agent-architecture

name	agent-architecture
description	AI agent orchestration patterns (ReAct, chain-of-thought, multi-agent), tool design, memory strategies, guardrails, and token cost modeling. Use when designing AI agent systems.

Agent Architecture

Patterns, decision frameworks, and best practices for designing AI agent systems. Use this skill when the project type is agent or hybrid.

---

Orchestration Patterns

When to Use Each Pattern

Pattern	Best For	Complexity	Example Use Case
Single-turn	Simple Q&A, classification, extraction	Low	FAQ bot, sentiment analysis, data extraction
ReAct	Tool-using tasks that need reasoning	Medium	Research assistant, data analysis agent
Chain-of-thought	Complex reasoning without tools	Medium	Math problems, logic puzzles, decision analysis
Multi-agent router	Multiple specialist domains	High	Customer support (billing + technical + sales agents)
Multi-agent parallel	Independent subtasks that can run simultaneously	High	Content pipeline (research + write + review in parallel)
Plan-and-execute	Multi-step tasks with dependencies	High	Project management bot, complex workflow automation

Pattern Details

Single-Turn

User Message → LLM → Response

• No loop, no tools, no memory beyond the conversation
• Use when: the task can be completed in one LLM call
• Cost: lowest (1 LLM call per interaction)

ReAct (Reason + Act)

User Message → LLM thinks → Calls tool → Observes result → LLM thinks → ... → Final response

• The agent reasons about what to do, takes an action (tool call), observes the result, and repeats until done
• Use when: the agent needs to gather information or take actions to answer
• Cost: 2-10 LLM calls per interaction (depends on task complexity)
• Most common pattern for production agents

Chain-of-Thought

User Message → LLM step 1 → LLM step 2 → ... → Final response

• Multi-step reasoning without external tools
• Use when: the task requires breaking down a complex problem
• Cost: 1-3 LLM calls (can often be done in a single call with prompting)

Multi-Agent Router

User Message → Router Agent → Specialist Agent A or B or C → Response

• A router agent classifies the request and dispatches to the right specialist
• Each specialist has its own tools, system prompt, and expertise
• Use when: you have distinct domains that require different knowledge
• Cost: 2+ LLM calls (router + specialist)

Multi-Agent Parallel

User Message → Coordinator → [Agent A, Agent B, Agent C] (parallel) → Merger → Response

• Multiple agents work on different aspects simultaneously
• A merger combines results
• Use when: subtasks are independent and speed matters
• Cost: highest (N agents + coordinator + merger)

Plan-and-Execute

User Message → Planner creates step list → Executor runs step 1 → ... → step N → Response

• A planner creates an explicit plan, then an executor works through each step
• Allows for re-planning if a step fails
• Use when: the task has clear sequential dependencies
• Cost: 2-10+ LLM calls

---

Tool Design

Tool Schema Pattern

Every agent tool should follow this structure:

Tool:
  name: descriptive-verb-noun (e.g., "search-knowledge-base", "create-ticket")
  type: <agent_tool_type>
  description: What it does in one sentence
  input:
    - parameter: name
      type: string | number | boolean | object
      required: true | false
      description: What this parameter controls
  output:
    - field: name
      type: string | number | object | array
      description: What this field contains
  errors:
    - error: name
      description: When this error occurs

Tool Design Rules

1. One tool, one job — a tool should do exactly one thing
2. Descriptive names — search-products not tool1, create-user not do-thing
3. Validate inputs — the tool should fail gracefully with a clear error message
4. Return structured data — tools should return JSON objects, not prose
5. Include error cases — define what happens when the tool fails
6. Limit scope — a database query tool should not also format the results for display

Common Tool Types

Tool	Purpose	Input	Output
search-knowledge-base	Find relevant documents	query string, top_k	Array of {document, score}
query-database	Execute a database query	collection, filter, fields	Array of documents
call-api	Make an HTTP request	url, method, headers, body	Response body + status
create-record	Insert data	collection, data	Created record ID
update-record	Modify data	collection, id, updates	Updated record
send-notification	Notify user/system	channel, recipient, message	Delivery status
generate-content	Create text/images	prompt, format, constraints	Generated content
human-handoff	Escalate to human	reason, context, priority	Handoff confirmation

---

Memory Strategies

Strategy	When to Use	Implementation	Cost Impact
Session	Short conversations, stateless tasks	Include last N messages in context	Low — bounded context
Persistent	Multi-session relationships, user preferences	Store in database, load relevant history	Medium — database reads
Vector Store	Large knowledge bases, semantic retrieval	Embed documents, retrieve top-K similar	Medium-High — embedding + storage costs
Hybrid	Complex agents needing both history and knowledge	Session memory + vector retrieval	High — multiple systems

Memory Selection Guide

• Session only: The agent doesn't need to remember past conversations. Each interaction starts fresh. Most agents start here.
• Persistent: The agent needs to remember user preferences, past decisions, or ongoing projects. Store in PostgreSQL or MongoDB.
• Vector store: The agent needs to search a large body of documents (help articles, product docs, codebases). Use Pinecone, Weaviate, or pgvector.
• Hybrid: The agent needs both conversation history AND document search. Combine persistent + vector.

