Introduction

Building multi-agent systems with Phidata is an exciting venture into the world of generative AI. To get started on the right foot, it's crucial to set up a proper development environment. This guide will walk you through the process, ensuring you have all the necessary tools and configurations in place.

Prerequisites

Before we dive in, make sure you have the following installed on your system:

1. Python 3.8 or higher
2. pip (Python package installer)
3. Git

If you haven't installed these yet, visit the official websites for Python and Git to download and install them for your operating system.

Step 1: Create a Project Directory

First, let's create a dedicated directory for your Phidata multi-agent project:

mkdir phidata-multiagent-project
cd phidata-multiagent-project

Step 2: Set Up a Virtual Environment

Using a virtual environment is a best practice in Python development. It allows you to isolate your project dependencies from other Python projects on your system.

Create a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv

Activate the virtual environment:

• On Windows:

  venv\Scripts\activate
  

• On macOS and Linux:

  source venv/bin/activate
  

Step 3: Install Phidata and Dependencies

With your virtual environment activated, install Phidata and its dependencies:

pip install phidata

This command will install the latest version of Phidata along with its required dependencies.

Step 4: Initialize a Git Repository

Version control is essential for any development project. Let's initialize a Git repository:

git init

Create a .gitignore file to exclude unnecessary files from version control:

echo "venv/" > .gitignore
echo "*.pyc" >> .gitignore
echo "__pycache__/" >> .gitignore

Step 5: Set Up Your IDE

While you can use any text editor, we recommend Visual Studio Code (VSCode) for its excellent Python support and extensions. If you haven't already, download and install VSCode from the official website.

Open your project in VSCode:

code .

Install the following VSCode extensions to enhance your development experience:

1. Python
2. Pylance
3. Git Lens
4. Docker (if you plan to use containerization)

Step 6: Configure Project Settings

Create a settings.json file in the .vscode directory of your project to configure project-specific settings:

{
    "python.pythonPath": "venv/bin/python",
    "python.linting.enabled": true,
    "python.linting.pylintEnabled": true,
    "python.formatting.provider": "black",
    "editor.formatOnSave": true
}

This configuration sets up your virtual environment as the Python interpreter, enables linting, and configures automatic formatting using Black.

Step 7: Create a Basic Project Structure

Let's create a basic project structure to get you started:

mkdir src
mkdir tests
touch src/__init__.py
touch src/main.py
touch README.md

Step 8: Set Up Phidata Configuration

Create a phidata.yaml file in your project root to configure your Phidata multi-agent system:

version: 1
project:
  name: my-multiagent-project
  description: A multi-agent system built with Phidata

agents:
  - name: agent1
    type: conversation
  - name: agent2
    type: task_executor

workflows:
  - name: basic_workflow
    agents:
      - agent1
      - agent2

This basic configuration sets up two agents and a simple workflow. You'll customize this further as you develop your multi-agent system.

Step 9: Write Your First Agent

Open src/main.py and let's create a simple agent:

from phidata import Agent, Conversation

class MyAgent(Agent):
    def __init__(self, name):
        super().__init__(name)
        self.conversation = Conversation()

    def respond(self, message):
        response = self.conversation.get_response(message)
        return response

if __name__ == "__main__":
    agent = MyAgent("Agent1")
    response = agent.respond("Hello, Agent!")
    print(response)

This basic example creates an agent that can respond to messages using Phidata's conversation capabilities.

Conclusion

You've now set up a solid development environment for building multi-agent systems with Phidata. This setup includes:

• A dedicated project directory
• A Python virtual environment
• Phidata and its dependencies
• Git for version control
• VSCode with helpful extensions
• A basic project structure
• A simple Phidata configuration
• Your first agent implementation

With this foundation, you're ready to explore the exciting world of generative AI and multi-agent systems using Phidata. Happy coding!