OpenAI Swarm is an experimental framework demonstrating lightweight patterns for multi-agent coordination. Rather than a production framework, it serves as a reference implementation for agent handoff patterns.
Agents are defined as simple Python objects with instructions (system prompts) and a list of available functions. The key innovation is the handoff pattern — an agent can transfer the conversation to another specialized agent by returning a handoff function.
This enables building systems like customer service routing where a triage agent hands off to billing, technical support, or sales agents based on user intent. Each agent has its own specialized tools and knowledge.
Being experimental, Swarm deliberately avoids heavy abstractions. The entire implementation is minimal and readable, making it valuable as a learning resource for understanding multi-agent patterns even if teams build their own production systems.
