.run(main())
```
## Thread-Based Async with `kickoff_async()`
The `kickoff_async()` method provides async execution by wrapping the synchronous `kickoff()` in a thread. This is useful for simpler async integration or backward compatibility.
### Method Signature
```python Code
async def kickoff_async(self, inputs: dict) -> CrewOutput:
```
### Parameters
- `inputs` (dict): A dictionary containing the input data required for the tasks.
### Returns
- `CrewOutput`: An object representing the result of the crew execution.
### Example: Thread-Based Async Execution
```python Code
import asyncio
from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task
coding_agent = Agent(
role="Python Data Analyst",
goal="Analyze data and provide insights using Python",
backstory="You are an experienced data analyst with strong Python skills.",
allow_code_execution=True
)
data_analysis_task = Task(
description="Analyze the given dataset and calculate the average age of participants. Ages: {ages}",
agent=coding_agent,
expected_output="The average age of the participants."
)
analysis_crew = Crew(
agents=[coding_agent],
tasks=[data_analysis_task]
)
async def async_crew_execution():
result = await analysis_crew.kickoff_async(inputs={"ages": [25, 30, 35, 40, 45]})
print("Crew Result:", result)
asyncio.run(async_crew_execution())
```
### Example: Multiple Thread-Based Async Crews
```python Code
import asyncio
from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task
coding_agent = Agent(
role="Python Data Analyst",
goal="Analyze data and provide insights using Python",
backstory="You are an experienced data analyst with strong Python skills.",
allow_code_execution=True
)
task_1 = Task(
description="Analyze the first dataset and calculate the average age of participants. Ages: {ages}",
agent=coding_agent,
expected_output="The average age of the participants."
)
task_2 = Task(
description="Analyze the second dataset and calculate the average age of participants. Ages: {ages}",
agent=coding_agent,
expected_output="The average age of the participants."
)
crew_1 = Crew(agents=[coding_agent], tasks=[task_1])
crew_2 = Crew(agents=[coding_agent], tasks=[task_2])
async def async_multiple_crews():
result_1 = crew_1.kickoff_async(inputs={"ages": [25, 30, 35, 40, 45]})
result_2 = crew_2.kickoff_async(inputs={"ages": [20, 22, 24, 28, 30]})
results = await asyncio.gather(result_1, result_2)
for i, result in enumerate(results, 1):
print(f"Crew {i} Result:", result)
asyncio.run(async_multiple_crews())
```
## Async Streaming
Both async methods support streaming when `stream=True` is set on the crew:
```python Code
import asyncio
from crewai import Crew, Agent, Task
agent = Agent(
role="Researcher",
goal="Research and summarize topics",
backstory="You are an expert researcher."
)
task = Task(
description="Research the topic: {topic}",
agent=agent,
expected_output="A comprehensive summary of the topic."
)
crew = Crew(
agents=[agent],
tasks=[task],
stream=True # Enable streaming
)
async def main():
streaming_output = await crew.akickoff(inputs={"topic": "AI trends in 2024"})
# Async iteration over streaming chunks
async for chunk in streaming_output:
print(f"Chunk: {chunk.content}")
# Access final result after streaming completes
result = streaming_output.result
print(f"Final result: {result.raw}")
asyncio.run(main())
```
## Potential Use Cases
- **Parallel Content Generation**: Kickoff multiple independent crews asynchronously, each responsible for generating content on different topics. For example, one crew might research and draft an article on AI trends, while another crew generates social media posts about a new product launch.
- **Concurrent Market Research Tasks**: Launch multiple crews asynchronously to conduct market research in parallel. One crew might analyze industry trends, while another examines competitor strategies, and yet another evaluates consumer sentiment.
- **Independent Travel Planning Modules**: Execute separate crews to independently plan different aspects of a trip. One crew might handle flight options, another handles accommodation, and a third plans activities.
## Choosing Between `akickoff()` and `kickoff_async()`
| Feature | `akickoff()` | `kickoff_async()` |
|---------|--------------|-------------------|
| Execution model | Native async/await | Thread-based wrapper |
| Task execution | Async with `aexecute_sync()` | Sync in thread pool |
| Memory operations | Async | Sync in thread pool |
| Knowledge retrieval | Async | Sync in thread pool |
| Best for | High-concurrency, I/O-bound workloads | Simple async integration |
| Streaming support | Yes | Yes |