Skip to main content
This guide explains the mechanics of using subgraphs. A subgraph is a graph that is used as a node in another graph. Subgraphs are useful for:
  • Building multi-agent systems
  • Re-using a set of nodes in multiple graphs
  • Distributing development: when you want different teams to work on different parts of the graph independently, you can define each part as a subgraph, and as long as the subgraph interface (the input and output schemas) is respected, the parent graph can be built without knowing any details of the subgraph

Setup

npm install @langchain/langgraph
Set up LangSmith for LangGraph development Sign up for LangSmith to quickly spot issues and improve the performance of your LangGraph projects. LangSmith lets you use trace data to debug, test, and monitor your LLM apps built with LangGraph — read more about how to get started here.

Define subgraph communication

When adding subgraphs, you need to define how the parent graph and the subgraph communicate:
PatternWhen to useState schemas
Call a subgraph inside a nodeParent and subgraph have different state schemas (no shared keys), or you need to transform state between themYou write a wrapper function that maps parent state to subgraph input and subgraph output back to parent state
Add a subgraph as a nodeParent and subgraph share state keys — the subgraph reads from and writes to the same channels as the parentYou pass the compiled subgraph directly to add_node — no wrapper function needed

Call a subgraph inside a node

When the parent graph and subgraph have different state schemas (no shared keys), invoke the subgraph inside a node function. This is common when you want to keep a private message history for each agent in a multi-agent system. The node function transforms the parent state to the subgraph state before invoking the subgraph, and transforms the results back to the parent state before returning.
import { StateGraph, StateSchema, START } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

const SubgraphState = new StateSchema({
  bar: z.string(),
});

// Subgraph
const subgraphBuilder = new StateGraph(SubgraphState)
  .addNode("subgraphNode1", (state) => {
    return { bar: "hi! " + state.bar };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "subgraphNode1");

const subgraph = subgraphBuilder.compile();

// Parent graph
const State = new StateSchema({
  foo: z.string(),
});

// Transform the state to the subgraph state and back
const builder = new StateGraph(State)
  .addNode("node1", async (state) => {
    const subgraphOutput = await subgraph.invoke({ bar: state.foo });
    return { foo: subgraphOutput.bar };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "node1");

const graph = builder.compile();
import { StateGraph, StateSchema, START } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

// Define subgraph
const SubgraphState = new StateSchema({
  // note that none of these keys are shared with the parent graph state
  bar: z.string(),
  baz: z.string(),
});

const subgraphBuilder = new StateGraph(SubgraphState)
  .addNode("subgraphNode1", (state) => {
    return { baz: "baz" };
  })
  .addNode("subgraphNode2", (state) => {
    return { bar: state.bar + state.baz };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "subgraphNode1")
  .addEdge("subgraphNode1", "subgraphNode2");

const subgraph = subgraphBuilder.compile();

// Define parent graph
const ParentState = new StateSchema({
  foo: z.string(),
});

const builder = new StateGraph(ParentState)
  .addNode("node1", (state) => {
    return { foo: "hi! " + state.foo };
  })
  .addNode("node2", async (state) => {
    const response = await subgraph.invoke({ bar: state.foo });   
    return { foo: response.bar };   
  })
  .addEdge(START, "node1")
  .addEdge("node1", "node2");

const graph = builder.compile();

for await (const chunk of await graph.stream(
  { foo: "foo" },
  { subgraphs: true }
)) {
  console.log(chunk);
}
  1. Transform the state to the subgraph state
  2. Transform response back to the parent state
[[], { node1: { foo: 'hi! foo' } }]
[['node2:9c36dd0f-151a-cb42-cbad-fa2f851f9ab7'], { subgraphNode1: { baz: 'baz' } }]
[['node2:9c36dd0f-151a-cb42-cbad-fa2f851f9ab7'], { subgraphNode2: { bar: 'hi! foobaz' } }]
[[], { node2: { foo: 'hi! foobaz' } }]
This is an example with two levels of subgraphs: parent -> child -> grandchild.
import { StateGraph, StateSchema, START, END } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

// Grandchild graph
const GrandChildState = new StateSchema({
  myGrandchildKey: z.string(),
});

const grandchild = new StateGraph(GrandChildState)
  .addNode("grandchild1", (state) => {
    // NOTE: child or parent keys will not be accessible here
    return { myGrandchildKey: state.myGrandchildKey + ", how are you" };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "grandchild1")
  .addEdge("grandchild1", END);

const grandchildGraph = grandchild.compile();

