SmolAgents

The smallest complete agent framework. A CodeAgent writes Python to accomplish tasks; a ToolCallingAgent uses JSON tool-calling. The entire core is ~1,000 lines — readable, hackable, and a great first step into agents.

Install

pip install smolagents

Version

v1.26.0 · May 2026 · Python 3.10+

Best for

Learning, prototyping, simple automation, code-first workflows.

Where to start

Brand new to agents? This is the easiest framework to get running in 5 minutes. Follow Zero → Hero.

Zero → Hero

1 · Introduction & philosophy Why code > JSON · 10 min

2 · Installation & setup Install, LLM config, hello world · 10 min

3 · Core concepts & architecture Agent, Tool, Memory · 15 min

4 · Model configuration 100+ LLM providers · 15 min

5 · Simple agents fundamentals First agent walk-through · 20 min

6 · Tools: building blocks Built-in + custom tools · 20 min

7 · CodeAgent (code paradigm) Python-writing agent · 25 min

8 · ToolCallingAgent JSON tool-calling variant · 15 min

9 · Multi-agent & orchestration Managed agents, delegation · 20 min

10 · Structured outputs Schema-validated output · 15 min

11 · Production Deployment, safety, cost · 25 min

Jump to a topic

CodeAgent

ToolCallingAgent

Custom tools

Multi-agent orchestration

Structured outputs

2025 features deep-dive

Model selection (100+ LLMs)

Reference

Comprehensive guide Single-page technical reference.

Recipes

Diagrams

Production guide

What’s new in v1.26.0 (May 2026)

• v1.26.0 (May 2026) — Minor release; maintenance and dependency updates. All key symbols (CodeAgent, ToolCallingAgent, InferenceClientModel, LiteLLMModel, tool, MultiStepAgent) verified against installed smolagents==1.26.0 (.routine-envs/check-0529-smolagents); no DeprecationWarning emissions.
• v1.25.0 (May 2026) — Minor release. InferenceClientModel default model updated to Qwen/Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking. All key symbols (CodeAgent, ToolCallingAgent, InferenceClientModel, LiteLLMModel, tool, MultiStepAgent) verified against installed smolagents==1.25.0 (.routine-envs/check-0519-py); no DeprecationWarning emissions.
• v1.24.0 (April 2026) — HfApiModel removed; raises ImportError. Use InferenceClientModel for all HuggingFace-hosted model access. Expanded model compatibility; token_counts tracking fix for managed agents; vision model support for web browsing agents.

Install, minimal example

from smolagents import CodeAgent, tool

@tool
def add_numbers(a: int, b: int) -> int:
    """Add two numbers together."""
    return a + b

agent = CodeAgent(tools=[add_numbers])
result = agent.run("What is 15 + 27?")
print(result)

Ready? Start Zero → Hero Step 1 →

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Revision history

Date	Version	Changes
2026-05-29	1.26.0	Version bumped 1.25.0 → 1.26.0; “What’s new” heading updated; v1.26.0 bullet added; comprehensive guide header updated; revision history entry added. CodeAgent, ToolCallingAgent, InferenceClientModel, LiteLLMModel, tool, MultiStepAgent verified against installed smolagents==1.26.0 (.routine-envs/check-0529-smolagents); no DeprecationWarning.
2026-05-19	1.25.0	Version bumped 1.24.0 → 1.25.0; “What’s new” updated; InferenceClientModel default model change noted. CodeAgent, ToolCallingAgent, InferenceClientModel, LiteLLMModel, tool, MultiStepAgent verified against installed smolagents==1.25.0 (.routine-envs/check-0519-py); no DeprecationWarning.
2026-04-21	1.24.0	Index redesigned with Zero → Hero + Jump-to-topic grid.
January 16, 2026	1.24.0	Expanded model providers; tool call perf; multi-agent patterns.
November 2025	1.23.0	Initial documented version.