---

Guardrails

Every agent needs explicit guardrails. Define these in the system prompt and enforce them in the orchestration layer.

Standard Guardrails

1. Identity disclosure: "Always acknowledge you are an AI when asked directly"
2. Scope boundaries: "Only answer questions related to [domain]. For out-of-scope questions, say: I can help with X, but for Y you should contact Z"
3. No harmful actions: "Never delete user data, send unauthorized messages, or make financial transactions without explicit user confirmation"
4. Escalation triggers: "Escalate to a human when: user is frustrated, topic is sensitive, confidence is low, legal/medical/financial advice is requested"
5. Data handling: "Never log or store: passwords, credit card numbers, SSNs, health records"
6. Rate limits: "Maximum N tool calls per conversation to prevent runaway loops"

Guardrail Documentation Pattern

For each guardrail, document:

Guardrail: [Name]
  Trigger: When does this guardrail activate?
  Action: What does the agent do?
  Message: What does the agent say to the user?
  Fallback: What happens if the guardrail can't be enforced?

---

Token Cost Modeling

Estimation Method

1. System prompt tokens: Count tokens in system prompt (typically 500-2,000)
2. Context tokens per turn: Average input tokens = system prompt + conversation history + tool results
3. Output tokens per turn: Average output tokens = agent reasoning + tool calls + final response
4. Turns per conversation: How many agent turns per conversation (1 for single-turn, 3-8 for ReAct)
5. Conversations per month: Estimated usage volume

Formula

Monthly cost = conversations/mo × turns/conversation × (input_tokens × input_price + output_tokens × output_price)

Quick Reference Costs

Pattern	Avg Turns	Avg Input Tokens	Avg Output Tokens	Cost per Conversation (Sonnet)
Single-turn	1	1,500	500	~$0.01
ReAct (simple)	3	3,000	1,500	~$0.03
ReAct (complex)	7	8,000	3,000	~$0.07
Multi-agent router	3	4,000	2,000	~$0.04
Plan-and-execute	8	10,000	5,000	~$0.11

Cost Optimization Tips

1. Use the cheapest model that works — start with Haiku/GPT-4o-mini, upgrade only if quality is insufficient
2. Cache system prompts — most providers offer prompt caching for repeated system prompts
3. Trim conversation history — summarize old messages instead of including full history
4. Route by complexity — use cheap model for simple queries, expensive model for complex ones
5. Batch tool calls — call multiple tools in one turn when possible
6. Set max turn limits — prevent runaway loops that burn tokens

---

LLM Provider Selection

Provider	Best For	Strengths	Weaknesses
Anthropic (Claude)	Tool use, long context, safety	Best tool use, 200K context, strong guardrails	Higher cost at Opus tier
OpenAI (GPT-4o)	General purpose, ecosystem	Huge ecosystem, function calling, vision	Slightly weaker at complex reasoning vs Opus
Google (Gemini)	Long context, multimodal	1M+ context window, good vision	Smaller ecosystem
Mistral	EU data residency, multilingual	Strong European language support, fast	Smaller model selection
Groq	Speed-critical applications	Ultra-fast inference	Limited model selection
Local (Ollama)	Privacy, offline, cost control	No API costs, full data control	Requires GPU, lower quality

Selection Decision Tree

1. Need best tool use? → Anthropic Claude
2. Need largest ecosystem / most libraries? → OpenAI
3. Need longest context window? → Google Gemini
4. Need EU data residency? → Mistral
5. Need lowest latency? → Groq
6. Need full data privacy? → Local (Ollama)
7. Need cheapest at scale? → Compare Haiku vs GPT-4o-mini vs Gemini Flash

---

Implementation Guidance

When designing agent architecture, provide comprehensive specifications:

1. Agent Flow Diagram (REQUIRED)

Always provide a visual flow diagram showing:

• User input entry point
• Agent reasoning steps
• Tool calls and their sequence
• Decision points and branching logic
• Final output format

Format (use Mermaid):

graph TD
    A[User Message] --> B{Router Agent}
    B -->|Technical Question| C[Technical Agent]
    B -->|Billing Question| D[Billing Agent]
    B -->|General| E[General Agent]

