The design of a reliable \(H_{\infty }\) adaptive controller is considered for nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs) with various actuator faults. A backstepping method combined with command and compensated filters is used for designing the reliable \(H_{\infty }\) adaptive controller. This will lead to less computational complexity caused by repetitive signal derivatives in a traditional backstepping method. Based on the availability or non-availability of redundant actuators, two types of reliable \(H_{\infty }\) adaptive controllers are designed for nonlinear MASs with or without redundant actuators. Two practical examples are given at the end of this study to illustrate the theoretical developments.