feat: add support for list of messages as team task input

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/agents/_base_chat_agent.py

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ async def on_messages_stream(
     async def run(
         self,
         *,
-        task: str | ChatMessage | None = None,
+        task: str | ChatMessage | List[ChatMessage] | None = None,
         cancellation_token: CancellationToken | None = None,
     ) -> TaskResult:
         """Run the agent with the given task and return the result."""
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ async def run(
             text_msg = TextMessage(content=task, source="user")
             input_messages.append(text_msg)
             output_messages.append(text_msg)
-        elif isinstance(task, TextMessage | MultiModalMessage | StopMessage | HandoffMessage):
+        elif isinstance(task, (TextMessage, MultiModalMessage, StopMessage, HandoffMessage)):
             input_messages.append(task)
             output_messages.append(task)
         else:
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ async def run(
     async def run_stream(
         self,
         *,
-        task: str | ChatMessage | None = None,
+        task: str | ChatMessage | List[ChatMessage] | None = None,
         cancellation_token: CancellationToken | None = None,
     ) -> AsyncGenerator[AgentMessage | TaskResult, None]:
         """Run the agent with the given task and return a stream of messages
@@ -99,7 +99,15 @@ async def run_stream(
             input_messages.append(text_msg)
             output_messages.append(text_msg)
             yield text_msg
-        elif isinstance(task, TextMessage | MultiModalMessage | StopMessage | HandoffMessage):
+        elif isinstance(task, list):
+            for msg in task:
+                if isinstance(msg, (TextMessage, MultiModalMessage, StopMessage, HandoffMessage)):
+                    input_messages.append(msg)
+                    output_messages.append(msg)
+                    yield msg
+                else:
+                    raise ValueError(f"Invalid message type in list: {type(msg)}")
+        elif isinstance(task, (TextMessage, MultiModalMessage, StopMessage, HandoffMessage)):
             input_messages.append(task)
             output_messages.append(task)
             yield task

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/base/_task.py

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import AsyncGenerator, Protocol, Sequence
+from typing import AsyncGenerator, List, Protocol, Sequence
 
 from autogen_core import CancellationToken
 
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class TaskRunner(Protocol):
     async def run(
         self,
         *,
-        task: str | ChatMessage | None = None,
+        task: str | ChatMessage | List[ChatMessage] | None = None,
         cancellation_token: CancellationToken | None = None,
     ) -> TaskResult:
         """Run the task and return the result.
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ async def run(
     def run_stream(
         self,
         *,
-        task: str | ChatMessage | None = None,
+        task: str | ChatMessage | List[ChatMessage] | None = None,
         cancellation_token: CancellationToken | None = None,
     ) -> AsyncGenerator[AgentMessage | TaskResult, None]:
         """Run the task and produces a stream of messages and the final result

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_base_group_chat.py

@@ -146,11 +146,18 @@ async def collect_output_messages(
             message: GroupChatStart | GroupChatMessage | GroupChatTermination,
             ctx: MessageContext,
         ) -> None:
-            event_logger.info(message.message)
-            if isinstance(message, GroupChatTermination):
+            """Collect output messages from the group chat."""
+            if isinstance(message, GroupChatStart):
+                if message.messages is not None:
+                    for msg in message.messages:
+                        event_logger.info(msg)
+                        await self._output_message_queue.put(msg)
+            elif isinstance(message, GroupChatMessage):
+                event_logger.info(message.message)
+                await self._output_message_queue.put(message.message)
+            elif isinstance(message, GroupChatTermination):
+                event_logger.info(message.message)
                 self._stop_reason = message.message.content
-                return
-            await self._output_message_queue.put(message.message)
 
         await ClosureAgent.register_closure(
             runtime,
@@ -165,15 +172,15 @@ async def collect_output_messages(
     async def run(
         self,
         *,
-        task: str | ChatMessage | None = None,
+        task: str | ChatMessage | List[ChatMessage] | None = None,
         cancellation_token: CancellationToken | None = None,
     ) -> TaskResult:
         """Run the team and return the result. The base implementation uses
         :meth:`run_stream` to run the team and then returns the final result.
         Once the team is stopped, the termination condition is reset.
 
         Args:
-            task (str | ChatMessage | None): The task to run the team with.
+            task (str | ChatMessage | List[ChatMessage] | None): The task to run the team with. Can be a string, a single :class:`ChatMessage` , or a list of :class:`ChatMessage`.
             cancellation_token (CancellationToken | None): The cancellation token to kill the task immediately.
                 Setting the cancellation token potentially put the team in an inconsistent state,
                 and it may not reset the termination condition.
@@ -264,15 +271,15 @@ async def main() -> None:
     async def run_stream(
         self,
         *,
-        task: str | ChatMessage | None = None,
+        task: str | ChatMessage | List[ChatMessage] | None = None,
         cancellation_token: CancellationToken | None = None,
     ) -> AsyncGenerator[AgentMessage | TaskResult, None]:
         """Run the team and produces a stream of messages and the final result
         of the type :class:`TaskResult` as the last item in the stream. Once the
         team is stopped, the termination condition is reset.
 
