Multi-Agent Architectures Overview

Overview

Swarms provides a wide range of multi-agent architectures designed for different use cases, from simple round-robin task distribution to complex hierarchical orchestration. This page provides a comprehensive overview to help you select the right architecture for your needs.

Installation

pip install -U swarms

Core Architectures

Architecture	Use Case	Key Functionality
MajorityVoting	Decision making through consensus	Combines multiple agent opinions and selects the most common answer
AgentRearrange	Optimizing agent order	Dynamically reorders agents based on task requirements
RoundRobin	Equal task distribution	Cycles through agents in a fixed order
Mixture of Agents	Complex problem solving	Combines diverse expert agents for comprehensive analysis
GroupChat	Collaborative discussions	Simulates group discussions with multiple agents
SpreadSheetSwarm	Data processing	Collaborative data processing and analysis
SwarmRouter	Task routing	Routes tasks to appropriate agents based on requirements
MultiAgentRouter	Advanced task routing	Routes tasks to specialized agents based on capabilities

Workflow Architectures

Architecture	Use Case	Key Functionality
ConcurrentWorkflow	Parallel task execution	Executes multiple tasks simultaneously
SequentialWorkflow	Step-by-step processing	Executes tasks in a specific sequence
GraphWorkflow	Complex task dependencies	Manages tasks with complex dependencies
BatchedGridWorkflow	Grid-style parallel task distribution	Pairs each agent with a different task and runs them concurrently

Hierarchical Architectures

Architecture	Use Case	Key Functionality
HierarchicalSwarm	Hierarchical task orchestration	Director agent coordinates specialized worker agents
Hybrid Hierarchical-Cluster Swarm	Complex organization	Combines hierarchical and cluster-based organization
Auto Swarm Builder	Automated swarm creation	Automatically creates and configures swarms
PlannerWorkerSwarm	Plan-then-delegate execution	A planner agent generates a step-by-step plan that worker agents execute

Reasoning and Decision Architectures

Architecture	Use Case	Key Functionality
HeavySwarm	Deep, research-grade analysis	Runs agents through many reasoning loops for intensive analysis
CouncilAsAJudge	High-stakes rulings with deliberation	A council of agents deliberates, then a judge agent delivers a verdict
DebateWithJudge	Structured adversarial debate	Agents argue opposing positions over multiple rounds; a judge rules
LLMCouncil	Consensus-based decision making	An LLM-based council deliberates to reach a decision

Communication Structure

The Conversation documentation details the communication protocols and structures used between agents in these architectures.

Choosing the Right Architecture

Task Complexity — Simple tasks may only need basic architectures like RoundRobin, while complex tasks might require Hierarchical or Graph-based approaches.

Parallelization Needs — If tasks can be executed in parallel, consider ConcurrentWorkflow or SpreadSheetSwarm.

Decision Making Requirements — For consensus-based decisions, MajorityVoting is ideal.

Resource Optimization — If you need to optimize agent usage, consider SwarmRouter or MultiAgentRouter.

Dynamic Adaptation — For tasks requiring dynamic adaptation, consider Auto Swarm Builder.

Architecture Selection Guide

By Task Type

Task Type	Recommended Architecture
Simple, sequential tasks	SequentialWorkflow, RoundRobin
Parallel, independent tasks	ConcurrentWorkflow, SpreadSheetSwarm
Consensus-based decisions	MajorityVoting
Complex multi-domain tasks	HierarchicalSwarm, HHCS
Dynamic, evolving tasks	Auto Swarm Builder
Collaborative analysis	GroupChat, Mixture of Agents
Task routing	SwarmRouter, MultiAgentRouter

By Scale

Scale	Recommended Architecture
2-5 agents	RoundRobin, SequentialWorkflow, AgentRearrange
5-20 agents	SwarmRouter, GroupChat, ConcurrentWorkflow
20+ agents	HierarchicalSwarm, HHCS, SpreadSheetSwarm
Variable/dynamic	Auto Swarm Builder

For more detailed information about each architecture, refer to their respective documentation pages linked in the tables above.

Core Classes

Multi-Agent Harnesses

Tools & Utilities

Deployment

Multi-Agent Architectures Overview

Overview

Installation

Core Architectures

Workflow Architectures

Hierarchical Architectures

Reasoning and Decision Architectures

Communication Structure

Choosing the Right Architecture

Architecture Selection Guide

By Task Type

By Scale

​Overview

​Installation

​Core Architectures

​Workflow Architectures

​Hierarchical Architectures

​Reasoning and Decision Architectures

​Communication Structure

​Choosing the Right Architecture

​Architecture Selection Guide

​By Task Type

​By Scale

Overview

Installation

Core Architectures

Workflow Architectures

Hierarchical Architectures

Reasoning and Decision Architectures

Communication Structure

Choosing the Right Architecture

Architecture Selection Guide

By Task Type

By Scale