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DeepCritical Workflow - Simplified Magentic Architecture

Architecture Pattern: Microsoft Magentic Orchestration Design Philosophy: Simple, dynamic, manager-driven coordination Key Innovation: Intelligent manager replaces rigid sequential phases

1. High-Level Magentic Workflow

flowchart TD
    Start([User Query]) --> Manager[Magentic Manager<br/>Plan • Select • Assess • Adapt]

    Manager -->|Plans| Task1[Task Decomposition]
    Task1 --> Manager

    Manager -->|Selects & Executes| HypAgent[Hypothesis Agent]
    Manager -->|Selects & Executes| SearchAgent[Search Agent]
    Manager -->|Selects & Executes| AnalysisAgent[Analysis Agent]
    Manager -->|Selects & Executes| ReportAgent[Report Agent]

    HypAgent -->|Results| Manager
    SearchAgent -->|Results| Manager
    AnalysisAgent -->|Results| Manager
    ReportAgent -->|Results| Manager

    Manager -->|Assesses Quality| Decision{Good Enough?}
    Decision -->|No - Refine| Manager
    Decision -->|No - Different Agent| Manager
    Decision -->|No - Stalled| Replan[Reset Plan]
    Replan --> Manager

    Decision -->|Yes| Synthesis[Synthesize Final Result]
    Synthesis --> Output([Research Report])

    style Start fill:#e1f5e1
    style Manager fill:#ffe6e6
    style HypAgent fill:#fff4e6
    style SearchAgent fill:#fff4e6
    style AnalysisAgent fill:#fff4e6
    style ReportAgent fill:#fff4e6
    style Decision fill:#ffd6d6
    style Synthesis fill:#d4edda
    style Output fill:#e1f5e1

2. Magentic Manager: The 6-Phase Cycle

flowchart LR
    P1[1. Planning<br/>Analyze task<br/>Create strategy] --> P2[2. Agent Selection<br/>Pick best agent<br/>for subtask]
    P2 --> P3[3. Execution<br/>Run selected<br/>agent with tools]
    P3 --> P4[4. Assessment<br/>Evaluate quality<br/>Check progress]
    P4 --> Decision{Quality OK?<br/>Progress made?}
    Decision -->|Yes| P6[6. Synthesis<br/>Combine results<br/>Generate report]
    Decision -->|No| P5[5. Iteration<br/>Adjust plan<br/>Try again]
    P5 --> P2
    P6 --> Done([Complete])

    style P1 fill:#fff4e6
    style P2 fill:#ffe6e6
    style P3 fill:#e6f3ff
    style P4 fill:#ffd6d6
    style P5 fill:#fff3cd
    style P6 fill:#d4edda
    style Done fill:#e1f5e1

3. Simplified Agent Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph "Orchestration Layer"
        Manager[Magentic Manager<br/>• Plans workflow<br/>• Selects agents<br/>• Assesses quality<br/>• Adapts strategy]
        SharedContext[(Shared Context<br/>• Hypotheses<br/>• Search Results<br/>• Analysis<br/>• Progress)]
        Manager <--> SharedContext
    end

    subgraph "Specialist Agents"
        HypAgent[Hypothesis Agent<br/>• Domain understanding<br/>• Hypothesis generation<br/>• Testability refinement]
        SearchAgent[Search Agent<br/>• Multi-source search<br/>• RAG retrieval<br/>• Result ranking]
        AnalysisAgent[Analysis Agent<br/>• Evidence extraction<br/>• Statistical analysis<br/>• Code execution]
        ReportAgent[Report Agent<br/>• Report assembly<br/>• Visualization<br/>• Citation formatting]
    end

    subgraph "MCP Tools"
        WebSearch[Web Search<br/>PubMed • arXiv • bioRxiv]
        CodeExec[Code Execution<br/>Sandboxed Python]
        RAG[RAG Retrieval<br/>Vector DB • Embeddings]
        Viz[Visualization<br/>Charts • Graphs]
    end