         Args:
-            task (str | ChatMessage | None): The task to run the team with.
+            task (str | ChatMessage | List[ChatMessage] | None): The task to run the team with. Can be a string, a single :class:`ChatMessage` , or a list of :class:`ChatMessage`.
             cancellation_token (CancellationToken | None): The cancellation token to kill the task immediately.
                 Setting the cancellation token potentially put the team in an inconsistent state,
                 and it may not reset the termination condition.
@@ -361,8 +368,17 @@ async def main() -> None:
             pass
         elif isinstance(task, str):
             first_chat_message = TextMessage(content=task, source="user")
-        elif isinstance(task, TextMessage | MultiModalMessage | StopMessage | HandoffMessage):
+        elif isinstance(task, (TextMessage, MultiModalMessage, StopMessage, HandoffMessage)):
             first_chat_message = task
+        elif isinstance(task, list):
+            if not task:
+                raise ValueError("Task list cannot be empty")
+            if not all(isinstance(msg, (TextMessage, MultiModalMessage, StopMessage, HandoffMessage)) for msg in task):
+                raise ValueError("All messages in task list must be valid ChatMessage types")
+            first_chat_message = task[0]
+            # Queue remaining messages for processing
+            for msg in task[1:]:
+                await self._output_message_queue.put(msg)
         else:
             raise ValueError(f"Invalid task type: {type(task)}")
 
@@ -388,8 +404,12 @@ async def stop_runtime() -> None:
             # Run the team by sending the start message to the group chat manager.
             # The group chat manager will start the group chat by relaying the message to the participants
             # and the closure agent.
+            if first_chat_message is not None:
+                messages = [first_chat_message]
+            else:
+                messages = None
             await self._runtime.send_message(
-                GroupChatStart(message=first_chat_message),
+                GroupChatStart(messages=messages),
                 recipient=AgentId(type=self._group_chat_manager_topic_type, key=self._team_id),
                 cancellation_token=cancellation_token,
             )

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_base_group_chat_manager.py

@@ -70,24 +70,28 @@ async def handle_start(self, message: GroupChatStart, ctx: MessageContext) -> No
             # Stop the group chat.
             return
 
-        # Validate the group state given the start message.
-        await self.validate_group_state(message.message)
+        # Validate the group state given the start messages
+        await self.validate_group_state(message.messages)
 
-        if message.message is not None:
-            # Log the start message.
-            await self.publish_message(message, topic_id=DefaultTopicId(type=self._output_topic_type))
+        if message.messages is not None:
+            # Log all messages at once
+            await self.publish_message(
+                GroupChatStart(messages=message.messages), topic_id=DefaultTopicId(type=self._output_topic_type)
+            )
 
-            # Relay the start message to the participants.
+            # Relay all messages at once to participants
             await self.publish_message(
-                message, topic_id=DefaultTopicId(type=self._group_topic_type), cancellation_token=ctx.cancellation_token
+                GroupChatStart(messages=message.messages),
+                topic_id=DefaultTopicId(type=self._group_topic_type),
+                cancellation_token=ctx.cancellation_token,
             )
 
-            # Append the user message to the message thread.
-            self._message_thread.append(message.message)
+            # Append all messages to thread
+            self._message_thread.extend(message.messages)
 
-            # Check if the conversation should be terminated.
+            # Check termination condition after processing all messages
             if self._termination_condition is not None:
-                stop_message = await self._termination_condition([message.message])
+                stop_message = await self._termination_condition(message.messages)
                 if stop_message is not None:
                     await self.publish_message(
                         GroupChatTermination(message=stop_message),
@@ -97,7 +101,7 @@ async def handle_start(self, message: GroupChatStart, ctx: MessageContext) -> No
                     await self._termination_condition.reset()
                     return
 
-        # Select a speaker to start the conversation.
+        # Select a speaker to start/continue the conversation
         speaker_topic_type_future = asyncio.ensure_future(self.select_speaker(self._message_thread))
         # Link the select speaker future to the cancellation token.
         ctx.cancellation_token.link_future(speaker_topic_type_future)
@@ -166,8 +170,13 @@ async def handle_reset(self, message: GroupChatReset, ctx: MessageContext) -> No
         await self.reset()
 
     @abstractmethod
-    async def validate_group_state(self, message: ChatMessage | None) -> None:
-        """Validate the state of the group chat given the start message. This is executed when the group chat manager receives a GroupChatStart event."""
+    async def validate_group_state(self, messages: List[ChatMessage] | None) -> None:
+        """Validate the state of the group chat given the start messages.
+        This is executed when the group chat manager receives a GroupChatStart event.
+
+        Args:
+            messages: A list of chat messages to validate, or None if no messages are provided.
+        """
         ...
 