    C --> F[Search Knowledge Base]
    F --> G{Found Answer?}
    G -->|Yes| H[Format Response]
    G -->|No| I[Escalate to Human]

    D --> J[Query Billing DB]
    J --> K[Format Invoice Data]

    E --> L[Generate Response]

    H --> M[Return to User]
    I --> M
    K --> M
    L --> M

2. Detailed Agent Specification (REQUIRED for each agent)

For each agent in the system, provide:

Agent: [Agent Name]

Purpose:
[1-2 sentences describing what this agent does and when it's invoked]

Pattern:
[Single-turn / ReAct / Multi-agent router / etc.]

System Prompt:

You are a [role] agent. Your job is to [specific task].

Guidelines:

• [Specific guideline 1]
• [Specific guideline 2]
• [Specific guideline 3]

Available tools:

1. tool-name-1: [when to use it]
2. tool-name-2: [when to use it]

Output format: [Expected output structure]

Guardrails:

• [Specific restriction 1]
• [Specific restriction 2]

Tools Available:
| Tool Name | Purpose | When to Use |
|-----------|---------|-------------|
| tool-1 | [Brief description] | [Trigger condition] |
| tool-2 | [Brief description] | [Trigger condition] |

Memory Configuration:
- Type: [Session / Persistent / Vector / Hybrid]
- Storage: [Where data is stored]
- Retention: [How long data is kept]
- Load strategy: [When/how to load memory]

Expected Input:
```json
{
  "user_message": "string",
  "conversation_id": "string",
  "user_context": {
    "user_id": "string",
    "preferences": {}
  }
}

Expected Output:

{
  "response": "string",
  "confidence": 0.0-1.0,
  "sources": ["source1", "source2"],
  "needs_escalation": boolean,
  "metadata": {}
}

Error Handling:

Error Type	Trigger	Action	User Message
Tool failure	API returns 500	Retry 3x with backoff	"I'm having trouble accessing [system]. Please try again."
Low confidence	confidence < 0.7	Escalate to human	"I'm not confident in my answer. Let me connect you with a specialist."
Out of scope	Topic outside domain	Redirect	"I specialize in [domain]. For [other topic], please contact [resource]."

Token Estimate:

• System prompt: ~X tokens
• Average input: ~Y tokens per turn
• Average output: ~Z tokens per turn
• Expected turns: A-B
• Cost per conversation: $X - $Y (using [model name])

Performance Targets:

• Response time: <X seconds (p95)
• Tool call latency: <Y seconds per tool
• Success rate: >Z% conversations resolved without escalation

### 3. Tool Implementation Specs (REQUIRED for each tool)

**For each custom tool, provide complete specification:**

```markdown
Tool: [tool-name]

Type: [API call / Database query / Function / External service]

Description:
[2-3 sentences on what this tool does and why it exists]

Input Schema:
```typescript
interface ToolInput {
  param1: string;  // Description of param1
  param2?: number; // Optional: Description of param2
  param3: {        // Nested object
    field1: string;
    field2: boolean;
  };
}

Output Schema:

interface ToolOutput {
  success: boolean;
  data?: {
    // Success case structure
  };
  error?: {
    code: string;
    message: string;
  };
}

Implementation: [Detailed description of how the tool works internally]

External Dependencies:

• Service: [Name of external service, if any]
• API endpoint: [Specific endpoint URL pattern]
• Authentication: [How to authenticate]
• Rate limits: [X requests per Y time period]

Error Cases:

Error	Trigger	Code	Message	Retry?
[Error name]	[When it happens]	ERROR_CODE	"User-friendly message"	Yes/No

Example Usage:

Input:
{
  "param1": "example value",
  "param3": {
    "field1": "test",
    "field2": true
  }
}

Output (Success):
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "result": "example result"
  }
}

Output (Failure):
{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_INPUT",
    "message": "param1 must not be empty"
  }
}

Performance:

• Average latency: X ms
• p95 latency: Y ms
• Timeout: Z ms
• Cost: $X per call (if applicable)

Testing Notes:

• Test case 1: [Description of what to test]
• Test case 2: [Description of what to test]
• Edge case 1: [Description of edge case]

### 4. Memory Architecture Specification (REQUIRED if using memory)

**Provide detailed memory implementation:**

```markdown
Memory Strategy: [Session / Persistent / Vector / Hybrid]

Storage Backend:
- Technology: [PostgreSQL / MongoDB / Pinecone / Redis]
- Connection: [How to connect]
- Schema: [Data structure]

