> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.watson-orchestrate.ibm.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Importing and deploying agents ## Importing Agents Importing an agent involves transferring it from your local system into your [active environment](/environment/initiate_environment), where it enters in a **draft (undeployed)** state. There are two supported methods for importing agents: * **[Using an agent configuration file](#importing-agents-using-an-agent-file)**: Upload a pre-defined configuration that describes the agent's components and behavior. * **[Using the ADK CLI](#creating-agents-directly-from-the-cli)**: Create and register the agent directly via the Agent Development Kit (ADK) command-line interface. ### Importing agents using an agent file Use the `orchestrate agents import` command to import agents into the watsonx Orchestrate platform from a YAML, JSON, or Python file. You can import either [natively built agents](./build_agent) or [external agents](./connect_agent) connected from other systems. To specify the agent file path, use the `--file` or `-f` flag: ```bash BASH theme={null} orchestrate agents import -f ``` Before running this command, make sure you have a valid agent configuration file. This file defines the parameters that describe the agent's behavior and structure for watsonx Orchestrate. For details on how to author these configurations, see [Authoring agents](./build_agent). ### Creating agents directly from the CLI The `orchestrate agents create` command can be used to quickly create and import an agent into the watsonx Orchestrate platform without first having a file to import. **Flags:** | Flag | Description | | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--name` / `-n` | The name of the agent you want to create. | | `--kind` / `-k` | The kind of agent you wish to create. For native agents, the value should be `native`. | | `--description` | The description of the agent. | | `--llm` | The large language model the agent will use, in the format of `provider/developer/model_id`, for example `watsonx/ibm/granite-3-8b-instruct`, or `watsonx/meta-llama/llama-3-3-70b-instruct`, where `watsonx/` refers to the models supported by watsonx Orchestrate. | | `--style` | The style of agent you want to create. Either `default`, `react`, or `planner`. To learn more about agent styles, see [Agent styles](./build_agent#agent-styles). | | `--collaborators` | A list of agents that the agent should be able to call out to. Multiple collaborators can be specified (e.g., `--collaborators agent_1` `--collaborators agent_2`). | | `--app-id` | The application connection name used by the native agent. | | `--tools` | A list of tools that the agent should be able to use. Multiple tools can be specified (e.g., `--tools tool_1` `--tools tool_2`). | | `--output` | Allows you to specify an output file to write the agent definition to (either .yaml or .json are supported) for future modification post import. | ```bash BASH [expandable] theme={null} orchestrate agents create \ --name agent_name \ --kind native \ --description "Sample agent description" \ --llm watsonx/ibm/granite-3-8b-instruct \ --style default \ --collaborators agent_1 --collaborators agent_2 --tools tool_1 --output "agent_name.agent.yaml ``` Allows you to call out to an external agent that is hosted on a different platform, such as Salesforce. For more information, see [External Agent](https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/watsonx-orchestrate-developer-toolkit/tree/main/external_agent/examples). **Flags:** | Flag | Description | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `--name` / `-n` | The name of the agent you want to create. | | `--kind` / `-k` | The kind of agent you wish to create. For external agents, the value should be `external`. | | `--title` / `-t` | The title of the agent you wish to create. | | `--description` | The description of the agent. | | `--api` / `-a` | The external API URL your agent use. | | `--tags` | The list of tags for the agent. Format: `--tags tag1 --tags tag2 ...`. Only needed for external and assistant agents. | | `--chat-params` | The chat parameters in JSON format (e.g., `{"stream": true}`). Only needed for external and assistant agents. | | `--config` | The agent configuration in JSON format (e.g., `{"hidden": false, "enable_cot": false}`). | | `--nickname` | The agent's nickname. | | `--app-id` | The application connection name used by the external agent. | | `--output` | Allows you to specify an output file to write the agent definition to (either .yaml or .json are supported) for future modification post import. | ```bash BASH [expandable] theme={null} orchestrate agents create \ --name news_agent \ --title "News Agent" \ --description "Sample agent description" \ --api "http://some_url.com" \ --kind external \ --tags "test,other" \ --chat-params '{"stream": true}' \ --config '{"hidden": false, "enable_cot": false}' \ --nickname "news_agent" \ --app-id "my-basic-app" ``` To call out to agents on the watsonx.ai platform, set the provider to `wx.ai`. **Flags:** | Flag | Description | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `--name` / `-n` | The name of the agent you want to create. | | `--kind` / `-k` | The kind of agent you wish to create. For external agents, the value should be `external`. | | `--title` / `-t` | The title of the agent you wish to create. | | `--description` | The description of the agent. | | `--api` / `-a` | The external API URL your agent will use. | | `--auth-config` | The external API auth config in JSON format (e.g., `{"token": "sometoken"}`). | | `--auth-scheme` | The external API auth scheme (e.g., API\_KEY for WX.AI). | | `--tags` | The list of tags for the agent. Format: `--tags tag1 --tags tag2 ...`. Only needed for external and assistant agents. | | `--chat-params` | The chat parameters in JSON format (e.g., `{"stream": true}`). Only needed for external and assistant agents. | | `--config` | The agent configuration in JSON format (e.g., `{"hidden": false, "enable_cot": false}`). | | \`--nickname | The agent's nickname. | | `--app-id` | The application connection name used by the watsonx.ai external agent. | | `--provider` | The external agent provider. It will be `wx.ai` for WX.AI agents. | | `--output` | Allows you to specify an output file to write the agent definition to (either .yaml or .json are supported) for future modification post import. | ```bash BASH [expandable] theme={null} orchestrate agents create \ --name science_agent \ --title "Sciene Agent" \ --description "This external agent answers questions about Space" \ --api "http://some_url.com" \ --auth-config '{"token": "sometoken"}' \ --auth-scheme 'API_KEY' \ --kind external \ --tags "wx.ai" \ --chat-params '{"stream": true}' \ --config '{"hidden": false, "enable_cot": false}' \ --nickname "Science Agent" \ --provider "wx.ai" --output "science_agent.agent.yaml ``` ## Deploying Agents Agents in watsonx Orchestrate operate in one of two states: **draft** or **live**. * A **draft agent** is actively being developed or modified by a builder. You can access draft agents from the **Manage Agents** page in the UI. * A **live agent** is available to end users through the **Webchat UI** on the Orchestrate landing page. **Note:** In the watsonx Orchestrate Developer Edition , only the **draft** environment is available. This edition is designed for single-user, non-production use. As a result, the Webchat UI displays agents in their draft state instead of the live state. Attempting to run deploy commands in the Developer Edition will result in an error. ### Deploying an agent Deploying an agent is the act of taking an agent from a draft state into a live state. ```bash BASH theme={null} orchestrate agents deploy --name agent_name ``` ### Undeploying an agent Undeploying an agent is the act of reverting an agent from its current live state to the previous live state. ```bash BASH theme={null} orchestrate agents undeploy --name agent_name ```