// Child graph
const ChildState = new StateSchema({
  myChildKey: z.string(),
});

const child = new StateGraph(ChildState)
  .addNode("child1", async (state) => {
    // NOTE: parent or grandchild keys won't be accessible here
    const grandchildGraphInput = { myGrandchildKey: state.myChildKey };   
    const grandchildGraphOutput = await grandchildGraph.invoke(grandchildGraphInput);
    return { myChildKey: grandchildGraphOutput.myGrandchildKey + " today?" };   
  })   
  .addEdge(START, "child1")
  .addEdge("child1", END);

const childGraph = child.compile();

// Parent graph
const ParentState = new StateSchema({
  myKey: z.string(),
});

const parent = new StateGraph(ParentState)
  .addNode("parent1", (state) => {
    // NOTE: child or grandchild keys won't be accessible here
    return { myKey: "hi " + state.myKey };
  })
  .addNode("child", async (state) => {
    const childGraphInput = { myChildKey: state.myKey };   
    const childGraphOutput = await childGraph.invoke(childGraphInput);
    return { myKey: childGraphOutput.myChildKey };   
  })   
  .addNode("parent2", (state) => {
    return { myKey: state.myKey + " bye!" };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "parent1")
  .addEdge("parent1", "child")
  .addEdge("child", "parent2")
  .addEdge("parent2", END);

const parentGraph = parent.compile();

for await (const chunk of await parentGraph.stream(
  { myKey: "Bob" },
  { subgraphs: true }
)) {
  console.log(chunk);
}
  1. We’re transforming the state from the child state channels (myChildKey) to the grandchild state channels (myGrandchildKey)
  2. We’re transforming the state from the grandchild state channels (myGrandchildKey) back to the child state channels (myChildKey)
  3. We’re passing a function here instead of just compiled graph (grandchildGraph)
  4. We’re transforming the state from the parent state channels (myKey) to the child state channels (myChildKey)
  5. We’re transforming the state from the child state channels (myChildKey) back to the parent state channels (myKey)
  6. We’re passing a function here instead of just a compiled graph (childGraph)
[[], { parent1: { myKey: 'hi Bob' } }]
[['child:2e26e9ce-602f-862c-aa66-1ea5a4655e3b', 'child1:781bb3b1-3971-84ce-810b-acf819a03f9c'], { grandchild1: { myGrandchildKey: 'hi Bob, how are you' } }]
[['child:2e26e9ce-602f-862c-aa66-1ea5a4655e3b'], { child1: { myChildKey: 'hi Bob, how are you today?' } }]
[[], { child: { myKey: 'hi Bob, how are you today?' } }]
[[], { parent2: { myKey: 'hi Bob, how are you today? bye!' } }]

Add a subgraph as a node

When the parent graph and subgraph share state keys, you can pass a compiled subgraph directly to add_node. No wrapper function is needed — the subgraph reads from and writes to the parent’s state channels automatically. For example, in multi-agent systems, the agents often communicate over a shared messages key. SQL agent graph If your subgraph shares state keys with the parent graph, you can follow these steps to add it to your graph:
  1. Define the subgraph workflow (subgraphBuilder in the example below) and compile it
  2. Pass compiled subgraph to the .addNode method when defining the parent graph workflow
import { StateGraph, StateSchema, START } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

const State = new StateSchema({
  foo: z.string(),
});

// Subgraph
const subgraphBuilder = new StateGraph(State)
  .addNode("subgraphNode1", (state) => {
    return { foo: "hi! " + state.foo };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "subgraphNode1");

const subgraph = subgraphBuilder.compile();

// Parent graph
const builder = new StateGraph(State)
  .addNode("node1", subgraph)
  .addEdge(START, "node1");

const graph = builder.compile();
import { StateGraph, StateSchema, START } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

// Define subgraph
const SubgraphState = new StateSchema({
  foo: z.string(),    
  bar: z.string(),    
});

const subgraphBuilder = new StateGraph(SubgraphState)
  .addNode("subgraphNode1", (state) => {
    return { bar: "bar" };
  })
  .addNode("subgraphNode2", (state) => {
    // note that this node is using a state key ('bar') that is only available in the subgraph
    // and is sending update on the shared state key ('foo')
    return { foo: state.foo + state.bar };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "subgraphNode1")
  .addEdge("subgraphNode1", "subgraphNode2");

const subgraph = subgraphBuilder.compile();

