The OpenAI Agents SDK is a lightweight open-source framework (MIT licence) for multi-agent workflows, available for Python and, in a separate repository, for JavaScript/TypeScript. An agent is a model with instructions and tools; the SDK adds a run loop, handoffs between agents, guardrails, sessions for working memory, MCP tools, human-in-the-loop support and tracing. By default it uses OpenAI's Responses API; adapters such as LiteLLM and Any-LLM allow other providers to be connected.
OpenAI is headquartered in the United States. Tracing is enabled by default and exports spans, including inputs and outputs, to the OpenAI backend; it can be disabled or replaced with your own trace processors. Tracing is unavailable under a Zero Data Retention policy. For the API, OpenAI offers eligible customers European data residency through a new project with Europe as the region. Which data goes to which model provider therefore depends on your configuration. As a US provider, OpenAI is subject to US jurisdiction, including the CLOUD Act.