CrewAI is an open-source Python framework for building role-based multi-agent systems. You define a "crew" of specialised agents (e.g., Researcher, Writer, Reviewer), give each one a goal, backstory and tools, then compose them into sequential or hierarchical processes.
When to reach for it
- You want distinct agent personas collaborating on a task (research → draft → critique).
- You need a lightweight orchestration layer without adopting a full graph model.
- You want first-class support for OpenAI, Anthropic, and local models via LiteLLM.
Key features
- Crews & Tasks — declarative agent + task definitions.
- Tools — bring your own Python functions or use built-in web search, RAG, file I/O.
- Processes —
sequential(default) orhierarchicalwith a manager agent. - Memory — short-term, long-term, and entity memory out of the box.
Learn more
- Docs: <https://docs.crewai.com>
- GitHub: <https://github.com/crewAIInc/crewAI> (30k+ stars)
- License: MIT