ADK Code Reference
Activate /google-agents-cli-workflow first for required development phases and scaffolding steps.
1. Study Recipes (No Project Needed)
Read the topic index in references/samples.md before answering "how do I build X". Worked implementations exist for: sandboxed/per-user code execution, agent-loadable SKILL.md skills, cross-session memory, approval gates before risky actions, tool guardrails, per-user credentials, and scheduled/event-driven runs.
The index only gives you a name; the recipe is the code. Clone it and read its AGENTS.md before you implement anything it covers. Hand-writing a Docker or E2B sandbox wrapper, a skill loader, a moderation callback or a memory store — for a capability the index lists — means you stopped at the name.
2. Prerequisites for Writing Code
Do NOT write agent code until a project is scaffolded.
- Verify project: run
agents-cli info (proceed if config exists).
- New project: run
agents-cli scaffold create <name>.
- Existing code: run
agents-cli scaffold enhance ..
Language Support: This reference covers the Python ADK SDK. Support for other languages coming soon.
Quick Reference — Most Common Patterns
from google.adk.agents import Agent
def get_weather(city: str) -> dict:
"""Get current weather for a city."""
return {"city": city, "temp": "22°C", "condition": "sunny"}
root_agent = Agent(
name="my_agent",
model="gemini-3.6-flash",
instruction="You are a helpful assistant that ...",
tools=[get_weather],
)
References
Use cheatsheets for common patterns. For deep knowledge, fetch the docs index or inspect the installed package.
| Reference |
When to read |
references/samples.md |
Topic-indexed catalog of ADK reference recipes. Read in workflow Phase 1 — before scaffolding and before writing code — maps a capability to the recipe that implements it. |
references/adk-python.md |
Core ADK API: Agent, tools, callbacks, plugins, state, artifacts, multi-agent systems, SequentialAgent / ParallelAgent / LoopAgent, custom BaseAgent, ManagedAgent (server-hosted first-party agents), A2A protocol, A2UI. Default for most agents. |
references/adk-workflows.md |
Graph-based Workflow API (ADK 2.0): nodes, edges, fan-out/fan-in, HITL, parallel processing. Use when you need explicit graph topology. |
curl https://adk.dev/llms.txt |
Docs index (every page title + URL). Fetch it, then WebFetch the specific page for anything beyond the cheatsheets. |
| Installed ADK package |
Exact signatures and symbols — inspect the source (see "Inspecting ADK Source Code" in references/adk-python.md). |
Related Skills
/google-agents-cli-workflow — Development workflow, coding guidelines, and operational rules
/google-agents-cli-scaffold — Project creation and enhancement with agents-cli scaffold create / scaffold enhance
/google-agents-cli-eval — Evaluation methodology, dataset schema, and the eval-fix loop
/google-agents-cli-deploy — Deployment targets, CI/CD pipelines, and production workflows