MCPInstall

langchain-fundamentals

Create LangChain agents with createagent, define tools, and use middleware for human-in-the-loop and error handling.

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain-skills --skill langchain-fundamentals
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads langchain-fundamentals automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

Security audits

Independent scans of the skill's instructions and bundled files.

Gen Agent Trust Hub PassSAFE ·This skill serves as a guide for developing agents using the LangChain library. It includes helpful patterns for managing conversation state and implementing human-in-the-loop workflows, which are recommended security practices for agentic systems.
Socket PassNo alerts
Snyk PassLOW ·Risk: LOW · No issues
Runlayer PassLOW ·1/1 file flagged
ZeroLeaks PassLOW ·1 finding · Score: 86/100

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

<oneliner> Build production agents using `create_agent()`, middleware patterns, and the `@tool` decorator / `tool()` function. When creating LangChain agents, you MUST use create_agent(), with middleware for custom flows. All other alternatives are outdated. </oneliner>

<create_agent>

Creating Agents with create_agent

create_agent() is the recommended way to build agents. It handles the agent loop, tool execution, and state management.

Agent Configuration Options

ParameterPurposeExample
modelLLM to use"anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5" or model instance
toolsList of tools[search, calculator]
system_prompt / systemPromptAgent instructions"You are a helpful assistant"
checkpointerState persistenceMemorySaver()
middlewareProcessing hooks[HumanInTheLoopMiddleware] (Python) / [humanInTheLoopMiddleware({...})] (TypeScript)
</create_agent>
<ex-basic-agent> <python>
from langchain.agents import create_agent
from langchain_core.tools import tool

@tool
def get_weather(location: str) -> str:
    """Get current weather for a location.

    Args:
        location: City name
    """
    return f"Weather in {location}: Sunny, 72F"

agent = create_agent(
    model="anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5",
    tools=[get_weather],
    system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant."
)

result = agent.invoke({
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What's the weather in Paris?"}]
})
print(result["messages"][-1].content)
</python> <typescript>
import { createAgent } from "langchain";
import { tool } from "@langchain/core/tools";
import { z } from "zod";

const getWeather = tool(
  async ({ location }) => `Weather in ${location}: Sunny, 72F`,
  {
    name: "get_weather",
    description: "Get current weather for a location.",
    schema: z.object({ location: z.string().describe("City name") }),
  }
);

const agent = createAgent({
  model: "anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5",
  tools: [getWeather],
  systemPrompt: "You are a helpful assistant.",
});

const result = await agent.invoke({
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "What's the weather in Paris?" }],
});
console.log(result.messages[result.messages.length - 1].content);
</typescript> </ex-basic-agent> <ex-agent-with-persistence> <python> Add MemorySaver checkpointer to maintain conversation state across invocations.
from langchain.agents import create_agent
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver

checkpointer = MemorySaver()

agent = create_agent(
    model="anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5",
    tools=[search],
    checkpointer=checkpointer,
)

config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "user-123"}}
agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "My name is Alice"}]}, config=config)
result = agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What's my name?"}]}, config=config)
# Agent remembers: "Your name is Alice"
</python> <typescript> Add MemorySaver checkpointer to maintain conversation state across invocations.
import { createAgent } from "langchain";
import { MemorySaver } from "@langchain/langgraph";

const checkpointer = new MemorySaver();

const agent = createAgent({
  model: "anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5",
  tools: [search],
  checkpointer,
});

const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "user-123" } };
await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "My name is Alice" }] }, config);
const result = await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "What's my name?" }] }, config);
// Agent remembers: "Your name is Alice"
</typescript> </ex-agent-with-persistence> <tools> ## Defining Tools

Tools are functions that agents can call. Use the @tool decorator (Python) or tool() function (TypeScript). </tools>

<ex-basic-tool> <python>
from langchain_core.tools import tool

@tool
def add(a: float, b: float) -> float:
    """Add two numbers.

    Args:
        a: First number
        b: Second number
    """
    return a + b
</python> <typescript>
import { tool } from "@langchain/core/tools";
import { z } from "zod";

const add = tool(
  async ({ a, b }) => a + b,
  {
    name: "add",
    description: "Add two numbers.",
    schema: z.object({
      a: z.number().describe("First number"),
      b: z.number().describe("Second number"),
    }),
  }
);
</typescript> </ex-basic-tool> <middleware> ## Middleware for Agent Control

Middleware intercepts the agent loop to add human approval, error handling, logging, and more. A deep understanding of middleware is essential for production agents — use HumanInTheLoopMiddleware (Python) / humanInTheLoopMiddleware (TypeScript) for approval workflows, and @wrap_tool_call (Python) / createMiddleware (TypeScript) for custom hooks.

Key imports:

from langchain.agents.middleware import HumanInTheLoopMiddleware, wrap_tool_call
import { humanInTheLoopMiddleware, createMiddleware } from "langchain";

Key patterns:

  • HITL: middleware=[HumanInTheLoopMiddleware(interrupt_on={"dangerous_tool": True})] — requires checkpointer + thread_id
  • Resume after interrupt: agent.invoke(Command(resume={"decisions": [{"type": "approve"}]}), config=config)
  • Custom middleware: @wrap_tool_call decorator (Python) or createMiddleware({ wrapToolCall: ... }) (TypeScript) </middleware>

<structured_output>

Structured Output

Get typed, validated responses from agents using response_format or with_structured_output().

<python>
from langchain.agents import create_agent
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field

class ContactInfo(BaseModel):
    name: str
    email: str
    phone: str = Field(description="Phone number with area code")

# Option 1: Agent with structured output
agent = create_agent(model="gpt-4.1", tools=[search], response_format=ContactInfo)
result = agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Find contact for John"}]})
print(result["structured_response"])  # ContactInfo(name='John', ...)