    Manager -->|Selects & Directs| HypAgent
    Manager -->|Selects & Directs| SearchAgent
    Manager -->|Selects & Directs| AnalysisAgent
    Manager -->|Selects & Directs| ReportAgent

    HypAgent --> SharedContext
    SearchAgent --> SharedContext
    AnalysisAgent --> SharedContext
    ReportAgent --> SharedContext

    SearchAgent --> WebSearch
    SearchAgent --> RAG
    AnalysisAgent --> CodeExec
    ReportAgent --> CodeExec
    ReportAgent --> Viz

    style Manager fill:#ffe6e6
    style SharedContext fill:#ffe6f0
    style HypAgent fill:#fff4e6
    style SearchAgent fill:#fff4e6
    style AnalysisAgent fill:#fff4e6
    style ReportAgent fill:#fff4e6
    style WebSearch fill:#e6f3ff
    style CodeExec fill:#e6f3ff
    style RAG fill:#e6f3ff
    style Viz fill:#e6f3ff

4. Dynamic Workflow Example

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Manager
    participant HypAgent
    participant SearchAgent
    participant AnalysisAgent
    participant ReportAgent

    User->>Manager: "Research protein folding in Alzheimer's"

    Note over Manager: PLAN: Generate hypotheses → Search → Analyze → Report

    Manager->>HypAgent: Generate 3 hypotheses
    HypAgent-->>Manager: Returns 3 hypotheses
    Note over Manager: ASSESS: Good quality, proceed

    Manager->>SearchAgent: Search literature for hypothesis 1
    SearchAgent-->>Manager: Returns 15 papers
    Note over Manager: ASSESS: Good results, continue

    Manager->>SearchAgent: Search for hypothesis 2
    SearchAgent-->>Manager: Only 2 papers found
    Note over Manager: ASSESS: Insufficient, refine search

    Manager->>SearchAgent: Refined query for hypothesis 2
    SearchAgent-->>Manager: Returns 12 papers
    Note over Manager: ASSESS: Better, proceed

    Manager->>AnalysisAgent: Analyze evidence for all hypotheses
    AnalysisAgent-->>Manager: Returns analysis with code
    Note over Manager: ASSESS: Complete, generate report

    Manager->>ReportAgent: Create comprehensive report
    ReportAgent-->>Manager: Returns formatted report
    Note over Manager: SYNTHESIZE: Combine all results

    Manager->>User: Final Research Report

5. Manager Decision Logic

flowchart TD
    Start([Manager Receives Task]) --> Plan[Create Initial Plan]

    Plan --> Select[Select Agent for Next Subtask]
    Select --> Execute[Execute Agent]
    Execute --> Collect[Collect Results]

    Collect --> Assess[Assess Quality & Progress]

    Assess --> Q1{Quality Sufficient?}
    Q1 -->|No| Q2{Same Agent Can Fix?}
    Q2 -->|Yes| Feedback[Provide Specific Feedback]
    Feedback --> Execute
    Q2 -->|No| Different[Try Different Agent]
    Different --> Select

    Q1 -->|Yes| Q3{Task Complete?}
    Q3 -->|No| Q4{Making Progress?}
    Q4 -->|Yes| Select
    Q4 -->|No - Stalled| Replan[Reset Plan & Approach]
    Replan --> Plan

    Q3 -->|Yes| Synth[Synthesize Final Result]
    Synth --> Done([Return Report])

    style Start fill:#e1f5e1
    style Plan fill:#fff4e6
    style Select fill:#ffe6e6
    style Execute fill:#e6f3ff
    style Assess fill:#ffd6d6
    style Q1 fill:#ffe6e6
    style Q2 fill:#ffe6e6
    style Q3 fill:#ffe6e6
    style Q4 fill:#ffe6e6
    style Synth fill:#d4edda
    style Done fill:#e1f5e1

