Overview
Before step 1 of 6
You will leave with a working mental model and one concrete pattern you can run.
The newcomer — Start here if multi-agent systems are new to you.
Start here if multi-agent systems are new to you.
Path position
The newcomer: Start here if multi-agent systems are new to you.
This is inferred from the page and path structure. Nothing is saved as completion state.
Begin path
Why multi-agent systems exist
Ground the rest in the problem MAS is trying to solve before meeting any solution.
Start step 1Steps
Why multi-agent systems exist
Ground the rest in the problem MAS is trying to solve before meeting any solution.
You should be able to explain in one sentence why a single LLM call isn't enough for the tasks this site is about.
What an MAS actually is
Pin down the vocabulary — agent, state, tool, graph — before the patterns rely on it.
You should be able to name the four constituents of any agent system without looking back.
The three layers of the stack
Place each later concept on the correct layer so the field stops feeling like a flat soup of buzzwords.
You should be able to place 'tool calling', 'reducer', and 'orchestration' on the correct layer.
The ladder of agency
See the gradient from a workflow to a fully autonomous agent so the trade-off is concrete, not philosophical.
You should be able to point at where on the ladder a system needs to sit before the word 'agent' is justified.
The six coordination patterns
Most production work re-instantiates one of six shapes; recognising them early prevents reinventing them.
You should be able to list at least four of the six and describe each in one sentence.
Run the simplest pattern
Concrete, runnable, and small enough that nothing in the page surprises you. Builds confidence the rest is mechanical.
You should be able to describe what the orchestrator node does and what it does not do.