// Define parent graph
const ParentState = new StateSchema({
  foo: z.string(),
});

const builder = new StateGraph(ParentState)
  .addNode("node1", (state) => {
    return { foo: "hi! " + state.foo };
  })
  .addNode("node2", subgraph)
  .addEdge(START, "node1")
  .addEdge("node1", "node2");

const graph = builder.compile();

for await (const chunk of await graph.stream({ foo: "foo" })) {
  console.log(chunk);
}
  1. This key is shared with the parent graph state
  2. This key is private to the SubgraphState and is not visible to the parent graph
{ node1: { foo: 'hi! foo' } }
{ node2: { foo: 'hi! foobar' } }

Subgraph persistence

When you use a subgraph, you need to decide what happens to its internal data between calls. Consider a customer support bot that delegates to specialist subagents: should the “billing expert” subagent remember the customer’s earlier questions, or start fresh each time it’s called? By default, subgraphs are stateless (no memory): each call starts with a blank slate. This is the right choice for most applications, including multi-agent systems where subagents handle independent requests. If a subagent needs multi-turn conversation memory (for example, a research assistant that builds context over several exchanges) you can make it stateful (persistent memory) so its conversation history and data accumulate across calls on the same thread.
The parent graph must be compiled with a checkpointer for subgraph persistence features (interrupts, state inspection, stateful memory) to work. See persistence.
The examples below use LangChain’s @[create_agent], which is a common way to build agents. create_agent produces a LangGraph graph under the hood, so all subgraph persistence concepts apply directly. If you’re building with raw LangGraph StateGraph, the same patterns and configuration options apply — see the Graph API for details.

Stateless

Use stateless subgraphs when each call to the subgraph is independent and the subagent doesn’t need to remember anything from previous calls. This is the most common pattern, especially for multi-agent systems where subagents handle one-off requests like “look up this customer’s order” or “summarize this document.” There are two stateless options depending on whether you need interrupts (human-in-the-loop pausing) and durable execution within the subgraph.

With interrupts

This is the recommended mode for most applications, including multi-agent systems where subagents are invoked as tools. It supports interrupts, durable execution, and parallel calls while keeping each invocation isolated.
Use this when you want a subagent with no memory across calls, but you still need durable execution and the ability to pause mid-run for user input (for example, asking for approval before taking an action). This is the default behavior: omit checkpointer or set it to None. Each call starts fresh, but within a single call, the subgraph can use interrupt() to pause and resume. The following examples use two subagents (fruit expert, veggie expert) wrapped as tools for an outer agent:
import { createAgent, tool } from "langchain";
import { MemorySaver, Command, interrupt } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

const fruitInfo = tool(
  (input) => `Info about ${input.fruitName}`,
  {
    name: "fruit_info",
    description: "Look up fruit info.",
    schema: z.object({ fruitName: z.string() }),
  }
);

const veggieInfo = tool(
  (input) => `Info about ${input.veggieName}`,
  {
    name: "veggie_info",
    description: "Look up veggie info.",
    schema: z.object({ veggieName: z.string() }),
  }
);

// Subagents — no checkpointer setting (inherits parent)
const fruitAgent = createAgent({
  model: "gpt-4.1-mini",
  tools: [fruitInfo],
  prompt: "You are a fruit expert. Use the fruit_info tool. Respond in one sentence.",
});

const veggieAgent = createAgent({
  model: "gpt-4.1-mini",
  tools: [veggieInfo],
  prompt: "You are a veggie expert. Use the veggie_info tool. Respond in one sentence.",
});

// Wrap subagents as tools for the outer agent
const askFruitExpert = tool(
  async (input) => {
    const response = await fruitAgent.invoke({
      messages: [{ role: "user", content: input.question }],
    });
    return response.messages[response.messages.length - 1].content;
  },
  {
    name: "ask_fruit_expert",
    description: "Ask the fruit expert. Use for ALL fruit questions.",
    schema: z.object({ question: z.string() }),
  }
);

const askVeggieExpert = tool(
  async (input) => {
    const response = await veggieAgent.invoke({
      messages: [{ role: "user", content: input.question }],
    });
    return response.messages[response.messages.length - 1].content;
  },
  {
    name: "ask_veggie_expert",
    description: "Ask the veggie expert. Use for ALL veggie questions.",
    schema: z.object({ question: z.string() }),
  }
);

// Outer agent with checkpointer
const agent = createAgent({
  model: "gpt-4.1-mini",
  tools: [askFruitExpert, askVeggieExpert],
  prompt:
    "You have two experts: ask_fruit_expert and ask_veggie_expert. " +
    "ALWAYS delegate questions to the appropriate expert.",
  checkpointer: new MemorySaver(),
});
Each invocation can use interrupt() to pause and resume. Add interrupt() to a tool function to require user approval before proceeding:
const fruitInfo = tool(
  (input) => {
    interrupt("continue?");  
    return `Info about ${input.fruitName}`;
  },
  {
    name: "fruit_info",
    description: "Look up fruit info.",
    schema: z.object({ fruitName: z.string() }),
  }
);
const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "1" } };

