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The PolyAI ADK (Agent Development Kit) is a CLI tool and Python package for managing Agent Studio projects on your local machine. It gives you a Git-like workflow for synchronizing project configuration between your local filesystem and the Agent Studio platform.
The ADK manages configuration files — it does not run your agentThe ADK handles pulling, editing, validating, and pushing project configuration between your local machine and Agent Studio. Agent execution — processing calls, running conversations — happens entirely inside Agent Studio. There is no local runtime.

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What you can do with the ADK

  • Build and edit Agent Studio projects locally using standard tooling
  • Synchronize project configuration with Agent Studio using poly push and poly pull
  • Branch, validate, and review changes before deployment
  • Edit and navigate projects in VS Code or Cursor with the PolyAI ADK extension, or pair the ADK with AI coding agents such as Claude Code
  • Collaborate across multiple developers on the same project

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Why it exists

The ADK moves most build-and-edit work out of the browser and into your local environment. You can merge branches and run reviews from the CLI, while Agent Studio remains the home for deployment and production monitoring — but you no longer have to edit resources there by hand. Instead of editing everything directly inside Agent Studio, you pull a project locally, make changes using your normal tools, and push those changes back to the platform. This makes it straightforward to:
  • edit resources in your own editor, with the tooling you already use
  • collaborate across a team without overwriting each other’s work
  • validate and review changes before pushing them live
  • automate repetitive build work with coding tools

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Multi-developer workflows

The ADK supports team workflows out of the box. See multi-user workflows and guardrails for details on branching, validation, and review. It preserves the same guardrails as Agent Studio, so developers cannot push changes that are incompatible with the project.
Git-like, but for Agent StudioThink of the ADK as the local development layer for Agent Studio: pull, edit locally, validate, and push.

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Next steps

Watch the walkthrough

See a practical demonstration of the ADK in use.

Install prerequisites

Set up uv, Git, and your API key before running your first commands.

Run your first commands

Initialize a project, pull configuration, and push your first change.
Last modified on July 9, 2026