6. Hypothesis Agent Workflow

flowchart LR
    Input[Research Query] --> Domain[Identify Domain<br/>& Key Concepts]
    Domain --> Context[Retrieve Background<br/>Knowledge]
    Context --> Generate[Generate 3-5<br/>Initial Hypotheses]
    Generate --> Refine[Refine for<br/>Testability]
    Refine --> Rank[Rank by<br/>Quality Score]
    Rank --> Output[Return Top<br/>Hypotheses]

    Output --> Struct[Hypothesis Structure:<br/>• Statement<br/>• Rationale<br/>• Testability Score<br/>• Data Requirements<br/>• Expected Outcomes]

    style Input fill:#e1f5e1
    style Output fill:#fff4e6
    style Struct fill:#e6f3ff

7. Search Agent Workflow

flowchart TD
    Input[Hypotheses] --> Strategy[Formulate Search<br/>Strategy per Hypothesis]

    Strategy --> Multi[Multi-Source Search]

    Multi --> PubMed[PubMed Search<br/>via MCP]
    Multi --> ArXiv[arXiv Search<br/>via MCP]
    Multi --> BioRxiv[bioRxiv Search<br/>via MCP]

    PubMed --> Aggregate[Aggregate Results]
    ArXiv --> Aggregate
    BioRxiv --> Aggregate

    Aggregate --> Filter[Filter & Rank<br/>by Relevance]
    Filter --> Dedup[Deduplicate<br/>Cross-Reference]
    Dedup --> Embed[Embed Documents<br/>via MCP]
    Embed --> Vector[(Vector DB)]
    Vector --> RAGRetrieval[RAG Retrieval<br/>Top-K per Hypothesis]
    RAGRetrieval --> Output[Return Contextualized<br/>Search Results]

    style Input fill:#fff4e6
    style Multi fill:#ffe6e6
    style Vector fill:#ffe6f0
    style Output fill:#e6f3ff

8. Analysis Agent Workflow

flowchart TD
    Input1[Hypotheses] --> Extract
    Input2[Search Results] --> Extract[Extract Evidence<br/>per Hypothesis]

    Extract --> Methods[Determine Analysis<br/>Methods Needed]

    Methods --> Branch{Requires<br/>Computation?}
    Branch -->|Yes| GenCode[Generate Python<br/>Analysis Code]
    Branch -->|No| Qual[Qualitative<br/>Synthesis]

    GenCode --> Execute[Execute Code<br/>via MCP Sandbox]
    Execute --> Interpret1[Interpret<br/>Results]
    Qual --> Interpret2[Interpret<br/>Findings]

    Interpret1 --> Synthesize[Synthesize Evidence<br/>Across Sources]
    Interpret2 --> Synthesize

    Synthesize --> Verdict[Determine Verdict<br/>per Hypothesis]
    Verdict --> Support[• Supported<br/>• Refuted<br/>• Inconclusive]
    Support --> Gaps[Identify Knowledge<br/>Gaps & Limitations]
    Gaps --> Output[Return Analysis<br/>Report]

    style Input1 fill:#fff4e6
    style Input2 fill:#e6f3ff
    style Execute fill:#ffe6e6
    style Output fill:#e6ffe6

9. Report Agent Workflow

flowchart TD
    Input1[Query] --> Assemble
    Input2[Hypotheses] --> Assemble
    Input3[Search Results] --> Assemble
    Input4[Analysis] --> Assemble[Assemble Report<br/>Sections]

    Assemble --> Exec[Executive Summary]
    Assemble --> Intro[Introduction]
    Assemble --> Methods[Methods]
    Assemble --> Results[Results per<br/>Hypothesis]
    Assemble --> Discussion[Discussion]
    Assemble --> Future[Future Directions]
    Assemble --> Refs[References]

    Results --> VizCheck{Needs<br/>Visualization?}
    VizCheck -->|Yes| GenViz[Generate Viz Code]
    GenViz --> ExecViz[Execute via MCP<br/>Create Charts]
    ExecViz --> Combine
    VizCheck -->|No| Combine[Combine All<br/>Sections]

    Exec --> Combine
    Intro --> Combine
    Methods --> Combine
    Discussion --> Combine
    Future --> Combine
    Refs --> Combine

