OpenAI Agents SDK
OpenAI's lightweight open-source SDK for building agents with tools and handoffs
What is OpenAI Agents SDK?
The OpenAI Agents SDK is an open-source framework for building agents that use tools, hand off to other agents and apply guardrails, with tracing built in. It is small and Python-first, with a TypeScript version too. It is MIT licensed and works with OpenAI and other model providers.
Pros
- Few concepts to learn
- Built-in tracing and guardrails
- MIT licensed
Cons
- Fewer built-in integrations than LangChain
- Best experience with OpenAI models
- Less suited to complex graph workflows
Where OpenAI Agents SDK ranks
Alternatives
OpenAI Agents SDK alternatives
Claude Agent SDK
Anthropic's SDK for building agents on the same harness that powers Claude Code
CrewAI
Open-source Python framework for teams of role-based AI agents
LangGraph
Open-source framework for building stateful, controllable agents as graphs
Mastra
TypeScript framework for AI agents, workflows, memory and evals
Pydantic AI
Type-safe Python agent framework from the team behind Pydantic
Google Agent Development Kit
Google's open-source toolkit for building and deploying multi-agent systems
OpenAI Agents SDK FAQ
What is OpenAI Agents SDK?
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The OpenAI Agents SDK is an open-source framework for building agents that use tools, hand off to other agents and apply guardrails, with tracing built in. It is small and Python-first, with a TypeScript version too. It is MIT licensed and works with OpenAI and other model providers.
How much does OpenAI Agents SDK cost?
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OpenAI Agents SDK is open source. MIT licensed; you pay for model usage.
Is OpenAI Agents SDK free?
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Yes. OpenAI Agents SDK is open source and free to self-host; you pay only for the model API and hosting you use.
Is OpenAI Agents SDK an autonomous AI agent?
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We rate OpenAI Agents SDK as "Task agent": completes tasks you hand it, then reports back.
What are the best OpenAI Agents SDK alternatives?
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Popular alternatives to OpenAI Agents SDK are Claude Agent SDK, CrewAI, LangGraph, Mastra, Pydantic AI.