Session Memory (if applicable):
- Window size: Last N messages
- Summarization: After M messages, summarize older messages
- Retention: Until session ends (X minutes of inactivity)

Persistent Memory (if applicable):
Database Schema:
```sql
CREATE TABLE conversations (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  user_id UUID NOT NULL,
  created_at TIMESTAMP,
  last_message_at TIMESTAMP,
  summary TEXT,
  metadata JSONB
);

CREATE TABLE messages (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  conversation_id UUID REFERENCES conversations(id),
  role VARCHAR(50), -- 'user' or 'assistant'
  content TEXT,
  tokens INTEGER,
  created_at TIMESTAMP
);

Load Strategy:

1. When conversation starts: [What to load]
2. During conversation: [What to load when]
3. Summarization trigger: [When to summarize old messages]

Vector Memory (if applicable):

• Embedding model: [Model name, dimension]
• Vector database: [Pinecone / Weaviate / pgvector]
• Index configuration: [Settings]
• Retrieval strategy: Top-K with threshold
  • K: [number]
  • Similarity threshold: [0.0-1.0]
  • Re-ranking: [Yes/No, if yes how]

Chunk Strategy (for document embeddings):

• Chunk size: X tokens
• Overlap: Y tokens
• Metadata attached: [List fields included with each chunk]

Cost Impact:

• Embedding cost: $X per 1M tokens
• Storage cost: $Y per GB per month
• Query cost: $Z per 1K queries
• Expected monthly cost: $A - $B based on C users

Privacy Considerations:

• PII handling: [How PII is handled]
• Data retention: [How long data is kept]
• Deletion process: [How users can delete their data]
• Encryption: [At rest / in transit]

### 5. Guardrail Implementation (REQUIRED)

**For each guardrail, provide enforceable specification:**

```markdown
Guardrail: [Name]

Priority: [Critical / High / Medium / Low]

Trigger:
[Specific, measurable condition that activates this guardrail]

Detection Method:
[How the system detects the trigger — pattern matching, classifier, heuristic, etc.]

Action:
1. [First action taken by system]
2. [Second action taken by system]
3. [Final outcome]

User Message:

[Exact message shown to user when guardrail activates]

Bypass Conditions:
[When is it OK to bypass this guardrail? Usually: "Never" or very specific exception]

Logging:
- Log event: Yes/No
- Alert team: Yes/No
- Include in analytics: Yes/No

Example:
User input: "[Example input that triggers guardrail]"
System detects: [What pattern/condition is detected]
System action: [What the system does]
User sees: "[Message shown]"

Testing:
- Test case 1: [Input that SHOULD trigger guardrail]
- Test case 2: [Input that should NOT trigger guardrail]
- Edge case: [Tricky input to test boundary]

6. Cost Breakdown and Optimization (ALWAYS include)

Provide detailed token and cost analysis:

Agent Cost Analysis

Model: [Selected LLM model and tier]
Pricing: Input $X / MTok, Output $Y / MTok

Token Breakdown (per conversation):
| Component | Tokens | Cost |
|-----------|--------|------|
| System prompt | X | $X.XX |
| Average user message | X | $X.XX |
| Average agent response | X | $X.XX |
| Tool results | X | $X.XX |
| Context/memory | X | $X.XX |
| **Total per turn** | **X** | **$X.XX** |

Turns per conversation:
- Simple queries: A turns = $X
- Medium complexity: B turns = $Y
- Complex queries: C turns = $Z
- **Average: D turns = $W**

Monthly projection:
| Usage Level | Conversations/mo | Cost/mo |
|-------------|:----------------:|:-------:|
| Low | 1,000 | $X |
| Medium | 10,000 | $Y |
| High | 100,000 | $Z |

Cost Optimization Strategies:

✅ Strategy #1: [Name]
- Current cost: $X per conversation
- Optimized cost: $Y per conversation
- Savings: Z%
- How: [Specific implementation]
- Trade-off: [What you lose, if anything]

✅ Strategy #2: [Name]
- Current cost: $X per conversation
- Optimized cost: $Y per conversation
- Savings: Z%
- How: [Specific implementation]
- Trade-off: [What you lose, if anything]

[Continue for 3-5 strategies...]

