adk-python/contributing/samples/adk_answering_agent/README.md

# ADK Answering Agent

The ADK Answering Agent is a Python-based agent designed to help answer questions in GitHub discussions for the `google/adk-python` repository. It uses a large language model to analyze open discussions, retrieve information from document store, generate response, and post a comment in the github discussion.

This agent can be operated in three distinct modes: an interactive mode for local use, a batch script mode for oncall use, or as a fully automated GitHub Actions workflow (TBD).

---

## Interactive Mode

This mode allows you to run the agent locally to review its recommendations in real-time before any changes are made to your repository's issues.

### Features
* **Web Interface**: The agent's interactive mode can be rendered in a web browser using the ADK's `adk web` command.
* **User Approval**: In interactive mode, the agent is instructed to ask for your confirmation before posting a comment to a GitHub issue.
* **Question & Answer**: You can ask ADK related questions, and the agent will provide answers based on its knowledge on ADK.

### Running in Interactive Mode
To run the agent in interactive mode, first set the required environment variables. Then, execute the following command in your terminal:

```bash
adk web
```
This will start a local server and provide a URL to access the agent's web interface in your browser.

---

## Batch Script Mode

The `answer_discussions.py` is created for ADK oncall team to batch process discussions.

### Features
* **Batch Process**: Taken either a number as the count of the recent discussions or a list of discussion numbers, the script will invoke the agent to answer all the specified discussions in one single run.

### Running in Interactive Mode
To run the agent in batch script mode, first set the required environment variables. Then, execute the following command in your terminal:

```bash
export PYTHONPATH=contributing/samples
python -m adk_answering_agent.answer_discussions --numbers 27 36 # Answer specified discussions
```

Or `python -m adk_answering_agent.answer_discussions --recent 10` to answer the 10 most recent updated discussions.

---

## GitHub Workflow Mode

The `main.py` is reserved for the Github Workflow. The detailed setup for the automatic workflow is TBD.

---

## Setup and Configuration

Whether running in interactive or workflow mode, the agent requires the following setup.

### Dependencies
The agent requires the following Python libraries.

```bash
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install google-adk requests
```

The agent also requires gcloud login:

```bash
gcloud auth application-default login
```

### Environment Variables
The following environment variables are required for the agent to connect to the necessary services.

* `GITHUB_TOKEN=YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN`: **(Required)** A GitHub Personal Access Token with `issues:write` permissions. Needed for both interactive and workflow modes.
* `GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=TRUE`: **(Required)** Use Google Vertex AI for the authentication.
* `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=YOUR_PROJECT_ID`: **(Required)** The Google Cloud project ID.
* `GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=LOCATION`: **(Required)** The Google Cloud region.
* `VERTEXAI_DATASTORE_ID=YOUR_DATASTORE_ID`: **(Required)** The Vertex AI datastore ID for the document store (i.e. knowledge base).
* `OWNER`: The GitHub organization or username that owns the repository (e.g., `google`). Needed for both modes.
* `REPO`: The name of the GitHub repository (e.g., `adk-python`). Needed for both modes.
* `INTERACTIVE`: Controls the agent's interaction mode. For the automated workflow, this is set to `0`. For interactive mode, it should be set to `1` or left unset.

For local execution in interactive mode, you can place these variables in a `.env` file in the project's root directory. For the GitHub workflow, they should be configured as repository secrets.