LangGraph overview
LangGraph is LangChain's open-source framework for building AI agents as graphs: small Python functions that share one state dictionary and decide which step runs next.
Last updated: 27 Sep, 2026 · LangGraph 1.2 · Python 3.10+
It is developed by LangChain and released under the MIT licence. The docs describe it as a low-level orchestration framework for building and running long-running, stateful agents.
What LangGraph is for
LangGraph suits work that mixes fixed steps with decisions a model makes, and that needs pauses, retries or memory. LangChain provides chat models, message types and tools; LangGraph decides the order steps run in and keeps the state between them.
Pick one to watch it run, step by step.
How it works
A LangGraph program is a set of Python functions, called nodes, that pass one dictionary, called the state, between them. You write the functions and say which one runs after which; LangGraph runs them and carries the state along.
What you will build
A support agent that reads a message, decides what to do, looks things up with tools, remembers the conversation, and stops to ask before anything it cannot undo. Each lesson adds a few lines, runs them, and explains what changed.
Where you use LangGraph
- Multi-step assistants where a model decides the next action, not a fixed script.
- Flows that branch, retry, or run steps in parallel.
- Agents that pause for a human approval and resume later.
- Anything that needs memory across turns or a run you can inspect and replay.
Advantages and limits
- Advantage: the flow is explicit, so branches, loops and retries are visible and debuggable.
- Advantage: state, memory, human approval and streaming are built in.
- Advantage: uses LangChain's models and tools, so any provider LangChain integrates with is available.
- Limit: for a single model call with no branching, a plain function is simpler.
- Limit: you think in graphs, a small step over calling functions directly.
Prerequisites
- Python functions and dictionaries.
- No API key needed: lessons 2 to 6 are plain Python; a model arrives later.
- Python 3.10 or newer.
Related
- Next: Installation and setup
- Reference: LangGraph documentation
Every expert started right here.