CrewAI Architecture and Workflow Diagrams
CrewAI Architecture and Workflow Diagrams
Section titled “CrewAI Architecture and Workflow Diagrams”Visual Guide to Multi-Agent Systems
Section titled “Visual Guide to Multi-Agent Systems”Table of Contents
Section titled “Table of Contents”- Architecture Overview
- Agent Lifecycle
- Process Flows
- Task Execution Patterns
- Collaboration Patterns
- Memory Systems
- Tool Integration
Architecture Overview
Section titled “Architecture Overview”CrewAI Core Components Diagram
Section titled “CrewAI Core Components Diagram”┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ CREWAI SYSTEM │├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤│ ││ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ CREW │ ││ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ││ │ │ Process (Sequential/Hierarchical) │ │ ││ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ │ ││ │ │ Agent 1 │ │ Agent 2 │ │ Agent N │ │ ││ │ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ │ ││ │ │ Task 1 │ │ Task 2 │ │ Task N │ │ ││ │ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ││ │ │ Memory (Short & Long-term) │ │ ││ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ││ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ │└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Agent Internal Architecture
Section titled “Agent Internal Architecture”┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ AGENT │├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤│ ││ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ Role, Goal, Backstory │ ││ │ (Define Agent Identity & Specialisation) │ ││ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ ↓ ││ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ Language Model Instance (LLM) │ ││ │ (Provides reasoning capability) │ ││ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ ↓ ││ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ Tools Array │ ││ │ (Enables external actions) │ ││ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ ↓ ││ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ Memory System │ ││ │ (Stores context & learning) │ ││ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ ↓ ││ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ Decision Engine │ ││ │ (Determines actions based on context) │ ││ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ │└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Agent Lifecycle
Section titled “Agent Lifecycle”Agent Creation and Task Execution Flow
Section titled “Agent Creation and Task Execution Flow”START ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ 1. Define Agent ││ - role ││ - goal ││ - backstory ││ - llm (model) ││ - tools │└─────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ 2. Define Tasks ││ - description ││ - expected_output ││ - agent assignment │└─────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ 3. Create Crew ││ - agents ││ - tasks ││ - process (seq/hier) ││ - settings │└─────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ 4. Kickoff Execution ││ crew.kickoff() │└─────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ 5. Task Processing ││ ├─ Agent receives task ││ ├─ Reviews context ││ ├─ Makes decisions ││ └─ Uses tools if needed │└─────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ 6. Output Generation ││ ├─ Format output ││ ├─ Validate result ││ └─ Store in memory │└─────────────────────────────┘ ↓END (Return Result)Process Flows
Section titled “Process Flows”Sequential Process
Section titled “Sequential Process”Task 1 (Agent A) ↓ └─→ Output 1 ↓ ├─→ Task 2 (Agent B) │ ↓ │ └─→ Output 2 │ ↓ │ ├─→ Task 3 (Agent C) │ │ ↓ │ │ └─→ Output 3 │ │ ↓ │ │ END ↓ Memory (Shared Context)Characteristics:
- Linear execution
- Each task uses previous output
- Suitable for dependent tasks
- Context naturally flows between agents
Hierarchical Process
Section titled “Hierarchical Process” ┌──────────────┐ │ MANAGER │ │ (LLM) │ └──────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────┼─────────┐ ↓ ↓ ↓ ┌────────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌────────────┐ │ Agent 1 │ │ Agent 2 │ │ Agent 3 │ │ Task 1 │ │ Task 2 │ │ Task 3 │ └────────────┘ └──────────┘ └────────────┘ ↓ ↓ ↓ └─────────┼─────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ Manager Reviews Results │ │ & Coordinates Response │ └─────────────────────────┘ ↓ ENDCharacteristics:
