Practical notes: Langchain Part 17 — End to End Agent Building

This walkthrough rebuilds the path from raw materials to a working system for: Langchain Part 17 — End to End Agent Building. The focus is operable steps, explicit checks, and code that you can drop into a repo without guessing intent. For the Overview stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Keep configuration outside application code. Environment files, secret stores, and feature flags belong in one place operators can audit without reading the whole graph.

Characteristics of an AI agent

When working through the Characteristics of an AI stage, write down the contract first: required inputs, success signal, and what happens on partial failure. That checklist keeps later code changes honest. Document the happy path and the recovery path together. Retries, human gates, and dead-letter handling are part of the product, not later polish. Checkpoint after expensive steps. Resume should not re-bill the same LLM call when an operator retries a later node.

CODE:

When working through the CODE stage, write down the contract first: required inputs, success signal, and what happens on partial failure. That checklist keeps later code changes honest. Prefer small, testable units over sprawling scripts. When a step fails, the failure should point at a single responsibility rather than a tangled pipeline. Checkpoint after expensive steps. Resume should not re-bill the same LLM call when an operator retries a later node.

from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
from langchain_core.tools import tool
import requests

from langchain_community.tools import DuckDuckGoSearchRun

from langchain.agents import create_react_agent, AgentExecutor
from langchain import hub # It is a place from where we can get many type of prompts, so if we want any predefined prompt, we can get it from here

# Step 1: Creating tool definitions
search_tool = DuckDuckGoSearchRun()

@tool
def get_weather_data(city: str) -> str:
  """
  This function fetches the current weather data for a given city
  """
  url = f'https://api.weatherstack.com/current?access_key=4d1d8ae207a8c845a52df8a67bf3623e&query={city}'
  response = requests.get(url)
  return response.json()

llm = ChatOpenAI()

# Step 2: Pull the ReAct prompt from LangChain Hub
prompt = hub.pull("hwchase17/react")  # pulls the standard ReAct agent prompt
# The agent which we are gonna make is a ReAct agent (reasoning + action = ReAct)
# ReAct is a design pattern

# Step 3: Create the ReAct agent manually with the pulled prompt
agent = create_react_agent(
    llm=llm,
    tools=[search_tool, get_weather_data],
    prompt=prompt
)

# Step 4: Wrap it with AgentExecutor
agent_executor = AgentExecutor(
    agent=agent,
    tools=[search_tool, get_weather_data],
    verbose=True # whatever the agent thinks, it will be visible to us
)

# Step 5: Invoke
response = agent_executor.invoke({"input": "Find the capital of Madhya Pradesh, then find it's current weather condition"})
print(response)

