[META] AI background / autonamous agents (#3560619) · Issues · project / ai

[META] AI background / autonamous agents

>>> [!note] Migrated issue   Reported by: [guptahemant](https://www.drupal.org/user/3278073) >>> [Tracker] Update Summary: Background Agent Processing - We have a plan for the intial preparation of background agents Short Description: Allows Agents to work on the sever without direct user involvement enabling many automation features such as firing on cron or in response to content changes. Includes significant Architecture improvements. Check-in Date: 07/12/2025 Additional Collaborators: @guptahemant, @harivansh Metadata is used by the <a href="https://www.drupalstarforge.ai/" title="AI Tracker">AI Tracker.</a> Docs and additional fields <a href="https://www.drupalstarforge.ai/ai-dashboard/docs" title="AI Issue Tracker Documentation">here</a>. [/Tracker] <h3 id="summary-problem-motivation">Problem/Motivation</h3> Define and refine the process for running background Ai agents: <h4 id="summary-steps-reproduce">Steps to reproduce (required for bugs, but not feature requests)</h4> Please provide information like AI modules enabled, which AI provider, browser, etc. <h3 id="summary-proposed-resolution">Proposed resolution</h3> Preparation Work for Background Agents This is the initial work to improve the existing AI Agents to be ready to do background agents properly. <ul> <li><a href="https://git.drupalcode.org/project/ai/-/work_items/3560792" class="drupalorg-gitlab-link">https://git.drupalcode.org/project/ai/-/work_items/3560792</a> 1 day</li> <li><a href="https://git.drupalcode.org/project/ai_initiative/-/work_items/3560627" class="drupalorg-gitlab-link">https://git.drupalcode.org/project/ai_initiative/-/work_items/3560627</a></li> <li>Depending on if what we decide: (Current view is this should happen first) <a href="https://www.drupal.org/project/ai/issues/3556141" title="Status: Active">#3556141: [Meta] Move and improve AI Agents in AI Core roadmap</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.drupal.org/project/ai/issues/3493260" title="Status: Active">#3493260: Add Symfony Messenger Integration Module to AI module</a> to allow for a more effective background queuing system. 1 month. LUCA - Can edit this issue, or create a new one, or even create a whole new module.</li> <li><a href="https://git.drupalcode.org/project/ai_initiative/-/work_items/3562010" class="drupalorg-gitlab-link">https://git.drupalcode.org/project/ai_initiative/-/work_items/3562010</a> - Harivansh and Hemant</li> <li>We need a permissions system so Agents have their own permissions given that a user will be necessarily be firing them off.</li> <li>Explore any security considerations with the move to symfony and long running processes (Memory leaks?)</li> </ul> Necessary Deliverables. These are the deliverables unique to specifically handling background autonamous agents. <ul> <li>We need reports to track progress of AI Agents and Agent Flows in real time and historical.</li> <li>We need to create processes and UIs for firing off these background agents. (For example via ECA, or flowdrop or incoming MCP requests)</li> <li>We need a developer inteferface (dispatch interface) and documentation for others to utilise backgrounds into their processes and UIs</li> <li>We need at least some basic reporting screens to see the changes Agents have made (Probably use core content moderation screens).</li> </ul> Medium Term These are needed to support the more complex Agents in Drupal CMS. <ul> <li>Background Agents may need access to something like Chromephp if their tasks involve manually controlling javascript front-ends</li> <li>Background Agents may need some method of visually seeing the results of its work via somehting like Chromephp, playright or other methods of sending screenshots to it in a headless environment.</li> <li>Allow for Canvas AI background Agents.</li> <li>Integrating backgrounds with ECA</li> <li>Integrating background Agents with Flowdrop</li> <li>Create a basic UI for simple background agents without complex workflow, with some simple triggers.</li> <li>Notifications systems for Background Agents including E-mail, on screen, reporting, etc.</li> </ul> Future Deliverables: <ul> <li>This is linked but we don't need to do the full move only a bit of <a href="https://www.drupal.org/project/ai/issues/3538499" title="Status: Active">#3538499: [Meta] Use Symfony AI</a></li> <li>Create a plan for the full move of AI module / Agents Runner to symfony with time estimates and approval from the Symfony AI leadership.</li> <li>Triggers to allow AI Agents to trigger background agents.</li> <li>Create features and reporting for enabling outsouring the AI Agent processing to external machines (such as multiple AWS instances)</li> <li>Background Agents will need secure access to the Drupal Database (Might be OOB)</li> <li>Create simple processes for caching some aspects of Drupal's database so background agents can scale further off the cached DB (eg with Redis)</li> <li>Improve the AI Agent Runner to allow a mixture of Determinisc and Agentic flows allowing it to potentially be a unifed runner for ECA, FlowDrop and Meastro.</li> <li>Bring the AI Agent Runner into Symfony AI itself (if they want it) and move Drupal AI Agents to being built on top of Symfony AI Agents.</li> <li>Allow Tasks to be run without a full Drupal bootstrap<a href="https://www.alexandervarwijk.com/blog/2025-09-08-proposal-restructuring-drupals-internals">https://www.alexandervarwijk.com/blog/2025-09-08-proposal-restructuring-drupals-internals</a></li> </ul> <h3 id="summary-remaining-tasks">Remaining tasks</h3> <h3>Optional: Other details as applicable (e.g., User interface changes, API changes, Data model changes)</h3> > Related issue: [Issue #3560054](https://www.drupal.org/node/3560054)

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