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145 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
145 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
---
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title: Introduction
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description: Build AI agent teams that work together to tackle complex tasks
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icon: handshake
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mode: "wide"
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---
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# What is CrewAI?
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**CrewAI is the leading open-source framework for orchestrating autonomous AI agents and building complex workflows.**
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It empowers developers to build production-ready multi-agent systems by combining the collaborative intelligence of **Crews** with the precise control of **Flows**.
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- **[CrewAI Flows](/en/guides/flows/first-flow)**: The backbone of your AI application. Flows allow you to create structured, event-driven workflows that manage state and control execution. They provide the scaffolding for your AI agents to work within.
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- **[CrewAI Crews](/en/guides/crews/first-crew)**: The units of work within your Flow. Crews are teams of autonomous agents that collaborate to solve specific tasks delegated to them by the Flow.
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With over 100,000 developers certified through our community courses, CrewAI is the standard for enterprise-ready AI automation.
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## The CrewAI Architecture
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CrewAI's architecture is designed to balance autonomy with control.
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### 1. Flows: The Backbone
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<Note>
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Think of a Flow as the "manager" or the "process definition" of your application. It defines the steps, the logic, and how data moves through your system.
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</Note>
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<Frame caption="CrewAI Framework Overview">
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<img src="/images/flows.png" alt="CrewAI Framework Overview" />
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</Frame>
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Flows provide:
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- **State Management**: Persist data across steps and executions.
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- **Event-Driven Execution**: Trigger actions based on events or external inputs.
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- **Control Flow**: Use conditional logic, loops, and branching.
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### 2. Crews: The Intelligence
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<Note>
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Crews are the "teams" that do the heavy lifting. Within a Flow, you can trigger a Crew to tackle a complex problem requiring creativity and collaboration.
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</Note>
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<Frame caption="CrewAI Framework Overview">
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<img src="/images/crews.png" alt="CrewAI Framework Overview" />
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</Frame>
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Crews provide:
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- **Role-Playing Agents**: Specialized agents with specific goals and tools.
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- **Autonomous Collaboration**: Agents work together to solve tasks.
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- **Task Delegation**: Tasks are assigned and executed based on agent capabilities.
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## How It All Works Together
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1. **The Flow** triggers an event or starts a process.
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2. **The Flow** manages the state and decides what to do next.
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3. **The Flow** delegates a complex task to a **Crew**.
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4. **The Crew**'s agents collaborate to complete the task.
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5. **The Crew** returns the result to the **Flow**.
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6. **The Flow** continues execution based on the result.
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## Key Features
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<CardGroup cols={2}>
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<Card title="Production-Grade Flows" icon="arrow-progress">
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Build reliable, stateful workflows that can handle long-running processes and complex logic.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Autonomous Crews" icon="users">
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Deploy teams of agents that can plan, execute, and collaborate to achieve high-level goals.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Flexible Tools" icon="screwdriver-wrench">
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Connect your agents to any API, database, or local tool.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Enterprise Security" icon="lock">
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Designed with security and compliance in mind for enterprise deployments.
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</Card>
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</CardGroup>
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## When to Use Crews vs. Flows
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**The short answer: Use both.**
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For any production-ready application, **start with a Flow**.
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- **Use a Flow** to define the overall structure, state, and logic of your application.
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- **Use a Crew** within a Flow step when you need a team of agents to perform a specific, complex task that requires autonomy.
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| Use Case | Architecture |
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| :--- | :--- |
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| **Simple Automation** | Single Flow with Python tasks |
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| **Complex Research** | Flow managing state -> Crew performing research |
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| **Application Backend** | Flow handling API requests -> Crew generating content -> Flow saving to DB |
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## Why Choose CrewAI?
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- 🧠 **Autonomous Operation**: Agents make intelligent decisions based on their roles and available tools
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- 📝 **Natural Interaction**: Agents communicate and collaborate like human team members
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- 🛠️ **Extensible Design**: Easy to add new tools, roles, and capabilities
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- 🚀 **Production Ready**: Built for reliability and scalability in real-world applications
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- 🔒 **Security-Focused**: Designed with enterprise security requirements in mind
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- 💰 **Cost-Efficient**: Optimized to minimize token usage and API calls
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## Ready to Start Building?
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<CardGroup cols={2}>
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<Card
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title="Build Your First Flow"
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icon="diagram-project"
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href="/en/guides/flows/first-flow"
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>
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Learn how to create structured, event-driven workflows with precise control over execution.
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</Card>
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<Card
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title="Build Your First Crew"
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icon="users-gear"
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href="/en/guides/crews/first-crew"
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>
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Step-by-step tutorial to create a collaborative AI team that works together to solve complex problems.
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</Card>
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</CardGroup>
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<CardGroup cols={3}>
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<Card
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title="Install CrewAI"
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icon="wrench"
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href="/en/installation"
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>
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Get started with CrewAI in your development environment.
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</Card>
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<Card
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title="Quick Start"
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icon="bolt"
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href="en/quickstart"
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>
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Follow our quickstart guide to create your first CrewAI agent and get hands-on experience.
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</Card>
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<Card
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title="Join the Community"
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icon="comments"
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href="https://community.crewai.com"
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>
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Connect with other developers, get help, and share your CrewAI experiences.
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</Card>
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</CardGroup>
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