# Option 2: Model-level structured output (no agent needed)
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
model = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4.1")
structured_model = model.with_structured_output(ContactInfo)
response = structured_model.invoke("Extract: John, john@example.com, 555-1234")
# ContactInfo(name='John', email='john@example.com', phone='555-1234')
</python> <typescript>
import { ChatOpenAI } from "@langchain/openai";
import { z } from "zod";

const ContactInfo = z.object({
  name: z.string(),
  email: z.string().email(),
  phone: z.string().describe("Phone number with area code"),
});

// Model-level structured output
const model = new ChatOpenAI({ model: "gpt-4.1" });
const structuredModel = model.withStructuredOutput(ContactInfo);
const response = await structuredModel.invoke("Extract: John, john@example.com, 555-1234");
// { name: 'John', email: 'john@example.com', phone: '555-1234' }
</typescript> </structured_output>

<model_config>

Model Configuration

create_agent accepts model strings ("anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5", "openai:gpt-4.1") or model instances for custom settings:

from langchain_anthropic import ChatAnthropic
agent = create_agent(model=ChatAnthropic(model="claude-sonnet-4-5", temperature=0), tools=[...])

</model_config>

<fix-missing-tool-description> <python> Clear descriptions help the agent know when to use each tool.
# WRONG: Vague or missing description
@tool
def bad_tool(input: str) -> str:
    """Does stuff."""
    return "result"

# CORRECT: Clear, specific description with Args
@tool
def search(query: str) -> str:
    """Search the web for current information about a topic.

    Use this when you need recent data or facts.

    Args:
        query: The search query (2-10 words recommended)
    """
    return web_search(query)
</python> <typescript> Clear descriptions help the agent know when to use each tool.
// WRONG: Vague description
const badTool = tool(async ({ input }) => "result", {
  name: "bad_tool",
  description: "Does stuff.", // Too vague!
  schema: z.object({ input: z.string() }),
});

// CORRECT: Clear, specific description
const search = tool(async ({ query }) => webSearch(query), {
  name: "search",
  description: "Search the web for current information about a topic. Use this when you need recent data or facts.",
  schema: z.object({
    query: z.string().describe("The search query (2-10 words recommended)"),
  }),
});
</typescript> </fix-missing-tool-description> <fix-no-checkpointer> <python> Add checkpointer and thread_id for conversation memory across invocations.
# WRONG: No persistence - agent forgets between calls
agent = create_agent(model="anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5", tools=[search])
agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "I'm Bob"}]})
agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What's my name?"}]})
# Agent doesn't remember!

# CORRECT: Add checkpointer and thread_id
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver

agent = create_agent(
    model="anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5",
    tools=[search],
    checkpointer=MemorySaver(),
)
config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "session-1"}}
agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "I'm Bob"}]}, config=config)
agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What's my name?"}]}, config=config)
# Agent remembers: "Your name is Bob"
</python> <typescript> Add checkpointer and thread_id for conversation memory across invocations.
// WRONG: No persistence
const agent = createAgent({ model: "anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5", tools: [search] });
await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "I'm Bob" }] });
await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "What's my name?" }] });
// Agent doesn't remember!

// CORRECT: Add checkpointer and thread_id
import { MemorySaver } from "@langchain/langgraph";

const agent = createAgent({
  model: "anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5",
  tools: [search],
  checkpointer: new MemorySaver(),
});
const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "session-1" } };
await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "I'm Bob" }] }, config);
await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "What's my name?" }] }, config);
// Agent remembers: "Your name is Bob"
</typescript> </fix-no-checkpointer> <fix-infinite-loop> <python> Set recursion_limit in the invoke config to prevent runaway agent loops.
# WRONG: No iteration limit - could loop forever
result = agent.invoke({"messages": [("user", "Do research")]})

# CORRECT: Set recursion_limit in config
result = agent.invoke(
    {"messages": [("user", "Do research")]},
    config={"recursion_limit": 10},  # Stop after 10 steps
)
</python> <typescript> Set recursionLimit in the invoke config to prevent runaway agent loops.
// WRONG: No iteration limit
const result = await agent.invoke({ messages: [["user", "Do research"]] });

// CORRECT: Set recursionLimit in config
const result = await agent.invoke(
  { messages: [["user", "Do research"]] },
  { recursionLimit: 10 }, // Stop after 10 steps
);
</typescript> </fix-infinite-loop> <fix-accessing-result-wrong> <python> Access the messages array from the result, not result.content directly.
# WRONG: Trying to access result.content directly
result = agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]})
print(result.content)  # AttributeError!

# CORRECT: Access messages from result dict
result = agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]})
print(result["messages"][-1].content)  # Last message content
</python> <typescript> Access the messages array from the result, not result.content directly.
// WRONG: Trying to access result.content directly
const result = await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello" }] });
console.log(result.content); // undefined!

// CORRECT: Access messages from result object
const result = await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello" }] });
console.log(result.messages[result.messages.length - 1].content); // Last message content
</typescript> </fix-accessing-result-wrong>

FAQ

What does the langchain-fundamentals skill do?

Create LangChain agents with createagent, define tools, and use middleware for human-in-the-loop and error handling.

How do I install langchain-fundamentals?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain-skills --skill langchain-fundamentals in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/langchain-fundamentals/ (personal) or .claude/skills/langchain-fundamentals/ (project).

Which AI agents can use langchain-fundamentals?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is langchain-fundamentals safe to install?

Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket passed; Snyk passed; Runlayer passed; ZeroLeaks passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.

Who maintains langchain-fundamentals?

It is published by langchain-ai in langchain-ai/langchain-skills, and it is an official skill from the maker of the technology it covers. It has 17,474 recorded installs.

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