Why Graphs Beat Flat Chains
Real agents need loops, retries, and conditionals — DAGs and graphs express what chains cannot.
Where Chains Fall Short
LCEL chains are a great fit for linear flows: A -> B -> C. They struggle when you need:
- Loops (retry until success)
- Conditional branching (decide A or B based on state)
- Human-in-the-loop pauses
- Persistent state across calls
Real Agents Are Graphs
Agents make decisions step by step. A real agent might:
- Plan
- Search for info
- If found, draft answer; if not, search again
- Validate
- If invalid, revise; else, return
This is a graph, not a line.
All lessons in this course
- Why Graphs Beat Flat Chains
- Nodes, Edges and State
- Conditional Routing and Branching
- Persisting Graph State (Checkpoints)