smolagents
FrameworkLibraryOpen source (Apache-2.0)
What it is
smolagents is Hugging Face's minimal agent library (about 1,000 lines). Its CodeAgent writes actions as Python code; Hugging Face built Open Deep Research on it.
Best for
#3 of 3Framework for Build a deep-research agent
Total 6.7 / 10
- Fit for the job (25%)7 / 10HF Open Deep Research: CodeAgent reached 55.15% on GAIA validation (Feb 2025).
Evidence:0111 (source: Hugging Face)0114 (source: Hugging Face)
- Developer experience (20%)7 / 10About 1,000-line core. Editorial read of docs; no own test yet.
Evidence:0114 (source: Hugging Face)
- Reliability & production readiness (20%)5 / 10Code actions need a sandbox (Modal/E2B/Docker); no production case found.
Evidence:0114 (source: Hugging Face)
- Openness (15%)8 / 10Apache-2.0.
Evidence:0115 (source: GitHub)
- Ecosystem & integrations (10%)6 / 10
Evidence:0114 (source: Hugging Face)
- Momentum (10%)7 / 10Last push 2026-10-06.
Evidence:0115 (source: GitHub)
Strengths
- Open Deep Research on smolagents reached 55.15% on GAIA validation.0111 (source: Hugging Face)
- Small core; CodeAgent and tool-calling agents.0114 (source: Hugging Face)
Limits
- Code actions need a sandbox (Modal, E2B, Docker).0114 (source: Hugging Face)
Pricing
Pricing not yet reviewed
License
Open source (Apache-2.0).0115 (source: GitHub)
Checked .
Alternatives in the same layer
Disclosures
- None