🤖 AI/ML Intermediate
⏱️ 8 min
LangGraph State Collisions: Lessons from a Real Production Fix
What happens when agent graph node names collide with state keys, and how to design LangGraph flows that remain safe under change.
By Victor Robin • • Updated:
Introduction
Agent workflows fail in subtle ways when orchestration metadata and payload state are not separated. BlueRobin hit this directly and fixed it with explicit node naming and cleaner state boundaries.
Commit That Triggered This Post
6c2be22: renamed a route node to avoid LangGraph state key conflict.
Design Rule
Use distinct namespaces for:
- orchestration nodes,
- persisted state keys,
- computed outputs.
Never rely on implicit name reuse across these layers.
Checklist for Agent Graph Safety
- Add a naming convention (
node_*,state_*,result_*). - Validate graph compilation in CI.
- Include regression tests around branch routing and state merges.
Conclusion
Most agent bugs are orchestration bugs, not model bugs. Fixing state boundaries early saves significant debugging time later.
Related reading:
/graphrag-routing-dotnet-langgraph-fallback//semantic-kernel-agents-orchestration/