What framework should I use for agents with memory and tools?

If you want to build agents with memory and tools, the best framework depends on how much control you want versus how much built-in orchestration you need.

Good options

1. LangGraph

• Best for: robust agent workflows, memory, tool use, multi-step reasoning
• Why: It gives you a graph/state-machine approach, which is much better than a simple “loop agent” for reliable behavior
• Use it if: you want production-grade agents with explicit control over state, retries, branching, and long-running memory

2. LangChain

• Best for: quick prototyping and lots of integrations
• Why: Huge ecosystem of tools, retrievers, memory abstractions, and agent patterns
• Use it if: you want to get something working fast, and don’t mind some complexity or abstraction overhead

3. LlamaIndex

• Best for: RAG-heavy agents and knowledge access
• Why: Very strong for retrieval, indexing, and connecting agents to external knowledge sources
• Use it if: memory is mostly about document/knowledge retrieval, not just conversation state

4. Microsoft AutoGen

• Best for: multi-agent collaboration
• Why: Good if you want multiple specialized agents talking to each other
• Use it if: your use case is orchestration between agents, not just one agent with tools

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My recommendation

• Single agent with tools + memory: LangGraph
• Knowledge-intensive agent: LangGraph + LlamaIndex
• Multi-agent system: AutoGen or LangGraph
• Fastest path to a demo: LangChain

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Practical note on “memory”

There are usually two kinds:

• Short-term memory: conversation state, scratchpad, working context
• Long-term memory: saved facts, user preferences, documents, embeddings

Framework choice matters, but a lot of “memory” is really something you design yourself:

• store state in a DB
• save summaries
• use vector search for retrieval
• keep explicit agent state

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Bottom line

If you’re starting today and want something reliable and scalable, I’d choose:

LangGraph + a vector store + optional LlamaIndex for retrieval

If you want, I can also give you a decision table based on your use case, or recommend a stack for Python vs TypeScript.