For more detailed usage information, please refer to our cookbook: Task Generation Cookbook

What is a Task in CAMEL?

A task in CAMEL is a structured assignment that can be given to one or more agents. Tasks are higher-level than prompts and managed by modules like the Planner and Workforce. Key ideas:

  • Tasks can be collaborative, requiring multiple agents.
  • Tasks can be decomposed into subtasks or evolved over time.

​
Task Attributes

AttributeTypeDescription
contentstringA clear and concise description of the task at hand.
idstringA unique string identifier for the task.
stateEnumThe task states: “OPEN”, “RUNNING”, “DONE”, “FAILED”, “DELETED”.
typestringThe type of a task. (TODO)
parentTaskThe parent task.
subtasksA list of TaskSubtasks related to the original Task.
resultstringThe Task result.

​
Task Methods

MethodTypeDescription
from_messageclassmethodLoad Task from Message.
to_messageclassmethodConvert Task to Message.
resetinstanceReset Task to initial state.
update_resultinstanceSet task result and mark the task as DONE.
set_idinstanceSet task id.
set_stateinstanceRecursively set the state of the task and its subtasks.
add_subtaskinstanceAdd a child task.
remove_subtaskinstanceDelete a subtask by id.
get_running_taskinstanceGet a RUNNING task.
to_stringinstanceConvert task to a string.
get_resultinstanceGet task result as a string.
decomposeinstanceDecompose a task to a list of subtasks.
composeinstanceCompose task result by subtasks.
get_depthinstanceGet task depth; root depth is 1.

Getting Started: Creating Tasks

Defining a task is simple: specify its content and a unique ID.

from camel.tasks import Task

task = Task(
    content="Weng earns $12 an hour for babysitting. Yesterday, she just did 51 minutes of babysitting. How much did she earn?",
    id="0",
)

Hierarchical Tasks Example

You can build nested, hierarchical tasks using subtasks. Here’s an example:

# Creating the root task
root_task = Task(content="Prepare a meal", id="0")

# Creating subtasks for the root task
sub_task_1 = Task(content="Shop for ingredients", id="1")
sub_task_2 = Task(content="Cook the meal", id="2")
sub_task_3 = Task(content="Set the table", id="3")

# Creating subtasks under "Cook the meal"
sub_task_2_1 = Task(content="Chop vegetables", id="2.1")
sub_task_2_2 = Task(content="Cook rice", id="2.2")

# Adding subtasks to their respective parent tasks
root_task.add_subtask(sub_task_1)
root_task.add_subtask(sub_task_2)
root_task.add_subtask(sub_task_3)

sub_task_2.add_subtask(sub_task_2_1)
sub_task_2.add_subtask(sub_task_2_2)

# Printing the hierarchical task structure
print(root_task.to_string())

​
Decomposing and Composing a Task

You can break down (decompose) a task into smaller subtasks, or compose the results from subtasks. Typically, you define an agent, prompt template, and response parser.

from camel.agents import ChatAgent
from camel.tasks import Task
from camel.tasks.task_prompt import (
    TASK_COMPOSE_PROMPT,
    TASK_DECOMPOSE_PROMPT,
)
from camel.messages import BaseMessage

sys_msg = BaseMessage.make_assistant_message(
    role_name="Assistant", content="You're a helpful assistant"
)
# Set up an agent
agent = ChatAgent(system_message=sys_msg)

task = Task(
    content="Weng earns $12 an hour for babysitting. Yesterday, she just did 51 minutes of babysitting. How much did she earn?",
    id="0",
)

new_tasks = task.decompose(agent=agent)
for t in new_tasks:
    print(t.to_string())

# Compose task result by the sub-tasks.
task.compose(agent=agent, template=TASK_COMPOSE_PROMPT)
print(task.result)

​
TaskManager

TaskManager Overview

The TaskManager class helps you manage, sort, and evolve tasks—handling dependencies and progression automatically.

MethodTypeDescription
topological_sortinstanceSort a list of tasks topologically.
set_tasks_dependenceinstanceSet relationship between root task and other tasks (serial or parallel).
evolveinstanceEvolve a task to a new task; used for data generation.
from camel.tasks import (
    Task,
    TaskManager,
)
from camel.agents import ChatAgent

sys_msg = "You're a helpful assistant"
agent = ChatAgent(system_message=sys_msg)

task = Task(
    content="Weng earns $12 an hour for babysitting. Yesterday, she just did 51 minutes of babysitting. How much did she earn?",
    id="0",
)
print(task.to_string())

task_manager = TaskManager(task)
evolved_task = task_manager.evolve(task, agent=agent)
print(evolved_task.to_string())

Conclusion

CAMEL offers a powerful, structured approach to task management. With support for task decomposition, composition, and deep hierarchies, you can automate everything from simple workflows to complex, multi-agent projects. Efficient, collaborative, and easy to integrate—this is next-level task orchestration for AI.