WEEKLY ROUNDUP
🧩 What Is the OpenAI Agent SDK?
Think of the Agent SDK as a framework for building intelligent “mini-workers” that can:
Read and reason about user input
Take actions using tools or APIs
Handoff tasks to specialized agents
Remember context with memory
Instead of one huge model trying to do everything, you can create multiple focused agents that work together like a team.
Example roles:
🧮 “Math Solver” — handles calculations
🌤 “Weather Reporter” — fetches real-time weather
🕵️ “Manager Agent” — decides who should handle what
⚙️ Setting Up Your Environment
Let’s set up your local environment in 2 minutes.
# 1️⃣ Create a new project folder
mkdir my_agents_project && cd my_agents_project
# 2️⃣ Create a virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate # mac/linux
# .\.venv\Scripts\activate # windows
# 3️⃣ Install OpenAI Agent SDK
pip install openai-agents
# 4️⃣ Add your API key
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."Done ✅
🧠 Core Concepts You Must Know
1️⃣ Agent
The brain — it has instructions, can reason, and decide what to do.
from agents import Agent
agent = Agent(name="Math Tutor", instructions="Explain step by step.")
2️⃣ Tool
External actions the agent can take — APIs, calculators, or database calls.
3️⃣ Memory
Agents can “remember” past interactions to hold context.
4️⃣ Guardrails
Rules that control what agents can or cannot say or do.
5️⃣ Handoff (The Secret Sauce 🪄)
This allows one agent to delegate control to another agent.
Example: The “Manager Agent” decides a question is about math → hands it off to the “Math Agent.”
Section | Description | Code / Example |
|---|---|---|
🚀 Overview | Build smart, modular, multi-agent systems that can think, reason, use tools, and collaborate. | — |
You’ll Learn | ✅ Build an agent ✅ Add tools & memory ✅ Create multi-agent workflows ✅ Use handoffs | — |
Setup | Install and configure environment |
|
🧩 Core Concepts | ||
Agent | The brain — receives instructions and decides what to do. |
|
Tool | External actions — e.g., APIs, calculators, databases. | — |
Memory | Stores previous conversation context. | — |
Guardrails | Rules that control what agents can or cannot say. | — |
Handoff | Lets one agent delegate a task to another agent. | — |
🪄 Understanding Handoff | Example: The Manager Agent delegates a weather question to the Weather Agent. Why it matters: Keeps agents modular, focused, and efficient. | — |
💻 Multi-Agent Example | Complete working code with Manager + Specialist agents. |
|
🔍 What’s Happening | 1️⃣ Manager Agent receives query. 2️⃣ Uses reasoning to delegate task. 3️⃣ Specialist agent completes the request. | — |
💡 Pro Tips | - Start with one clear agent role. - Write specific instructions. - Add handoffs gradually. - Use guardrails for control. - Analyze logs to improve flow. | — |
🧠 Final Thoughts | The Agent SDK helps you build modular, reasoning-based AI systems — assistants, copilots, or orchestrators — all in a few lines. | — |
📩 Next Tutorial | How to add Tools and APIs to your agents (coming next week). | — |
Weekend run recap
In case you missed it
Check out the photos from last Sunday’s hill session!
We’re planning the July 10K Fun Run!
Get involved
Want to volunteer, co-organize, or design race-day tees? We’re looking for help across logistics, hydration stations, and media.
That’s it for this week.
Keep showing up, keep cheering each other on — and as always, run happy! 🏃♂️
The Stride Neighbors Team
P.S.
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