'''
Entering new AgentExecutor chain...
I should first find out the capital of Madhya Pradesh and then check the current weather condition for that city.
Action: duckduckgo_search
Action Input: "capital of Madhya Pradesh" Madhya Pradesh, state of India that is situated in the heart of the country. It has no coastline and no international frontier. Its physiography is characterized by low hills, extensive plateaus, and river valleys. The capital is Bhopal, in the west-central part of the state. Bhopal, city, capital of Madhya Pradesh state, central India. Situated in the fertile plain of the Malwa Plateau, the city lies just north of the Vindhya Range, along the slopes of a sandstone ridge. It is a major rail junction and has an airport. Pop. (2001) 1,437,354; (2011) 1,798,218. Bhopal was Indore (/ ɪ n ˈ d ɔːr / ⓘ; ISO: Indaura, Hindi: [ɪn̪d̪ɔːr]) is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. [15] It is the commercial hub of Madhya Pradesh. It is consistently ranked as the cleanest city in India. [16] It serves as the headquarters of both the Indore District and the Indore Division.It is also considered the state education hub and ... In 1956, Bhopal became part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal district was carved out on October 2, 1972, and is one of the 45 districts in the state. 4. Why is Bhopal famous? Bhopal is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is known as the City of Lakes due to the presence of various natural and artificial lakes. In 1948, Madhya Bharat was created, with Indore designated as its summer capital and Gwalior as its winter capital. This arrangement highlights Indore's significance even then. However, Madhya Bharat was a temporary entity, and the map of central India was soon to be redrawn. The Creation of Madhya PradeshNow that I know the capital of Madhya Pradesh is Bhopal, I can use the get_weather_data function to check its current weather condition.
Action: get_weather_data
Action Input: Bhopal {'request': {'type': 'City', 'query': 'Bhopal, India', 'language': 'en', 'unit': 'm'}, 'location': {'name': 'Bhopal', 'country': 'India', 'region': 'Madhya Pradesh', 'lat': '23.267', 'lon': '77.400', 'timezone_id': 'Asia/Kolkata', 'localtime': '2025-05-01 17:52', 'localtime_epoch': 1746121920, 'utc_offset': '5.50'}, 'current': {'observation_time': '12:22 PM', 'temperature': 40, 'weather_code': 116, 'weather_icons': ['https://cdn.worldweatheronline.com/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0002_sunny_intervals.png'], 'weather_descriptions': ['Partly Cloudy '], 'astro': {'sunrise': '05:47 AM', 'sunset': '06:48 PM', 'moonrise': '08:38 AM', 'moonset': '11:01 PM', 'moon_phase': 'Waxing Crescent', 'moon_illumination': 15}, 'air_quality': {'co': '510.6', 'no2': '1.665', 'o3': '180', 'so2': '10.175', 'pm2_5': '29.045', 'pm10': '68.635', 'us-epa-index': '2', 'gb-defra-index': '2'}, 'wind_speed': 12, 'wind_degree': 302, 'wind_dir': 'WNW', 'pressure': 1005, 'precip': 0, 'humidity': 7, 'cloudcover': 25, 'feelslike': 40, 'uv_index': 1, 'visibility': 6, 'is_day': 'yes'}}The current weather condition in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh is partly cloudy with a temperature of 40°C.
Final Answer: The capital of Madhya Pradesh is Bhopal, and the current weather condition in Bhopal is partly cloudy with a temperature of 40°C.

> Finished chain.
{'input': "Find the capital of Madhya Pradesh, then find it's current weather condition", 'output': 'The capital of Madhya Pradesh is Bhopal, and the current weather condition in Bhopal is partly cloudy with a temperature of 40°C.'}
'''

response['output']
# The capital of Madhya Pradesh is Bhopal, and the current weather condition in Bhopal is partly cloudy with a temperature of 40°C.

ReAct

When working through the ReAct stage, write down the contract first: required inputs, success signal, and what happens on partial failure. That checklist keeps later code changes honest. Treat this stage as a contract between inputs and validated outputs. Name the artifacts, define success checks, and refuse silent partial completion. Checkpoint after expensive steps. Resume should not re-bill the same LLM call when an operator retries a later node. When working through the ReAct stage, write down the contract first: required inputs, success signal, and what happens on partial failure. That checklist keeps later code changes honest. Keep configuration outside application code. Environment files, secret stores, and feature flags belong in one place operators can audit without reading the whole graph.

Example:

The Example stage works best when treated as a measurable surface. Capture one golden transcript, one failure case, and the rollback note before expanding scope. Document the happy path and the recovery path together. Retries, human gates, and dead-letter handling are part of the product, not later polish. Keep graph state flat and typed. Nested blobs hide which node wrote which field and break resume after interrupts.

Answer the following questions as best you can. You have access to the following tools:

{tools}

Use the following format:

Question: the input question you must answer
Thought: you should always think about what to do
Action: the action to take, should be one of [{tool_names}]
Action Input: the input to the action
Observation: the result of the action …
(this Thought/Action/Action Input/Observation can repeat N times)
Thought: I now know the final answer
Final Answer: the final answer to the original input question

Begin!

Question: {input}
Thought:{agent_scratchpad} —

Why is it called a “Scratchpad”?

The Why is it called stage works best when treated as a measurable surface. Capture one golden transcript, one failure case, and the rollback note before expanding scope. Prefer small, testable units over sprawling scripts. When a step fails, the failure should point at a single responsibility rather than a tangled pipeline. Keep graph state flat and typed. Nested blobs hide which node wrote which field and break resume after interrupts.

