"adk deploy agent_engine" fails if the agent folder name contains dashes.

[slilichenko]

To reproduce, run:

adk deploy agent_engine <options> agent-folder-name.

The generated code will fail on the following line:

...
from agent-folder-name.agent import root_agent
..

with "Deploy failed: Failed to set up agent engine <vertexai.agent_engines._agent_engines.ModuleAgent object at 0x1310dbad0>: invalid syntax (agent_engine_app.py, line 13)".

It's pretty hard to debug, at the very least would be good to add a validation step and print a descriptive reason for the failure.

[surajksharma07]

Hi @silichenko,

Rename your agent folder to use underscores instead of dashes (e.g., agent_folder_name instead of agent-folder-name), and it should work.
Thanks.

[yeesian]

We'll work on providing better validation and error messages, thank you for the report!

[surajksharma07]

@slilichenko The issue happens because Python module names can't contain dashes - they're interpreted as minus operators.

Rename your agent folder to use underscores instead (e.g., agent_folder_name instead of agent-folder-name) and the deployment will work.

PR #4246 is open to add proper validation with a clearer error message.

For now, just swap dashes for underscores in your folder name.