    Combine --> Format[Format Output]
    Format --> MD[Markdown]
    Format --> PDF[PDF]
    Format --> JSON[JSON]

    MD --> Output[Return Final<br/>Report]
    PDF --> Output
    JSON --> Output

    style Input1 fill:#e1f5e1
    style Input2 fill:#fff4e6
    style Input3 fill:#e6f3ff
    style Input4 fill:#e6ffe6
    style Output fill:#d4edda

10. Data Flow & Event Streaming

flowchart TD
    User[👤 User] -->|Research Query| UI[Gradio UI]
    UI -->|Submit| Manager[Magentic Manager]

    Manager -->|Event: Planning| UI
    Manager -->|Select Agent| HypAgent[Hypothesis Agent]
    HypAgent -->|Event: Delta/Message| UI
    HypAgent -->|Hypotheses| Context[(Shared Context)]

    Context -->|Retrieved by| Manager
    Manager -->|Select Agent| SearchAgent[Search Agent]
    SearchAgent -->|MCP Request| WebSearch[Web Search Tool]
    WebSearch -->|Results| SearchAgent
    SearchAgent -->|Event: Delta/Message| UI
    SearchAgent -->|Documents| Context
    SearchAgent -->|Embeddings| VectorDB[(Vector DB)]

    Context -->|Retrieved by| Manager
    Manager -->|Select Agent| AnalysisAgent[Analysis Agent]
    AnalysisAgent -->|MCP Request| CodeExec[Code Execution Tool]
    CodeExec -->|Results| AnalysisAgent
    AnalysisAgent -->|Event: Delta/Message| UI
    AnalysisAgent -->|Analysis| Context

    Context -->|Retrieved by| Manager
    Manager -->|Select Agent| ReportAgent[Report Agent]
    ReportAgent -->|MCP Request| CodeExec
    ReportAgent -->|Event: Delta/Message| UI
    ReportAgent -->|Report| Context

    Manager -->|Event: Final Result| UI
    UI -->|Display| User

    style User fill:#e1f5e1
    style UI fill:#e6f3ff
    style Manager fill:#ffe6e6
    style Context fill:#ffe6f0
    style VectorDB fill:#ffe6f0
    style WebSearch fill:#f0f0f0
    style CodeExec fill:#f0f0f0

11. MCP Tool Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph "Agent Layer"
        Manager[Magentic Manager]
        HypAgent[Hypothesis Agent]
        SearchAgent[Search Agent]
        AnalysisAgent[Analysis Agent]
        ReportAgent[Report Agent]
    end

    subgraph "MCP Protocol Layer"
        Registry[MCP Tool Registry<br/>• Discovers tools<br/>• Routes requests<br/>• Manages connections]
    end

    subgraph "MCP Servers"
        Server1[Web Search Server<br/>localhost:8001<br/>• PubMed<br/>• arXiv<br/>• bioRxiv]
        Server2[Code Execution Server<br/>localhost:8002<br/>• Sandboxed Python<br/>• Package management]
        Server3[RAG Server<br/>localhost:8003<br/>• Vector embeddings<br/>• Similarity search]
        Server4[Visualization Server<br/>localhost:8004<br/>• Chart generation<br/>• Plot rendering]
    end

    subgraph "External Services"
        PubMed[PubMed API]
        ArXiv[arXiv API]
        BioRxiv[bioRxiv API]
        Modal[Modal Sandbox]
        ChromaDB[(ChromaDB)]
    end

    SearchAgent -->|Request| Registry
    AnalysisAgent -->|Request| Registry
    ReportAgent -->|Request| Registry

    Registry --> Server1
    Registry --> Server2
    Registry --> Server3
    Registry --> Server4

    Server1 --> PubMed
    Server1 --> ArXiv
    Server1 --> BioRxiv
    Server2 --> Modal
    Server3 --> ChromaDB

    style Manager fill:#ffe6e6
    style Registry fill:#fff4e6
    style Server1 fill:#e6f3ff
    style Server2 fill:#e6f3ff
    style Server3 fill:#e6f3ff
    style Server4 fill:#e6f3ff