// Invoke — the subagent's tool calls interrupt()
let response = await agent.invoke(
  { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Tell me about apples" }] },
  config,
);
// response contains __interrupt__

// Resume — approve the interrupt
response = await agent.invoke(new Command({ resume: true }), config);  
// Subagent message count: 4

Without interrupts

Use this when you want to run a subagent like a normal function call with no checkpointing overhead. The subgraph cannot pause/resume and does not benefit from durable execution. Compile with checkpointer=False.
Without checkpointing, the subgraph has no durable execution. If the process crashes mid-run, the subgraph cannot recover and must be re-run from the beginning.
const subgraphBuilder = new StateGraph(...);
const subgraph = subgraphBuilder.compile({ checkpointer: false });  

Stateful

Use stateful subgraphs when a subagent needs to remember previous interactions. For example, a research assistant that builds up context over several exchanges, or a coding assistant that tracks what files it has already edited. With stateful persistence, the subagent’s conversation history and data accumulate across calls on the same thread. Each call picks up where the last one left off. Compile with checkpointer=True to enable this behavior.
Stateful subgraphs do not support parallel tool calls. When an LLM has access to a stateful subagent as a tool, it may try to call that tool multiple times in parallel (for example, asking the fruit expert about apples and bananas simultaneously). This causes checkpoint conflicts because both calls write to the same namespace.The examples below use LangChain’s ToolCallLimitMiddleware to prevent this. If you’re building with pure LangGraph StateGraph, you need to prevent parallel tool calls yourself — for example, by configuring your model to disable parallel tool calling or by adding logic to ensure the same subgraph is not invoked multiple times in parallel.
The following examples use a fruit expert subagent compiled with checkpointer=True:
import { createAgent, tool, toolCallLimitMiddleware } from "langchain";
import { MemorySaver, Command, interrupt } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

const fruitInfo = tool(
  (input) => `Info about ${input.fruitName}`,
  {
    name: "fruit_info",
    description: "Look up fruit info.",
    schema: z.object({ fruitName: z.string() }),
  }
);

// Subagent with checkpointer=true for persistent state
const fruitAgent = createAgent({
  model: "gpt-4.1-mini",
  tools: [fruitInfo],
  prompt: "You are a fruit expert. Use the fruit_info tool. Respond in one sentence.",
  checkpointer: true,  
});

// Wrap subagent as a tool for the outer agent
const askFruitExpert = tool(
  async (input) => {
    const response = await fruitAgent.invoke({
      messages: [{ role: "user", content: input.question }],
    });
    return response.messages[response.messages.length - 1].content;
  },
  {
    name: "ask_fruit_expert",
    description: "Ask the fruit expert. Use for ALL fruit questions.",
    schema: z.object({ question: z.string() }),
  }
);

// Outer agent with checkpointer
// Use toolCallLimitMiddleware to prevent parallel calls to stateful subagents,
// which would cause checkpoint conflicts.
const agent = createAgent({
  model: "gpt-4.1-mini",
  tools: [askFruitExpert],
  prompt: "You have a fruit expert. ALWAYS delegate fruit questions to ask_fruit_expert.",
  middleware: [  
    toolCallLimitMiddleware({ toolName: "ask_fruit_expert", runLimit: 1 }),  
  ],  
  checkpointer: new MemorySaver(),
});
Stateful subagents support interrupt() just like per-invocation. Add interrupt() to a tool function to require user approval:
const fruitInfo = tool(
  (input) => {
    interrupt("continue?");  
    return `Info about ${input.fruitName}`;
  },
  {
    name: "fruit_info",
    description: "Look up fruit info.",
    schema: z.object({ fruitName: z.string() }),
  }
);
const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "1" } };

// Invoke — the subagent's tool calls interrupt()
let response = await agent.invoke(
  { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Tell me about apples" }] },
  config,
);
// response contains __interrupt__

// Resume — approve the interrupt
response = await agent.invoke(new Command({ resume: true }), config);  
// Subagent message count: 4

