⚡ Building LLM-powered applications in Ruby ⚡
For deep Rails integration see: langchainrb_rails gem.
Available for paid consulting engagements! Email me.
- Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and vector search
- Assistants (chat bots) & AI Agents
- Installation
- Usage
- Large Language Models (LLMs)
- Prompt Management
- Output Parsers
- Building RAG
- Assistants
- Evaluations
- Examples
- Logging
- Problems
- Development
- Discord
Install the gem and add to the application's Gemfile by executing:
bundle add langchainrb
If bundler is not being used to manage dependencies, install the gem by executing:
gem install langchainrb
Additional gems may be required. They're not included by default so you can include only what you need.
require "langchain"
Langchain.rb wraps supported LLMs in a unified interface allowing you to easily swap out and test out different models.
LLM providers | embed() |
complete() |
chat() |
summarize() |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OpenAI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Including Azure OpenAI |
AI21 | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | |
Anthropic | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | |
AWS Bedrock | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | Provides AWS, Cohere, AI21, Antropic and Stability AI models |
Cohere | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
GooglePalm | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
Google Vertex AI | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | |
HuggingFace | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | |
Mistral AI | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | |
Ollama | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
Replicate | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Add gem "ruby-openai", "~> 6.3.0"
to your Gemfile.
llm = Langchain::LLM::OpenAI.new(api_key: ENV["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
You can pass additional parameters to the constructor, it will be passed to the OpenAI client:
llm = Langchain::LLM::OpenAI.new(api_key: ENV["OPENAI_API_KEY"], llm_options: { ... })
Generate vector embeddings:
llm.embed(text: "foo bar").embedding
Generate a chat completion:
llm.chat(messages: [{role: "user", content: "What is the meaning of life?"}]).completion
Summarize the text:
llm.summarize(text: "...").completion
You can use any other LLM by invoking the same interface:
llm = Langchain::LLM::GooglePalm.new(api_key: ENV["GOOGLE_PALM_API_KEY"], default_options: { ... })
Create a prompt with input variables:
prompt = Langchain::Prompt::PromptTemplate.new(template: "Tell me a {adjective} joke about {content}.", input_variables: ["adjective", "content"])
prompt.format(adjective: "funny", content: "chickens") # "Tell me a funny joke about chickens."
Creating a PromptTemplate using just a prompt and no input_variables:
prompt = Langchain::Prompt::PromptTemplate.from_template("Tell me a funny joke about chickens.")
prompt.input_variables # []
prompt.format # "Tell me a funny joke about chickens."
Save prompt template to JSON file:
prompt.save(file_path: "spec/fixtures/prompt/prompt_template.json")
Loading a new prompt template using a JSON file:
prompt = Langchain::Prompt.load_from_path(file_path: "spec/fixtures/prompt/prompt_template.json")
prompt.input_variables # ["adjective", "content"]
Create a prompt with a few shot examples:
prompt = Langchain::Prompt::FewShotPromptTemplate.new(
prefix: "Write antonyms for the following words.",
suffix: "Input: {adjective}\nOutput:",
example_prompt: Langchain::Prompt::PromptTemplate.new(
input_variables: ["input", "output"],
template: "Input: {input}\nOutput: {output}"
),
examples: [
{ "input": "happy", "output": "sad" },
{ "input": "tall", "output": "short" }
],
input_variables: ["adjective"]
)
prompt.format(adjective: "good")
# Write antonyms for the following words.
#
# Input: happy
# Output: sad
#
# Input: tall
# Output: short
#
# Input: good
# Output:
Save prompt template to JSON file:
prompt.save(file_path: "spec/fixtures/prompt/few_shot_prompt_template.json")
Loading a new prompt template using a JSON file:
prompt = Langchain::Prompt.load_from_path(file_path: "spec/fixtures/prompt/few_shot_prompt_template.json")
prompt.prefix # "Write antonyms for the following words."
