diff --git a/ra_aid/__main__.py b/ra_aid/__main__.py
index 49f7b7a..7ff77e3 100644
--- a/ra_aid/__main__.py
+++ b/ra_aid/__main__.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import uuid
 from rich.panel import Panel
 from rich.console import Console
 from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
-from langgraph.prebuilt import create_react_agent
 from ra_aid.env import validate_environment
 from ra_aid.tools.memory import _global_memory
 from ra_aid.tools.human import ask_human
@@ -15,7 +14,8 @@ from ra_aid.agent_utils import (
     AgentInterrupt,
     run_agent_with_retry,
     run_research_agent,
-    run_planning_agent
+    run_planning_agent,
+    create_agent
 )
 from ra_aid.prompts import (
     CHAT_PROMPT,
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ def main():
             initial_request = ask_human.invoke({"question": "What would you like help with?"})
 
             # Create chat agent with appropriate tools
-            chat_agent = create_react_agent(
+            chat_agent = create_agent(
                 model,
                 get_chat_tools(expert_enabled=expert_enabled, web_research_enabled=web_research_enabled),
                 checkpointer=MemorySaver()
diff --git a/ra_aid/agent_utils.py b/ra_aid/agent_utils.py
index d281185..90b0650 100644
--- a/ra_aid/agent_utils.py
+++ b/ra_aid/agent_utils.py
@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@ import threading
 import time
 from typing import Optional
 
-from langgraph.prebuilt import create_react_agent
+from langgraph.prebuilt import create_react_agent 
 from ra_aid.console.formatting import print_stage_header, print_error
+from langchain_core.language_models import BaseChatModel
+from typing import List, Any
 from ra_aid.console.output import print_agent_output
 from ra_aid.logging_config import get_logger
 from ra_aid.exceptions import AgentInterrupt
@@ -41,7 +43,6 @@ from ra_aid.prompts import (
 from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
 
 from langchain_core.messages import HumanMessage
-from langchain_core.messages import BaseMessage
 from anthropic import APIError, APITimeoutError, RateLimitError, InternalServerError
 from rich.console import Console
 from rich.markdown import Markdown
@@ -65,6 +66,24 @@ console = Console()
 
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
 
+def create_agent(
+    model: BaseChatModel,
+    tools: List[Any],
+    *,
+    checkpointer: Any = None
+) -> Any:
+    """Create a react agent with the given configuration.
+    
+    Args:
+        model: The LLM model to use
+        tools: List of tools to provide to the agent
+        checkpointer: Optional memory checkpointer
+        
+    Returns:
+        The created agent instance
+    """
+    return create_react_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=checkpointer)
+
 def run_research_agent(
     base_task_or_query: str,
     model,
@@ -125,7 +144,7 @@ def run_research_agent(
     )
 
     # Create agent
-    agent = create_react_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=memory)
+    agent = create_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=memory)
 
     # Format prompt sections
     expert_section = EXPERT_PROMPT_SECTION_RESEARCH if expert_enabled else ""
@@ -223,7 +242,7 @@ def run_web_research_agent(
     tools = get_web_research_tools(expert_enabled=expert_enabled)
 
     # Create agent
-    agent = create_react_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=memory)
+    agent = create_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=memory)
 
     # Format prompt sections
     expert_section = EXPERT_PROMPT_SECTION_RESEARCH if expert_enabled else ""
@@ -306,7 +325,7 @@ def run_planning_agent(
     tools = get_planning_tools(expert_enabled=expert_enabled, web_research_enabled=config.get('web_research_enabled', False))
 
     # Create agent
-    agent = create_react_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=memory)
+    agent = create_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=memory)
 
     # Format prompt sections
     expert_section = EXPERT_PROMPT_SECTION_PLANNING if expert_enabled else ""
@@ -393,7 +412,7 @@ def run_task_implementation_agent(
     tools = get_implementation_tools(expert_enabled=expert_enabled, web_research_enabled=config.get('web_research_enabled', False))
 
     # Create agent
-    agent = create_react_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=memory)
+    agent = create_agent(model, tools, checkpointer=memory)
 
     # Build prompt
     prompt = IMPLEMENTATION_PROMPT.format(