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Class core

Process: Reference Guide

By DevShelfHub

Enum selecting the crew's execution mode: sequential or hierarchical.

See the CrewAI API reference index, CrewAI introduction, and core concepts for surrounding context.

What is Process?

Process is the single knob on Crew that decides how tasks are scheduled. Sequential mode walks your task list in order, threading each TaskOutput forward as context so agents behave like an assembly line with explicit dependencies. That makes traces easy to read, costs predictable, and failures localized to one step — which is why most production crews start here until a real coordination problem appears.

Hierarchical mode introduces a manager: either CrewAI synthesizes one from manager_llm or you pass manager_agent explicitly. The manager reads objectives, assigns or reorders work among workers, and often synthesizes a final integrated answer. You pay extra tokens and latency for that flexibility, and debugging becomes harder when delegation chains grow deep. Flows sit above crews for branching, persistence, and external triggers; they do not replace Process — they orchestrate when multiple crews with different processes run over time.

When to Use

Required parameter of every Crew.

Use Cases

  • • Pipelines (sequential)
  • • Manager-led teams (hierarchical)

Key Features

  • ✓ Sequential
  • ✓ Hierarchical

When NOT to Use

Flows have their own control primitives.

Notes

manager_llm vs manager_agent

When you omit manager_agent, CrewAI backs the synthesized manager with manager_llm. Pick an LLM strong at instruction following and summarization; weak managers produce vague delegations that look like infinite re-planning loops.

Token and latency budgets

Hierarchical crews issue additional LLM calls for planning and synthesis. Instrument verbose runs before promoting hierarchical mode to production so you are not surprised by 2–4× token multipliers on long tasks.

Debugging sequential crews

If downstream tasks hallucinate missing facts, verify task context wiring and agent backstories first. Sequential mode rarely hides bugs — the failure is usually prompt or data flow, not the scheduler.

When to graduate to Flows

If you need human approvals, webhooks, or multi-day waits between crew segments, model those transitions in a Flow and keep each inner crew on Process.sequential unless a sub-crew truly needs a manager.

Import

python 
from crewai import Process

Key Parameters

Parameter Type Default Purpose
sequential enum — Run tasks in list order.
hierarchical enum — Manager agent dispatches tasks.

Code Examples

Sequential default

python 
from crewai import Crew, Process

crew = Crew(
    agents=[researcher, writer],
    tasks=[outline, draft],
    process=Process.sequential,
    verbose=True,
)
result = crew.kickoff(inputs={'topic': 'vector databases'})

Hierarchical with manager_llm

python 
from crewai import Crew, Process, LLM

crew = Crew(
    agents=[researcher, writer, editor],
    tasks=[gather, draft, polish],
    process=Process.hierarchical,
    manager_llm=LLM(model='openai/gpt-4o'),
    verbose=True,
)

Contrast with Flow orchestration

python 
# Process controls *inside* one Crew kickoff.
# Flow @start / @listen / @router coordinate *across* steps, services, and retries.

from crewai import Crew, Process

crew = Crew(..., process=Process.sequential)

Common Mistakes

❌ Using hierarchical without a manager_llm or manager_agent

✅ Provide one or the crew falls back to default behavior.

Process FAQ

What is Process in CrewAI?

Enum selecting the crew's execution mode: sequential or hierarchical. Process is the single knob on Crew that decides how tasks are scheduled. Sequential mode walks your task list in order, threading each TaskOutput forward as context so agents behave like an assembly line with explicit dependencies. That makes traces easy to read, costs predictable, and failures localized to one step — which is why most production crews start here until a real coordination problem appears. Hierarchical mode introduces a manager: either CrewAI synthesizes one …

Which package defines the CrewAI class Process?

DevShelfHub maps Process to Python module crewai (package path crewai in this reference). Pin your installed crewai version and match imports to the snippet on this page.

When should I use Process?

Required parameter of every Crew.

When should I avoid using Process?

Flows have their own control primitives.

How do I import Process in Python?

from crewai import Process

Where can I explore more CrewAI API reference pages?

Open the CrewAI API reference index on DevShelfHub to search 58 classes, 30 methods, and 16 decorators, each with runnable examples, parameters, common mistakes, and cross-links.