Checkpointer reference

Control subgraph persistence with the checkpointer parameter on .compile():
const subgraph = builder.compile({ checkpointer: false });  // or true, or null
FeatureWithout interruptsWith interrupts (default)Stateful
checkpointer=FalseNoneTrue
Interrupts (HITL)
Multi-turn memory
Multiple calls (different subgraphs)
Multiple calls (same subgraph)
State inspection
  • Interrupts (HITL): The subgraph can use interrupt() to pause execution and wait for user input, then resume where it left off.
  • Multi-turn memory: The subgraph retains its state across multiple invocations within the same thread. Each call picks up where the last one left off rather than starting fresh.
  • Multiple calls (different subgraphs): Multiple different subgraph instances can be invoked within a single node without checkpoint namespace conflicts.
  • Multiple calls (same subgraph): The same subgraph instance can be invoked multiple times within a single node. With stateful persistence, these calls write to the same checkpoint namespace and conflict — use per-invocation persistence instead.
  • State inspection: The subgraph’s state is available via get_state(config, subgraphs=True) for debugging and monitoring.

View subgraph state

When you enable persistence, you can inspect the subgraph state using the subgraphs option. With checkpointer=False, no subgraph checkpoints are saved, so subgraph state is not available.
Viewing subgraph state requires that LangGraph can statically discover the subgraph — i.e., it is added as a node or called inside a node. It does not work when a subgraph is called inside a tool function or other indirection (e.g., the subagents pattern). Interrupts still propagate to the top-level graph regardless of nesting.
Returns subgraph state for the current invocation only. Each invocation starts fresh.
import { StateGraph, StateSchema, START, MemorySaver, interrupt, Command } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

const State = new StateSchema({
  foo: z.string(),
});

// Subgraph
const subgraphBuilder = new StateGraph(State)
  .addNode("subgraphNode1", (state) => {
    const value = interrupt("Provide value:");
    return { foo: state.foo + value };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "subgraphNode1");

const subgraph = subgraphBuilder.compile();  // inherits parent checkpointer

// Parent graph
const builder = new StateGraph(State)
  .addNode("node1", subgraph)
  .addEdge(START, "node1");

const checkpointer = new MemorySaver();
const graph = builder.compile({ checkpointer });

const config = { configurable: { thread_id: "1" } };

await graph.invoke({ foo: "" }, config);

// View subgraph state for the current invocation
const subgraphState = (await graph.getState(config, { subgraphs: true })).tasks[0].state;  

// Resume the subgraph
await graph.invoke(new Command({ resume: "bar" }), config);

Stream subgraph outputs

To include outputs from subgraphs in the streamed outputs, you can set the subgraphs option in the stream method of the parent graph. This will stream outputs from both the parent graph and any subgraphs.
for await (const chunk of await graph.stream(
  { foo: "foo" },
  {
    subgraphs: true,   
    streamMode: "updates",
  }
)) {
  console.log(chunk);
}
  1. Set subgraphs: true to stream outputs from subgraphs.
import { StateGraph, StateSchema, START } from "@langchain/langgraph";
import * as z from "zod";

// Define subgraph
const SubgraphState = new StateSchema({
  foo: z.string(),
  bar: z.string(),
});

const subgraphBuilder = new StateGraph(SubgraphState)
  .addNode("subgraphNode1", (state) => {
    return { bar: "bar" };
  })
  .addNode("subgraphNode2", (state) => {
    // note that this node is using a state key ('bar') that is only available in the subgraph
    // and is sending update on the shared state key ('foo')
    return { foo: state.foo + state.bar };
  })
  .addEdge(START, "subgraphNode1")
  .addEdge("subgraphNode1", "subgraphNode2");

const subgraph = subgraphBuilder.compile();

// Define parent graph
const ParentState = new StateSchema({
  foo: z.string(),
});

const builder = new StateGraph(ParentState)
  .addNode("node1", (state) => {
    return { foo: "hi! " + state.foo };
  })
  .addNode("node2", subgraph)
  .addEdge(START, "node1")
  .addEdge("node1", "node2");

const graph = builder.compile();

for await (const chunk of await graph.stream(
  { foo: "foo" },
  {
    streamMode: "updates",
    subgraphs: true,   
  }
)) {
  console.log(chunk);
}
  1. Set subgraphs: true to stream outputs from subgraphs.
[[], { node1: { foo: 'hi! foo' } }]
[['node2:e58e5673-a661-ebb0-70d4-e298a7fc28b7'], { subgraphNode1: { bar: 'bar' } }]
[['node2:e58e5673-a661-ebb0-70d4-e298a7fc28b7'], { subgraphNode2: { foo: 'hi! foobar' } }]
[[], { node2: { foo: 'hi! foobar' } }]

Connect these docs to Claude, VSCode, and more via MCP for real-time answers.