- Manager agent orchestrates
- Parallel/flexible execution
- Manager decides task order
- Better for complex workflows
Task Execution Patterns
Section titled “Task Execution Patterns”Pattern 1: Sequential Analysis & Synthesis
Section titled “Pattern 1: Sequential Analysis & Synthesis”┌─────────────┐│ Researcher │ ← Gathers information│ Agent │└─────────────┘ ↓ [Output: Research findings] ↓┌─────────────┐│ Analyst │ ← Analyses findings│ Agent │└─────────────┘ ↓ [Output: Analytical insights] ↓┌─────────────┐│ Writer │ ← Synthesises into report│ Agent │└─────────────┘ ↓ [Final Output: Comprehensive report]Pattern 2: Parallel Specialisation
Section titled “Pattern 2: Parallel Specialisation” Task Distribution ↓ ┌──────────────────┼──────────────────┐ ↓ ↓ ↓ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │Financial│ │ Market │ │Operational│ │ Analyst │ │ Analyst │ │ Analyst │ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ ↓ ↓ ↓ [Financial [Market [Operations Analysis] Analysis] Analysis] ↓ ↓ ↓ └──────────────────┼──────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────┐ │ Synthesiser│ │ Agent │ └─────────────┘ ↓ [Final Report]Pattern 3: Escalation & Review
Section titled “Pattern 3: Escalation & Review”┌──────────────┐│ Junior Agent │ ← Initial attempt└──────────────┘ ↓ [Initial output] ↓┌──────────────────┐│ Quality Check? │└──────────────────┘ ↙ (Pass) ↖ (Needs improvement) ↓ ↓END ┌─────────────────┐ │ Senior Agent │ │ (Review/refine) │ └─────────────────┘ ↓ [Refined output] ↓ ┌──────────────────┐ │ Final Approval? │ └──────────────────┘ ↙ (Yes) ↖ (No) ↓ ↓ END [Escalate further]Collaboration Patterns
Section titled “Collaboration Patterns”Pattern 1: Researcher → Writer → Editor Flow
Section titled “Pattern 1: Researcher → Writer → Editor Flow”Researcher Agent│├─ Role: Research Specialist├─ Goal: Gather comprehensive information├─ Tools: Search, Scrape, File access│└─ Output: Research findings with citations │ ↓Writer Agent│├─ Role: Content Writer├─ Goal: Create engaging narrative├─ Uses: Research output as input├─ Tools: Writing templates, formatting│└─ Output: Drafted article │ ↓Editor Agent│├─ Role: Editorial Director├─ Goal: Ensure quality and accuracy├─ Uses: Article + original research├─ Tools: Grammar check, fact verification│└─ Output: Publication-ready articlePattern 2: Manager-Worker Coordination
Section titled “Pattern 2: Manager-Worker Coordination”Workers Report Progress │ ↓┌─────────────────────┐│ Manager Agent ││ ││ Decision Logic: ││ • Receives updates ││ • Analyses status ││ • Coordinates flow ││ • Escalates issues │└─────────────────────┘ │ └─ Coordinate next steps ↓Workers Execute CoordinationMemory Systems
Section titled “Memory Systems”Memory Architecture
Section titled “Memory Architecture”┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ MEMORY SYSTEM │├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤│ ││ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ SHORT-TERM MEMORY │ ││ │ (Current session context) │ ││ │ │ ││ │ • Current task information │ ││ │ • Recent agent outputs │ ││ │ • Intermediate results │ ││ │ • Contextual data │ ││ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ ↑ ││ │ ││ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ LONG-TERM MEMORY │ ││ │ (Persistent storage) │ ││ │ │ ││ │ • Previous interactions │ ││ │ • Learned patterns │ ││ │ • Historical data │ ││ │ • Entity relationships │ ││ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ ↑ ││ │ ││ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ ││ │ ENTITY MEMORY │ ││ │ (Knowledge graph) │ ││ │ │ ││ │ • People entities │ ││ │ • Place entities │ ││ │ • Concept entities │ ││ │ • Relationship mapping │ ││ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ ││ │└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘Tool Integration
Section titled “Tool Integration”Tool Interaction Flow
