Skip to content

Installation

Get AgentFlow running in under 5 minutes.

Requirements

  • Python 3.10+ — Download here if you don't have it
  • An API key from at least one LLM provider (Google, OpenAI, or Anthropic)
  • pip (comes with Python) or uv for faster installs

Check your Python version:

python --version  # Need Python 3.10+

Step 1: Install AgentFlow

pip install 10xscale-agentflow

Or with uv (faster):

uv pip install 10xscale-agentflow

Step 2: Install an LLM Library

AgentFlow uses official LLM libraries to make API calls. Pick the provider you want:

Why? Generous free tier, fast inference, excellent performance

pip install google-genai

Get your free API key at Google AI Studio — no credit card required.

export GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-key-here
# or
export GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key-here

Why? Industry standard, very capable, great tool-calling support

pip install openai

Get your API key at OpenAI Platform.

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-your-key-here

Why? Excellent reasoning and long context understanding

pip install anthropic

Get your API key at Anthropic Console.

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-your-key-here

Why? Switch between 100+ models with a unified interface

pip install litellm

Set the API keys for whichever providers you want to use:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
export GOOGLE_API_KEY=...
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

Step 3: Set Up API Keys

Create a .env file in your project root:

# .env
GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-key-here

# or for OpenAI
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-your-key-here

# or for Anthropic
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-your-key-here

Then load it in your code:

from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()  # reads from .env automatically

Install python-dotenv if needed:

pip install python-dotenv

Never commit API keys to git! Add .env to your .gitignore.

Option 2: Environment Variables

export GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-key-here

set GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-key-here

$env:GOOGLE_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Step 4: Verify Installation

Run this quick smoke test:

# test_install.py
from agentflow.graph import StateGraph, Agent
from agentflow.state import Message

print("✅ AgentFlow installed!")

# Minimal agent (no API call, just verifies imports)
graph = StateGraph()
graph.add_node("agent", Agent(
    model="google/gemini-2.5-flash",
    system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant"
))
print("✅ Agent created successfully!")

python test_install.py

End-to-End Test

To verify your API key and network access work correctly:

# e2e_test.py
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from agentflow.graph import StateGraph, Agent, END
from agentflow.state import Message

load_dotenv()

agent = Agent(
    model="google/gemini-2.5-flash",  # Change to your provider if needed
    system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant"
)

graph = StateGraph()
graph.add_node("agent", agent)
graph.set_entry_point("agent")
graph.add_edge("agent", END)

app = graph.compile()
result = app.invoke({
    "messages": [Message.text_message("Say hello in one sentence.", "user")]
})

print("Response:", result["messages"][-1].content)

python e2e_test.py
# Response: Hello! How can I assist you today?

Optional Packages

Install only what you need:

Package Install Command Use Case
PostgreSQL + Redis checkpointing pip install 10xscale-agentflow[pg_checkpoint] Production-grade persistence
MCP tool support pip install 10xscale-agentflow[mcp] Model Context Protocol servers
Composio tools pip install 10xscale-agentflow[composio] 250+ pre-built integrations
LangChain tools pip install 10xscale-agentflow[langchain] Reuse existing LangChain tools
Redis publisher pip install 10xscale-agentflow[redis] Real-time event streaming

Troubleshooting

"No module named 'google.genai'"

pip install google-genai

"No module named 'openai'"

pip install openai

"No module named 'anthropic'"

pip install anthropic

"No API key provided"

Make sure you exported the right variable:

# Google
export GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-actual-key

# OpenAI
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-your-key

# Anthropic
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-your-key

Or create a .env file and call load_dotenv() at the top of your script.

"Invalid API key"

  • Double-check the key is copied correctly (no extra spaces)
  • Make sure you're using the right variable name for your provider
  • Check that the key is active in the provider's dashboard

"pip install fails"

Try upgrading pip first:

pip install --upgrade pip
pip install 10xscale-agentflow google-genai

Or use uv for more reliable installs:

pip install uv
uv pip install 10xscale-agentflow google-genai

Quick Reference

Provider Install API Key Variable Model String
Google Gemini pip install google-genai GOOGLE_API_KEY google/gemini-2.5-flash
OpenAI pip install openai OPENAI_API_KEY openai/gpt-4o
Anthropic pip install anthropic ANTHROPIC_API_KEY anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022
Multiple (LiteLLM) pip install litellm set per provider any provider string

What Did We Install?

  • 10xscale-agentflow — The AgentFlow framework (workflow orchestration, state management, tools)
  • google-genai / openai / anthropic — The official LLM library that makes API calls
  • python-dotenv (optional) — For loading .env files

AgentFlow handles the workflow. Your LLM library handles the AI calls.

Ready? Let's build your first agent →