12. Progress Tracking & Stall Detection

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Initialization: User Query

    Initialization --> Planning: Manager starts

    Planning --> AgentExecution: Select agent

    AgentExecution --> Assessment: Collect results

    Assessment --> QualityCheck: Evaluate output

    QualityCheck --> AgentExecution: Poor quality<br/>(retry < max_rounds)
    QualityCheck --> Planning: Poor quality<br/>(try different agent)
    QualityCheck --> NextAgent: Good quality<br/>(task incomplete)
    QualityCheck --> Synthesis: Good quality<br/>(task complete)

    NextAgent --> AgentExecution: Select next agent

    state StallDetection <<choice>>
    Assessment --> StallDetection: Check progress
    StallDetection --> Planning: No progress<br/>(stall count < max)
    StallDetection --> ErrorRecovery: No progress<br/>(max stalls reached)

    ErrorRecovery --> PartialReport: Generate partial results
    PartialReport --> [*]

    Synthesis --> FinalReport: Combine all outputs
    FinalReport --> [*]

    note right of QualityCheck
        Manager assesses:
        • Output completeness
        • Quality metrics
        • Progress made
    end note

    note right of StallDetection
        Stall = no new progress
        after agent execution
        Triggers plan reset
    end note

13. Gradio UI Integration

graph TD
    App[Gradio App<br/>DeepCritical Research Agent]

    App --> Input[Input Section]
    App --> Status[Status Section]
    App --> Output[Output Section]

    Input --> Query[Research Question<br/>Text Area]
    Input --> Controls[Controls]
    Controls --> MaxHyp[Max Hypotheses: 1-10]
    Controls --> MaxRounds[Max Rounds: 5-20]
    Controls --> Submit[Start Research Button]

    Status --> Log[Real-time Event Log<br/>• Manager planning<br/>• Agent selection<br/>• Execution updates<br/>• Quality assessment]
    Status --> Progress[Progress Tracker<br/>• Current agent<br/>• Round count<br/>• Stall count]

    Output --> Tabs[Tabbed Results]
    Tabs --> Tab1[Hypotheses Tab<br/>Generated hypotheses with scores]
    Tabs --> Tab2[Search Results Tab<br/>Papers & sources found]
    Tabs --> Tab3[Analysis Tab<br/>Evidence & verdicts]
    Tabs --> Tab4[Report Tab<br/>Final research report]
    Tab4 --> Download[Download Report<br/>MD / PDF / JSON]

    Submit -.->|Triggers| Workflow[Magentic Workflow]
    Workflow -.->|MagenticOrchestratorMessageEvent| Log
    Workflow -.->|MagenticAgentDeltaEvent| Log
    Workflow -.->|MagenticAgentMessageEvent| Log
    Workflow -.->|MagenticFinalResultEvent| Tab4

    style App fill:#e1f5e1
    style Input fill:#fff4e6
    style Status fill:#e6f3ff
    style Output fill:#e6ffe6
    style Workflow fill:#ffe6e6

14. Complete System Context

graph LR
    User[👤 Researcher<br/>Asks research questions] -->|Submits query| DC[DeepCritical<br/>Magentic Workflow]

    DC -->|Literature search| PubMed[PubMed API<br/>Medical papers]
    DC -->|Preprint search| ArXiv[arXiv API<br/>Scientific preprints]
    DC -->|Biology search| BioRxiv[bioRxiv API<br/>Biology preprints]
    DC -->|Agent reasoning| Claude[Claude API<br/>Sonnet 4 / Opus]
    DC -->|Code execution| Modal[Modal Sandbox<br/>Safe Python env]
    DC -->|Vector storage| Chroma[ChromaDB<br/>Embeddings & RAG]

    DC -->|Deployed on| HF[HuggingFace Spaces<br/>Gradio 6.0]