     @abstractmethod

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_chat_agent_container.py

@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ def __init__(self, parent_topic_type: str, output_topic_type: str, agent: ChatAg
     @event
     async def handle_start(self, message: GroupChatStart, ctx: MessageContext) -> None:
         """Handle a start event by appending the content to the buffer."""
-        if message.message is not None:
-            self._message_buffer.append(message.message)
+        if message.messages is not None:
+            self._message_buffer.extend(message.messages)
 
     @event
     async def handle_agent_response(self, message: GroupChatAgentResponse, ctx: MessageContext) -> None:

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_events.py

@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+from typing import List
+
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
 from ...base import Response
@@ -7,8 +9,8 @@
 class GroupChatStart(BaseModel):
     """A request to start a group chat."""
 
-    message: ChatMessage | None = None
-    """An optional user message to start the group chat."""
+    messages: List[ChatMessage] | None = None
+    """An optional list of messages to start the group chat."""
 
 
 class GroupChatAgentResponse(BaseModel):

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_magentic_one/_magentic_one_orchestrator.py

@@ -117,17 +117,18 @@ async def handle_start(self, message: GroupChatStart, ctx: MessageContext) -> No
             )
             # Stop the group chat.
             return
-        assert message is not None and message.message is not None
+        assert message is not None and message.messages is not None
 
         # Validate the group state given the start message.
-        await self.validate_group_state(message.message)
+        await self.validate_group_state(message.messages[0])
 
         # Log the start message.
         await self.publish_message(message, topic_id=DefaultTopicId(type=self._output_topic_type))
         # Outer Loop for first time
         # Create the initial task ledger
         #################################
-        self._task = self._content_to_str(message.message.content)
+        # Combine all message contents for task
+        self._task = " ".join([self._content_to_str(msg.content) for msg in message.messages])
         planning_conversation: List[LLMMessage] = []
 
         # 1. GATHER FACTS

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/src/autogen_agentchat/teams/_group_chat/_swarm_group_chat.py

@@ -29,16 +29,19 @@ def __init__(
         )
         self._current_speaker = participant_topic_types[0]
 
-    async def validate_group_state(self, message: ChatMessage | None) -> None:
-        """Validate the start message for the group chat."""
-        # Check if the start message is a handoff message.
-        if isinstance(message, HandoffMessage):
-            if message.target not in self._participant_topic_types:
-                raise ValueError(
-                    f"The target {message.target} is not one of the participants {self._participant_topic_types}. "
-                    "If you are resuming Swarm with a new HandoffMessage make sure to set the target to a valid participant as the target."
-                )
-            return
+    async def validate_group_state(self, messages: List[ChatMessage] | None) -> None:
+        """Validate the start messages for the group chat."""
+        # Check if any of the start messages is a handoff message.
+        if messages:
+            for message in messages:
+                if isinstance(message, HandoffMessage):
+                    if message.target not in self._participant_topic_types:
+                        raise ValueError(
+                            f"The target {message.target} is not one of the participants {self._participant_topic_types}. "
+                            "If you are resuming Swarm with a new HandoffMessage make sure to set the target to a valid participant as the target."
+                        )
+                    return
+
         # Check if there is a handoff message in the thread that is not targeting a valid participant.
         for existing_message in reversed(self._message_thread):
             if isinstance(existing_message, HandoffMessage):

python/packages/autogen-agentchat/tests/test_group_chat.py

@@ -1033,3 +1033,50 @@ async def test_swarm_with_handoff_termination() -> None:
     assert result.messages[1].content == "Transferred to second_agent."
     assert result.messages[2].content == "Transferred to third_agent."
     assert result.messages[3].content == "Transferred to non_existing_agent."
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_round_robin_group_chat_with_message_list() -> None:
+    # Create a simple team with echo agents
+    agent1 = _EchoAgent("Agent1", "First agent")
+    agent2 = _EchoAgent("Agent2", "Second agent")
+    termination = MaxMessageTermination(4)  # Stop after 4 messages
+    team = RoundRobinGroupChat([agent1, agent2], termination_condition=termination)
+
+    # Create a list of messages
+    messages = [
+        TextMessage(content="Message 1", source="user"),
+        TextMessage(content="Message 2", source="user"),
+        TextMessage(content="Message 3", source="user"),
+    ]
+
+    # Run the team with the message list
+    result = await team.run(task=messages)
+
+    # Verify the messages were processed in order
+    assert len(result.messages) == 6  # All initial messages + echoes until termination
+    assert result.messages[0].content == "Message 2"  # Second message from queue
+    assert result.messages[1].content == "Message 3"  # Third message from queue
+    assert result.messages[2].content == "Message 1"  # First message (processed first)
+    assert result.messages[3].content == "Message 1"  # Echo from first agent
+    assert result.messages[4].content == "Message 1"  # Echo from second agent
+    assert result.messages[5].content == "Message 1"  # Echo from first agent (before termination)
+    assert result.stop_reason == "Maximum number of messages 4 reached, current message count: 4"
+
+    # Test with streaming
+    await team.reset()
+    index = 0
+    async for message in team.run_stream(task=messages):
+        if isinstance(message, TaskResult):
+            assert message == result
+        else:
+            assert message == result.messages[index]
+            index += 1
+
+    # Test with invalid message list
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="All messages in task list must be valid ChatMessage types"):
+        await team.run(task=["not a message"])
+
+    # Test with empty message list
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Task list cannot be empty"):
+        await team.run(task=[])