Multi-Agent CLI - PraisonAI Documentation

The praisonai agents command allows you to define and run multiple agents directly from the command line without creating a YAML configuration file.

Quick Start

# Run a single agent with tools
praisonai agents run \
  --agent "researcher:Research Analyst:internet_search" \
  --task "Find the latest AI news"

# Run multiple agents
praisonai agents run \
  --agent "researcher:Research Analyst:internet_search" \
  --agent "writer:Content Writer:write_file" \
  --task "Research AI trends and write a summary report"

Commands

Run Agents

Execute one or more agents with a specified task.

praisonai agents run [options]

Required Options:

Option	Description
`--agent`, `-a`	Agent definition (can be used multiple times)
`--task`, `-t`	Task for the agents to complete

Optional Options:

Option	Description
`--process`, `-p`	Execution process: `sequential` (default) or `parallel`
`--llm`, `-m`	LLM model to use for all agents
`--instructions`, `-i`	Additional instructions for all agents
`--verbose`, `-v`	Enable verbose output

List Available Tools

List all tools that can be assigned to agents.

praisonai agents list

Output:

Available tools for agents:
------------------------------
  internet_search: Search the web
  read_file: Read file contents
  write_file: Write to a file
  list_files: List directory contents
  execute_command: Execute shell commands
  read_csv: Read CSV files
  write_csv: Write CSV files
  analyze_csv: Analyze CSV data

Agent Definition Format

Agents are defined using a colon-separated format:

name:role:tools:goal

Part	Required	Description
`name`	Yes	Unique identifier for the agent
`role`	Yes	The agent’s role/title
`tools`	No	Comma-separated list of tools
`goal`	No	Specific goal for the agent

Examples

# Basic agent with one tool
--agent "researcher:Research Analyst:internet_search"

# Agent with multiple tools
--agent "analyst:Data Analyst:read_csv,write_csv,analyze_csv"

# Agent without tools
--agent "helper:Assistant"

# Agent with goal
--agent "writer:Writer:write_file:Create high-quality content"

Usage Examples

Single Agent

# Simple question
praisonai agents run \
  --agent "assistant:Helper" \
  --task "What is the capital of France?"

# With web search
praisonai agents run \
  --agent "researcher:Researcher:internet_search" \
  --task "Find the latest news about AI"

Multiple Agents (Sequential)

Agents execute one after another, passing context between them.

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "researcher:Research Analyst:internet_search" \
  --agent "writer:Content Writer:write_file" \
  --task "Research renewable energy trends and write a blog post"

Multiple Agents (Parallel)

Agents execute simultaneously for faster results.

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "analyst1:Market Analyst:internet_search" \
  --agent "analyst2:Tech Analyst:internet_search" \
  --process parallel \
  --task "Analyze the current state of AI industry"

With Custom LLM

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "coder:Developer:execute_command" \
  --llm "gpt-4o" \
  --task "Write a Python script to calculate fibonacci numbers"

With Additional Instructions

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "analyst:Data Analyst:read_csv,analyze_csv" \
  --instructions "Be thorough and provide detailed analysis" \
  --task "Analyze the sales data in data.csv"

Data Analysis Pipeline

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "reader:Data Reader:read_csv" \
  --agent "analyst:Data Analyst:analyze_csv" \
  --agent "reporter:Report Writer:write_file" \
  --task "Read sales.csv, analyze trends, and write a report"

Code Development

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "architect:Software Architect" \
  --agent "developer:Developer:execute_command,write_file" \
  --agent "tester:QA Engineer:execute_command" \
  --task "Design and implement a REST API for user management"

Available Tools

Tool	Description
`internet_search`	Search the web for information
`read_file`	Read contents of a file
`write_file`	Write content to a file
`list_files`	List files in a directory
`execute_command`	Execute shell commands
`read_csv`	Read and parse CSV files
`write_csv`	Write data to CSV files
`analyze_csv`	Analyze CSV data with statistics

Execution Modes

Sequential (Default)

Agents execute one after another. Each agent receives the context from previous agents.

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "agent1:Role1:tool1" \
  --agent "agent2:Role2:tool2" \
  --process sequential \
  --task "Complete this task"

Parallel

Agents execute simultaneously. Useful for independent tasks.

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "agent1:Role1:tool1" \
  --agent "agent2:Role2:tool2" \
  --process parallel \
  --task "Complete this task"

Output

The command displays:

Agent information (name, role)
Task description
Agent responses
Final result

Example Output:

🚀 Running 2 agents (sequential mode)...
  - researcher: Research Analyst
  - writer: Content Writer

╭─ Agent Info ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│  👤 Agent: researcher                                                        │
│  Role: Research Analyst                                                      │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

╭────────────────────────────────── Response ──────────────────────────────────╮
│ [Agent's response here]                                                      │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

==================================================
RESULT:
==================================================
[Final result here]

Comparison with agents.yaml

Feature	`praisonai agents run`	`agents.yaml`
Setup	No file needed	Requires YAML file
Complexity	Simple, quick tasks	Complex workflows
Reusability	One-time use	Reusable configuration
Customization	Basic options	Full configuration
Best for	Quick experiments	Production workflows

Tips

Start Simple: Begin with a single agent, then add more as needed
Use Descriptive Roles: Clear roles help agents understand their purpose
Match Tools to Tasks: Only assign tools that are relevant to the task
Sequential for Dependencies: Use sequential mode when agents depend on each other
Parallel for Speed: Use parallel mode for independent tasks

Troubleshooting

Agent Not Using Tools

Ensure the tool name is spelled correctly and the tool is available:

praisonai agents list

Task Not Completing

Try adding more specific instructions:

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "helper:Assistant" \
  --instructions "Be concise and direct" \
  --task "Your task here"

Model Errors

Specify a different model:

praisonai agents run \
  --agent "helper:Assistant" \
  --llm "gpt-4o-mini" \
  --task "Your task here"

CLI

​Quick Start

​Commands

​Run Agents

​List Available Tools

​Agent Definition Format

​Examples

​Usage Examples

​Single Agent

​Multiple Agents (Sequential)

​Multiple Agents (Parallel)

​With Custom LLM

​With Additional Instructions

​Data Analysis Pipeline

​Code Development

​Available Tools

​Execution Modes

​Sequential (Default)

​Parallel

​Output

​Comparison with agents.yaml

​Tips

​Troubleshooting

​Agent Not Using Tools

​Task Not Completing

​Model Errors