crewAI/docs/LITE_VERSION.md

CrewAI Lite Version

CrewAI now supports a "lite" installation with minimal dependencies, allowing you to use the core functionality without installing heavy optional dependencies.

Installation

Lite Installation (Minimal Dependencies)

pip install crewai

This installs only the core dependencies needed for basic Agent, Crew, and Task functionality.

Full Installation (All Dependencies)

pip install crewai[all]

Selective Installation (Optional Extras)

Install only the features you need:

# Memory and knowledge storage
pip install crewai[memory]

# Knowledge sources (PDF, Excel, etc.)
pip install crewai[knowledge]

# Telemetry and monitoring
pip install crewai[telemetry]

# Flow visualization
pip install crewai[visualization]

# Authentication features
pip install crewai[auth]

# Additional LLM integrations
pip install crewai[llm-integrations]

# AgentOps integration
pip install crewai[agentops]

# FastEmbed embeddings
pip install crewai[embeddings]

You can also combine multiple extras:

pip install crewai[memory,knowledge,telemetry]

Core vs Optional Features

Core Features (Always Available)

• Basic Agent, Crew, and Task functionality
• LiteAgent for simple interactions
• Core LLM integrations (OpenAI, etc.)
• Basic tools and utilities
• Process management

Optional Features (Require Extras)

Memory (crewai[memory])

• RAG storage with ChromaDB
• Memory management
• Embeddings configuration

Knowledge (crewai[knowledge])

• PDF knowledge sources
• Excel/spreadsheet processing
• Document processing with Docling
• Knowledge storage and retrieval

Telemetry (crewai[telemetry])

• OpenTelemetry integration
• Performance monitoring
• Usage analytics

Visualization (crewai[visualization])

• Flow visualization with Pyvis
• Network diagrams

Authentication (crewai[auth])

• Auth0 integration
• Secure token management

LLM Integrations (crewai[llm-integrations])

• AISuite integration
• Additional model providers

Error Handling

When you try to use a feature that requires optional dependencies, you'll get a helpful error message:

from crewai.memory.storage.rag_storage import RAGStorage

# Without crewai[memory] installed:
# ImportError: ChromaDB is required for RAG storage functionality. 
# Please install it with: pip install 'crewai[memory]'

Migration Guide

Existing installations will continue to work as before. If you want to switch to the lite version:

1. Uninstall current crewai: pip uninstall crewai
2. Install lite version: pip install crewai
3. Add extras as needed: pip install crewai[memory,knowledge]

Benefits

• Reduced installation size: Core installation is much smaller
• Faster installation: Fewer dependencies to download and compile
• Reduced security surface: Fewer dependencies means fewer potential vulnerabilities
• Flexible: Install only what you need
• Backward compatible: Existing code continues to work with full installation