Phase 0: Why Multi-Agent, and the Primitives · ~60 minutes · TypeScript

Why Multi-Agent?

One agent hits a wall. The smart move is not a bigger agent - it is more agents.

Hiring signal: Can operate why multi-agent? in production

What you will learn

Identify the single-agent ceiling (context overflow, mixed expertise, sequential bottleneck) and explain when splitting into multiple agents is the right move
Compare orchestration patterns (pipeline, parallel fan-out, supervisor, hierarchical) and select the right one for a given task structure
Design a multi-agent system with clear role boundaries, shared state, and a communication contract
Analyze the tradeoffs of multi-agent complexity (latency, cost, debugging difficulty) versus single-agent simplicity

Introduction

Type: Learn Languages: TypeScript Prerequisites: Phase 14 (Agent Engineering) Time: ~60 minutes

Objective

Learning objectives

Identify the single-agent ceiling (context overflow, mixed expertise, sequential bottleneck) and explain when splitting into multiple agents is the right move
Compare orchestration patterns (pipeline, parallel fan-out, supervisor, hierarchical) and select the right one for a given task structure
Design a multi-agent system with clear role boundaries, shared state, and a communication contract
Analyze the tradeoffs of multi-agent complexity (latency, cost, debugging difficulty) versus single-agent simplicity

Unlock the full lesson

You've read the first 2 sections. The rest of this lesson covers The Problem, The Concept, Build, Check Yourself, Key Terms & Next — plus a hands-on lab, quiz, and project artifact.

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