Difference between Agent and AgentExecutor

The Difference between Agent and stage works best when treated as a measurable surface. Capture one golden transcript, one failure case, and the rollback note before expanding scope. Treat this stage as a contract between inputs and validated outputs. Name the artifacts, define success checks, and refuse silent partial completion. Keep graph state flat and typed. Nested blobs hide which node wrote which field and break resume after interrupts. The Difference between Agent and stage works best when treated as a measurable surface. Capture one golden transcript, one failure case, and the rollback note before expanding scope. Keep configuration outside application code. Environment files, secret stores, and feature flags belong in one place operators can audit without reading the whole graph.

Example : We want to know the temperature in Delhi and want it multiplied by 10

For the Example We want to stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Document the happy path and the recovery path together. Retries, human gates, and dead-letter handling are part of the product, not later polish. Put human approval on edges that spend money or change production data. Compile-time wiring does not equal business completeness.

Workflow between Agent Executor and Agent

For the Workflow between Agent Executor stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Prefer small, testable units over sprawling scripts. When a step fails, the failure should point at a single responsibility rather than a tangled pipeline. Put human approval on edges that spend money or change production data. Compile-time wiring does not equal business completeness.

Limitation of Langchain

For the Limitation of Langchain stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Treat this stage as a contract between inputs and validated outputs. Name the artifacts, define success checks, and refuse silent partial completion. Put human approval on edges that spend money or change production data. Compile-time wiring does not equal business completeness.

1. The “Black Box” Problem

For the 1 The Black Box stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Record timings and token or query cost next to functional results. Cost visibility early prevents surprise bills when the path moves from demo to shared environments. Put human approval on edges that spend money or change production data. Compile-time wiring does not equal business completeness.

Example:

For the Example stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Keep configuration outside application code. Environment files, secret stores, and feature flags belong in one place operators can audit without reading the whole graph. Put human approval on edges that spend money or change production data. Compile-time wiring does not equal business completeness.

2. Cycles and Loops (The “Graph” part)

For the 2 Cycles and Loops stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Document the happy path and the recovery path together. Retries, human gates, and dead-letter handling are part of the product, not later polish. Put human approval on edges that spend money or change production data. Compile-time wiring does not equal business completeness.

Example:

For the Example stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Prefer small, testable units over sprawling scripts. When a step fails, the failure should point at a single responsibility rather than a tangled pipeline. Put human approval on edges that spend money or change production data. Compile-time wiring does not equal business completeness.

3. State Management (The “Persistence” part)

For the 3 State Management The stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Treat this stage as a contract between inputs and validated outputs. Name the artifacts, define success checks, and refuse silent partial completion. Put human approval on edges that spend money or change production data. Compile-time wiring does not equal business completeness. For the 3 State Management The stage, define the inputs, the owner of the step, and the exit criteria before changing code. Operators should be able to re-run the step from a known checkpoint without guessing hidden state. Keep configuration outside application code. Environment files, secret stores, and feature flags belong in one place operators can audit without reading the whole graph.

Example:

When working through the Example stage, write down the contract first: required inputs, success signal, and what happens on partial failure. That checklist keeps later code changes honest. Document the happy path and the recovery path together. Retries, human gates, and dead-letter handling are part of the product, not later polish. Checkpoint after expensive steps. Resume should not re-bill the same LLM call when an operator retries a later node.

Operational checklist

The Operational checklist stage works best when treated as a measurable surface. Capture one golden transcript, one failure case, and the rollback note before expanding scope.

Record timings and token or query cost next to functional results. Cost visibility early prevents surprise bills when the path moves from demo to shared environments.

Keep graph state flat and typed. Nested blobs hide which node wrote which field and break resume after interrupts.

Add a smoke test that exercises the critical path in CI with fixtures, not live paid APIs, whenever budgets allow.

Keep configuration outside application code. Environment files, secret stores, and feature flags belong in one place operators can audit without reading the whole graph.

Keep graph state flat and typed. Nested blobs hide which node wrote which field and break resume after interrupts.

Before promoting the stack, freeze versions, capture a golden transcript for the critical path, and confirm rollback steps. Shared environments need rate limits, tenancy checks, and a clear owner for secret rotation. Prefer boring reliability over clever one-off demos.

Batch note for 261dc94d9d46: keep provider keys out of the repo, set a per-session token ceiling, and store transcripts next to the eval fixtures so later model swaps stay comparable.