Google ADK
Google's open-source framework for building, evaluating, and deploying AI agents in several languages.
Liked for building working AI agents with an SDK commenters find well thought out1234, and for fitting into Google's ecosystem via Cloud Run and A2A with gemini-cli.56 The main caveat is documentation that is hit or miss across languages other than Python7, along with a sense that Google is not promoting it as it should.8
Why people recommend it
Practical agents · 3
Commenters use it for real agents at work, on Cloud Run, and for automating video edits.
“I use Google's Agent Development Kit (adk)[0] at work and enjoy using it quite a bit.”
“I used Google's Agent Development Kit to make a super simple agent outside of Resolve”
Show 1 more
“I use it with ADK agents, works well.”
SDK design · 3
Described as exceptional and as a better thought-through SDK family than alternatives.
“ADK was (and is) exceptional”
“ADK seems like a better thought through SDK family, I use Go”
Show 1 more
“I use ADK, haven't really looked at Dspy”
Google integration · 2
Agents can be exposed as A2A with a one-liner and connected to gemini-cli, and run well on Cloud Run.
“can expose a custom Google ADK "agent" via one-liner as a2a”
“I use it with ADK agents, works well.”
Multiple languages · 1
Available for Go, Python, TypeScript and Java, with Python the most mature.
“ADK seems like a better thought through SDK family, I use Go”
Caveats and dissent
Uneven docs · 1
Docs are hit or miss across languages and still need a lot of work.
“ADK seems like a better thought through SDK family, I use Go”
Weak promotion · 1
One commenter feels Google launched it without the support and promotion it deserves.
“ADK was (and is) exceptional”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Evolving programming languages in the AI era 1 mention
- Why you can need Cloud Run Instances 1 mention
- DaVinci Resolve 21.1 1 mention
- Go LLM SDK for streaming, tool-calling AI backends (plus frontend React lib) 1 mention
- Claude Code Is Steganographically Marking Requests 1 mention
- Ask HN: Is anyone using the A2A protocol yet? 1 mention
Also written as Google ADK, Google Agent Development Kit. Data: google-adk.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 16
“here are two I use”
“I use it with ADK agents, works well.”
“I used Google's Agent Development Kit to make a super simple agent outside of Resolve”
“ADK seems like a better thought through SDK family, I use Go”
“I used ADK, Dagger, and a VS Code extension for mine.”
“can expose a custom Google ADK "agent" via one-liner as a2a”
“ADK was (and is) exceptional”
“I use ADK, haven't really looked at Dspy”
“The framework I use (ADK) already handles this, very low hanging fruit”
“I use ADK which has many points 3rd parties plug in.”
“ADK framework I use handles parallel agents/tools.”
“I use ADK and don't have this problem”
“The ADK framework I use does most of the rest”
“I use Google's Agent Development Kit (adk)[0] at work and enjoy using it quite a bit.”
“I use ADK (https://google.github.io/adk-docs/runtime/) and it handles all that bookkeeping for me.”
“am quite impressed after a week of test driving”