    PubMed -->|Results| DC
    ArXiv -->|Results| DC
    BioRxiv -->|Results| DC
    Claude -->|Responses| DC
    Modal -->|Output| DC
    Chroma -->|Context| DC

    DC -->|Research report| User

    style User fill:#e1f5e1
    style DC fill:#ffe6e6
    style PubMed fill:#e6f3ff
    style ArXiv fill:#e6f3ff
    style BioRxiv fill:#e6f3ff
    style Claude fill:#ffd6d6
    style Modal fill:#f0f0f0
    style Chroma fill:#ffe6f0
    style HF fill:#d4edda

15. Workflow Timeline (Simplified)

gantt
    title DeepCritical Magentic Workflow - Typical Execution
    dateFormat mm:ss
    axisFormat %M:%S

    section Manager Planning
    Initial planning         :p1, 00:00, 10s

    section Hypothesis Agent
    Generate hypotheses      :h1, after p1, 30s
    Manager assessment       :h2, after h1, 5s

    section Search Agent
    Search hypothesis 1      :s1, after h2, 20s
    Search hypothesis 2      :s2, after s1, 20s
    Search hypothesis 3      :s3, after s2, 20s
    RAG processing          :s4, after s3, 15s
    Manager assessment      :s5, after s4, 5s

    section Analysis Agent
    Evidence extraction     :a1, after s5, 15s
    Code generation        :a2, after a1, 20s
    Code execution         :a3, after a2, 25s
    Synthesis              :a4, after a3, 20s
    Manager assessment     :a5, after a4, 5s

    section Report Agent
    Report assembly        :r1, after a5, 30s
    Visualization          :r2, after r1, 15s
    Formatting             :r3, after r2, 10s

    section Manager Synthesis
    Final synthesis        :f1, after r3, 10s

Key Differences from Original Design

Aspect Original (Judge-in-Loop) New (Magentic)
Control Flow Fixed sequential phases Dynamic agent selection
Quality Control Separate Judge Agent Manager assessment built-in
Retry Logic Phase-level with feedback Agent-level with adaptation
Flexibility Rigid 4-phase pipeline Adaptive workflow
Complexity 5 agents (including Judge) 4 agents (no Judge)
Progress Tracking Manual state management Built-in round/stall detection
Agent Coordination Sequential handoff Manager-driven dynamic selection
Error Recovery Retry same phase Try different agent or replan

Simplified Design Principles

  1. Manager is Intelligent: LLM-powered manager handles planning, selection, and quality assessment
  2. No Separate Judge: Manager's assessment phase replaces dedicated Judge Agent
  3. Dynamic Workflow: Agents can be called multiple times in any order based on need
  4. Built-in Safety: max_round_count (15) and max_stall_count (3) prevent infinite loops
  5. Event-Driven UI: Real-time streaming updates to Gradio interface
  6. MCP-Powered Tools: All external capabilities via Model Context Protocol
  7. Shared Context: Centralized state accessible to all agents
  8. Progress Awareness: Manager tracks what's been done and what's needed

Legend

  • 🔴 Red/Pink: Manager, orchestration, decision-making
  • 🟡 Yellow/Orange: Specialist agents, processing
  • 🔵 Blue: Data, tools, MCP services
  • 🟣 Purple/Pink: Storage, databases, state
  • 🟢 Green: User interactions, final outputs
  • ⚪ Gray: External services, APIs

Implementation Highlights

Simple 4-Agent Setup:

Manager handles quality assessment in its instructions: - Checks hypothesis quality (testable, novel, clear) - Validates search results (relevant, authoritative, recent) - Assesses analysis soundness (methodology, evidence, conclusions) - Ensures report completeness (all sections, proper citations)

No separate Judge Agent needed - manager does it all!

Document Version: 2.0 (Magentic Simplified) Last Updated: 2025-11-24 Architecture: Microsoft Magentic Orchestration Pattern Agents: 4 (Hypothesis, Search, Analysis, Report) + 1 Manager License: MIT

See Also