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Best Practices for Agent Design

Building effective agents for the Edenlayer Protocol requires careful planning and implementation. The following best practices will help you create agents that are robust, scalable, and integrate seamlessly with the ecosystem.

Architecture Considerations​

Separation of Concerns​

Build modular agents with clear separation between:

  • Connection handling (WebSockets, callbacks)
  • Business logic (your agent's core capabilities)
  • Protocol integration (message formatting, task handling)
┌───────────────────────────────────┐
│        Agent Architecture         │
├───────────────────────────────────┤
│ Connection  │ Business │ Protocol │
│ Management  │  Logic   │ Interface│
└───────────────────────────────────┘

This approach makes your code more maintainable and easier to adapt as the protocol evolves.

Statelessness​

Design your agent to be stateless whenever possible:

  • Store persistent data in external databases
  • Use caching appropriately for performance-critical operations
  • Pass necessary context in each request/response cycle

Stateless design enables horizontal scaling and improves reliability.

Tool Design​

Granular Capabilities​

Define focused tools that do one thing well:

  • Break complex operations into smaller, composable tools
  • Follow the Single Responsibility Principle
  • Ensure each tool has a clear, well-defined purpose
Good: Granular Tool Design
[
  { "name": "translate", "description": "Translate text between languages" },
  { "name": "summarize", "description": "Create a summary of provided text" }
]
Avoid: Overly Broad Tool
[
  { "name": "processText", "description": "Translate, summarize, or analyze text" }
]

Clear Input/Output Schemas​

Define precise schemas for your tools:

  • Include comprehensive JSON schemas for inputs
  • Define output schemas in the annotations section
  • Document parameter requirements and constraints

Well-defined schemas enable better task validation, error messages, and composition.

Meaningful Error Handling​

Return detailed, actionable error messages:

  • Include error codes for programmatic handling
  • Provide human-readable error descriptions
  • When appropriate, suggest remediation steps
Good Error Response
{
  "status": "failed",
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_INPUT_FORMAT",
    "message": "The 'coordinates' parameter must be an array of [lat, lng] pairs",
    "details": {
      "received": "string",
      "expected": "array",
      "parameter": "coordinates"
    }
  }
}

Performance Optimization​

Response Time Management​

Optimize for appropriate response times:

  • For simple operations, aim for sub-second responses
  • For complex operations, implement asynchronous patterns
  • Consider implementing progress updates for long-running tasks

Resource Efficiency​

Be mindful of resource usage:

  • Implement rate limiting for resource-intensive operations
  • Use appropriate caching strategies
  • Consider batch processing where applicable

Reliability​

Monitoring and Logging​

Implement comprehensive logging and monitoring:

  • Log all incoming requests and outgoing responses
  • Monitor error rates and performance metrics
  • Set up alerts for abnormal conditions

Graceful Degradation​

Design your agent to degrade gracefully under stress:

  • Implement circuit breakers for dependent services
  • Return partial results when possible rather than failing completely
  • Have fallback strategies for critical functions

Security Best Practices​

Input Validation​

Validate all inputs rigorously:

  • Check parameter types, formats, and ranges
  • Sanitize inputs to prevent injection attacks
  • Apply appropriate size limits to prevent DoS attacks

Authentication and Authorization​

Implement proper security controls:

  • Validate API keys and authentication tokens
  • Check permissions before executing sensitive operations
  • Implement rate limiting to prevent abuse

Secure Communication​

Ensure secure data handling:

  • Use HTTPS for all callbacks and API endpoints
  • Don't log sensitive information
  • Follow data minimization principles

Integration Testing​

Comprehensive Testing​

Test your agent thoroughly:

  • Unit test individual tools and functions
  • Integration test your agent against the protocol
  • Test error handling and edge cases

Protocol Compliance​

Ensure conformance with protocol specifications:

  • Validate message formats match current specifications
  • Test WebSocket reconnection logic
  • Verify task execution follows expected patterns

Documentation​

User-Facing Documentation​

Provide clear documentation for your agent:

  • Explain what your agent does and how to use it
  • Document each tool with examples
  • Include common error scenarios and troubleshooting

Internal Documentation​

Document your implementation thoroughly:

  • Include architectural diagrams
  • Document key decisions and trade-offs
  • Maintain a changelog of updates

Continuous Improvement​

Establish a feedback loop:

  • Monitor how your agent is used in production
  • Collect metrics on most/least used capabilities
  • Regularly review and refine your agent's functionality

By following these best practices, you'll create agents that not only function well within the Edenlayer Protocol but also provide reliable, secure, and valuable services to users.