Intermediate12 min

create_react_agent → create_agent Migration

create_react_agent is deprecated in LangGraph v1. This guide walks through migrating to create_agent — what the parameter rename means, which hooks map to which middleware, and what can break in production if you don't test the migration carefully.

Quick Reference

→DEPRECATED: from langgraph.prebuilt import create_react_agent (LangGraph v1)
→NEW STANDARD: from langchain.agents import create_agent
→Parameter rename: prompt= → system_prompt= (will silently fail if missed)
→pre_model_hook → SummarizationMiddleware or ContextEditingMiddleware
→interrupt_before/after → HumanInTheLoopMiddleware
→checkpointer=, store=, state_schema=, response_format= — unchanged
→Checkpoint format may differ — run a migration test before swapping in production

Deprecation Notice

create_react_agent is deprecated in LangGraph v1

LangGraph v1 (released 2024, now at v1.1.6) deprecates create_react_agent in favor of langchain.agents.create_agent. The new API runs on the same LangGraph runtime — checkpointing, streaming, and HITL work identically — but replaces custom hook functions with a composable middleware system and renames the prompt= parameter to system_prompt=.

The migration in two lines

Should You Migrate? (Yes, but When)

The deprecation doesn't mean your agent will stop working tomorrow — create_react_agent is still available under the langgraph.prebuilt module in LangGraph v1.x. But it will not receive new features, and LangGraph v2 may remove it entirely. Migrate now if: you're starting a new agent, you're refactoring an existing agent for another reason, or you need middleware features (PII filtering, context editing, model fallback). Pin and plan for later if: your agent is in production with an existing checkpoint store and you haven't validated checkpoint compatibility yet.

Migration Guide

For most agents the migration is two steps: change the import and rename prompt= to system_prompt=. If you use pre_model_hook, post_model_hook, or interrupt_before/after you'll need to map those to middleware. Everything else — checkpointer, store, state_schema, response_format — passes through unchanged.

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