Section titled “Tool Interaction Flow”Agent Task │ ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ Tool Selection ││ (Based on task need) │└─────────────────────────────┘ │ ├─ File Operations? │ ├─→ FileReadTool │ ├─→ FileWriteTool │ └─→ DirectoryReadTool │ ├─ Web Operations? │ ├─→ ScrapeWebsiteTool │ └─→ SerperDevTool │ ├─ Custom Logic? │ └─→ Custom BaseTool │ └─ Async Operations? └─→ AsyncTool │ ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ Tool Execution ││ (With error handling) │└─────────────────────────────┘ │ ↓┌─────────────────────────────┐│ Result Processing ││ (Parse & validate) │└─────────────────────────────┘ │ ↓ Return to AgentMulti-Tool Coordination
Section titled “Multi-Tool Coordination”Single Agent with Multiple Tools
Agent Instance│├─ Tool 1: Research (Search)│ └─ For: Information gathering│├─ Tool 2: Web Scraping│ └─ For: Content extraction│├─ Tool 3: File Operations│ └─ For: Data persistence│└─ Tool 4: Custom Analysis └─ For: Specialised processing
Agent Decision: Which tool to use based on task requirementsCommon Workflow Architectures
Section titled “Common Workflow Architectures”Research & Content Creation Workflow
Section titled “Research & Content Creation Workflow”Input: Topic ↓┌─────────────────────────┐│ Research Phase ││ (1-3 researchers) │└─────────────────────────┘ ↓[Research findings] ↓┌─────────────────────────┐│ Content Creation Phase ││ (1-2 writers) │└─────────────────────────┘ ↓[Draft content] ↓┌─────────────────────────┐│ Review & Polish Phase ││ (1-2 editors) │└─────────────────────────┘ ↓[Final content] ↓┌─────────────────────────┐│ Distribution Phase ││ (Social media manager) │└─────────────────────────┘ ↓Output: Published & sharedData Analysis Workflow
Section titled “Data Analysis Workflow”Input: Raw data ↓┌─────────────────────────┐│ Data Cleaning ││ (Data Engineer) │└─────────────────────────┘ ↓[Cleaned data] ↓┌─────────────────────────┐│ Exploratory Analysis ││ (Data Scientist) │└─────────────────────────┘ ↓[Insights & patterns] ↓┌─────────────────────────┐│ Statistical Analysis ││ (Statistician) │└─────────────────────────┘ ↓[Statistical findings] ↓┌─────────────────────────┐│ Business Translation ││ (Business Analyst) │└─────────────────────────┘ ↓Output: Business recommendationsLLM Interaction Model
Section titled “LLM Interaction Model”Agent Decision Making Process
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐│ Task Input ││ (Description + context) │└──────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌──────────────────────────────────────┐│ Construct Prompt ││ • Agent role & backstory ││ • Task description ││ • Available tools ││ • Previous context/memory │└──────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌──────────────────────────────────────┐│ Call LLM ││ (Language Model) │└──────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌──────────────────────────────────────┐│ Parse LLM Response ││ • Identify intent ││ • Extract action/tool ││ • Get parameters │└──────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌──────────────────────────────────────┐│ Execute Action ││ • Use tool if needed ││ • Process result ││ • Update memory │└──────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓┌──────────────────────────────────────┐│ Iterate or Return Result ││ • More steps needed? ││ • Task complete? │└──────────────────────────────────────┘System Scaling Diagram
Section titled “System Scaling Diagram”SINGLE AGENTSimple task execution┌────────────┐│ Agent ││ + ││ Task │└────────────┘ ↓ (Scale)
MULTI-AGENT (SEQUENTIAL)Tasks flow through agents┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐│Agent A │→→→│Agent B │→→→│Agent C │└────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ ↓ (Scale)
MULTI-AGENT (HIERARCHICAL)Manager coordinates agents ┌─────────┐ │Manager │ └─────────┘ ↙ ↓ ↘ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ │ A │ │ B │ │ C │ └────┘ └────┘ └────┘ ↓ (Scale)
ENTERPRISE SYSTEMMultiple crews, complex workflows┌──────────────────────────────┐│ Crew 1 │ Crew 2 │ Crew 3 ...│├────────────────────────────┤│ Shared Memory & Resources ││ Orchestration Layer │└──────────────────────────────┘This visual guide provides clarity on CrewAI’s architecture and communication patterns for building effective multi-agent systems.