Open Agents

What is Open Agents?

Open Agents is a platform for spawning AI coding agents that can run in the cloud and coordinate multi-step work. Its core purpose is to provide a unified way to interact with AI models, route requests across providers, run agent sessions in secure isolated environments, and execute durable agent workflows.

The product combines an AI SDK for consistent model/tool interactions, an AI Gateway for request routing with fallbacks and operational controls, a Sandbox for session isolation, and a Workflow SDK for resumable, restart-tolerant workflows.

Key Features

• AI SDK (unified interface across models): Use a single API to switch between model providers, stream responses, and call tools.
• AI Gateway (request routing with safeguards): Route requests across providers and apply built-in fallbacks, rate limiting, and observability.
• Sandbox (isolated execution per session): Run each agent session in a secure, isolated environment with full filesystem, network, and runtime access.
• Workflow SDK (durable, resumable workflows): Define agent workflows that can survive restarts and coordinate multi-step operations.
• Cloud agent execution: Spawn coding agents that run in the cloud, combining the above components into an agent runtime.

How to Use Open Agents

1. Set up the agent’s model interaction using the AI SDK, relying on its unified API to stream outputs and invoke tools.
2. Route requests through the AI Gateway so model calls can use provider routing, fallbacks, rate limiting, and observability.
3. Run the session in the Sandbox to ensure agent execution happens in an isolated environment appropriate for tool-driven coding tasks.
4. Implement the workflow with the Workflow SDK so multi-step agent processes are durable and can resume after restarts.

Use Cases

• Coding agent that runs long tasks in the cloud: For development workflows that require multiple tool-assisted steps, use the Sandbox for execution and the Workflow SDK for restart-tolerant continuation.
• Model provider switching without rewriting integrations: When you need to change which AI model provider is used, rely on the AI SDK’s single API interface across models.
• Robust agent execution with fallback behavior: When provider reliability varies, route through the AI Gateway to apply fallbacks and rate limiting while keeping visibility via observability.
• Tool-using agent sessions requiring isolated runtime access: For tasks that need filesystem, network, and runtime access, execute in a secure, isolated Sandbox session.
• Multi-step automation where steps must coordinate reliably: Use durable workflows to coordinate sequential operations and recover gracefully from restarts.

FAQ

Q: What does “spawn coding agents that run infinitely in the cloud” mean? A: The site describes Open Agents as spawning coding agents that run infinitely in the cloud, with execution supported by the Sandbox and coordination handled by the Workflow SDK.

Q: Can I switch AI model providers without changing my application code? A: The AI SDK is described as a unified interface across models, allowing provider switching using a single API.

Q: How does Open Agents handle reliability and provider issues? A: The AI Gateway routes requests across providers and includes built-in fallbacks, rate limiting, and observability.

Q: How are agent sessions isolated? A: Open Agents uses a Sandbox to provide secure, isolated environments for every session, including filesystem, network, and runtime access.

Q: What problem does the Workflow SDK solve? A: It provides durable, resumable agent workflows that survive restarts and coordinate multi-step operations.

Alternatives

• Frameworks for building AI agents with custom routing and execution: Instead of a bundled AI SDK + Gateway + Sandbox + Workflow SDK, you may assemble components yourself for model calls, provider routing, sandboxing, and durability.
• General-purpose workflow orchestrators for multi-step automation: Tools focused on orchestration (rather than agent-specific model/tool integration and sandboxed runtime) can coordinate steps, but may require additional agent plumbing.
• AI model routing/gateway services without an agent runtime: Provider-routing platforms may help with fallbacks and observability, but they won’t replace the need for a secure execution environment and durable agent workflow logic.
• Sandboxed code execution platforms: Execution isolation systems can provide secure runtime environments, but they typically don’t include the model/tool unification and restart-resumable agent workflow capabilities described here.