Recommended optimization path:
1. [Start with this optimization — easiest/highest impact]
2. [Then this one]
3. [Finally this one if needed]

Cost with all optimizations:
- Before: $X per conversation
- After: $Y per conversation
- Savings: Z% ($W/month at medium usage)

7. Testing Strategy (REQUIRED)

Provide comprehensive testing plan:

Agent Testing Plan

Unit Tests (per tool):
| Tool | Test Case | Expected Output | Edge Cases |
|------|-----------|----------------|------------|
| tool-1 | [Normal input] | [Expected result] | [3-5 edge cases to test] |
| tool-2 | [Normal input] | [Expected result] | [3-5 edge cases to test] |

Integration Tests (agent workflows):
1. **Happy path test**: [Describe complete successful flow]
   - Input: [User message]
   - Expected: Agent uses [tools], returns [response]
   - Success criteria: [Measurable criteria]

2. **Tool failure test**: [Describe tool failure scenario]
   - Input: [User message]
   - Failure: [Which tool fails and how]
   - Expected: Agent gracefully handles, returns [response]
   - Success criteria: [No crash, appropriate fallback]

3. **Guardrail test**: [Describe guardrail trigger]
   - Input: [User message that should trigger guardrail]
   - Expected: Guardrail activates, agent [action]
   - Success criteria: [Specific guardrail behavior]

4. **Multi-turn conversation test**: [Describe conversation flow]
   - Turn 1: [User message] → [Agent response]
   - Turn 2: [User message] → [Agent response]
   - Turn 3: [User message] → [Agent response]
   - Success criteria: [Agent maintains context, proper memory usage]

Evaluation Metrics:
| Metric | Target | How to Measure |
|--------|--------|----------------|
| Success rate | >X% | % conversations that resolve without escalation |
| Average response time | <Y sec | p95 latency from user message to response |
| Tool call accuracy | >Z% | % of tool calls that return successful results |
| User satisfaction | >W rating | Post-conversation survey (1-5 scale) |
| Cost per conversation | <$X | Track actual token usage vs estimate |

Red Team Tests (adversarial):
1. **Jailbreak attempt**: [Try to make agent ignore guardrails]
2. **Infinite loop attempt**: [Try to make agent loop forever]
3. **PII extraction**: [Try to make agent reveal sensitive data]
4. **Out-of-scope task**: [Request something agent shouldn't do]
5. **Ambiguous input**: [Intentionally vague or unclear request]

Testing Timeline:
- Unit tests: Complete before integration
- Integration tests: Complete before user testing
- Evaluation metrics: Track from beta launch onwards
- Red team tests: Run monthly or after major changes

8. Deployment and Monitoring (REQUIRED)

Provide production readiness checklist:

Production Deployment Checklist

Pre-Launch:
- [ ] All tools tested with success/failure cases
- [ ] Guardrails validated with red team tests
- [ ] Cost per conversation confirmed within budget
- [ ] Response time meets p95 target (<X sec)
- [ ] Error handling tested (all tools can fail gracefully)
- [ ] Memory/persistence layer load tested
- [ ] Rate limiting configured (per user and global)
- [ ] Monitoring and logging configured
- [ ] Escalation workflow tested (human handoff works)
- [ ] Documentation complete (runbook, system prompt, tool specs)

Monitoring Setup:
| Metric | Tool | Alert Threshold | Action |
|--------|------|-----------------|--------|
| Error rate | [Sentry/Datadog] | >X% in 5 min | Page on-call engineer |
| Response time | [Monitoring tool] | p95 >Y sec | Investigate slow tools |
| Cost per conversation | [Custom dashboard] | >$Z | Review recent conversations |
| Tool call failures | [Logging] | >W% for any tool | Check external service status |
| Escalation rate | [Analytics] | >X% | Review agent quality |

Logging Requirements:
```json
{
  "conversation_id": "uuid",
  "timestamp": "ISO 8601",
  "user_id": "hashed_user_id",
  "agent_name": "string",
  "turn": 1,
  "action": "tool_call | response | escalation",
  "tool_name": "string | null",
  "latency_ms": 123,
  "tokens_used": {
    "input": 1234,
    "output": 567
  },
  "cost": 0.045,
  "confidence": 0.85,
  "error": null
}

Incident Response:

1. High error rate detected

   • Check: External service status (API status pages)
   • Action: Switch to degraded mode if service down
   • Communicate: Update status page for users

2. Slow response times

   • Check: Which tool is slow (latency logs)
   • Action: Increase timeout, implement caching, or disable tool temporarily
   • Communicate: Notify users of slower responses if needed

3. Cost spike

   • Check: Recent conversations for anomalies (infinite loops, very long contexts)
   • Action: Reduce max turns, implement stricter rate limiting
   • Communicate: Internal alert to team

4. Guardrail breach

   • Check: Logs for how the breach occurred
   • Action: Update system prompt and guardrail logic
   • Communicate: Security team if PII or harmful content involved

Runbook Location: [Link to detailed runbook] On-Call Rotation: [How to contact on-call engineer]