Loading a new prompt template using a YAML file:
prompt = Langchain::Prompt.load_from_path(file_path: "spec/fixtures/prompt/prompt_template.yaml")
prompt.input_variables #=> ["adjective", "content"]
Parse LLM text responses into structured output, such as JSON.
You can use the StructuredOutputParser
to generate a prompt that instructs the LLM to provide a JSON response adhering to a specific JSON schema:
json_schema = {
type: "object",
properties: {
name: {
type: "string",
description: "Persons name"
},
age: {
type: "number",
description: "Persons age"
},
interests: {
type: "array",
items: {
type: "object",
properties: {
interest: {
type: "string",
description: "A topic of interest"
},
levelOfInterest: {
type: "number",
description: "A value between 0 and 100 of how interested the person is in this interest"
}
},
required: ["interest", "levelOfInterest"],
additionalProperties: false
},
minItems: 1,
maxItems: 3,
description: "A list of the person's interests"
}
},
required: ["name", "age", "interests"],
additionalProperties: false
}
parser = Langchain::OutputParsers::StructuredOutputParser.from_json_schema(json_schema)
prompt = Langchain::Prompt::PromptTemplate.new(template: "Generate details of a fictional character.\n{format_instructions}\nCharacter description: {description}", input_variables: ["description", "format_instructions"])
prompt_text = prompt.format(description: "Korean chemistry student", format_instructions: parser.get_format_instructions)
# Generate details of a fictional character.
# You must format your output as a JSON value that adheres to a given "JSON Schema" instance.
# ...
Then parse the llm response:
llm = Langchain::LLM::OpenAI.new(api_key: ENV["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
llm_response = llm.chat(messages: [{role: "user", content: prompt_text}]).completion
parser.parse(llm_response)
# {
# "name" => "Kim Ji-hyun",
# "age" => 22,
# "interests" => [
# {
# "interest" => "Organic Chemistry",
# "levelOfInterest" => 85
# },
# ...
# ]
# }
If the parser fails to parse the LLM response, you can use the OutputFixingParser
. It sends an error message, prior output, and the original prompt text to the LLM, asking for a "fixed" response:
begin
parser.parse(llm_response)
rescue Langchain::OutputParsers::OutputParserException => e
fix_parser = Langchain::OutputParsers::OutputFixingParser.from_llm(
llm: llm,
parser: parser
)
fix_parser.parse(llm_response)
end
Alternatively, if you don't need to handle the OutputParserException
, you can simplify the code:
# we already have the `OutputFixingParser`:
# parser = Langchain::OutputParsers::StructuredOutputParser.from_json_schema(json_schema)
fix_parser = Langchain::OutputParsers::OutputFixingParser.from_llm(
llm: llm,
parser: parser
)
fix_parser.parse(llm_response)
See here for a concrete example
RAG is a methodology that assists LLMs generate accurate and up-to-date information. A typical RAG workflow follows the 3 steps below:
- Relevant knowledge (or data) is retrieved from the knowledge base (typically a vector search DB)
- A prompt, containing retrieved knowledge above, is constructed.
- LLM receives the prompt above to generate a text completion. Most common use-case for a RAG system is powering Q&A systems where users pose natural language questions and receive answers in natural language.
Langchain.rb provides a convenient unified interface on top of supported vectorsearch databases that make it easy to configure your index, add data, query and retrieve from it.
Database | Open-source | Cloud offering |
---|---|---|
Chroma | ✅ | ✅ |
Epsilla | ✅ | ✅ |
Hnswlib | ✅ | ❌ |
Milvus | ✅ | ✅ Zilliz Cloud |
Pinecone | ❌ | ✅ |
Pgvector | ✅ | ✅ |
Qdrant | ✅ | ✅ |
Weaviate | ✅ | ✅ |
Elasticsearch | ✅ | ✅ |
Pick the vector search database you'll be using, add the gem dependency and instantiate the client:
gem "weaviate-ruby", "~> 0.8.9"
Choose and instantiate the LLM provider you'll be using to generate embeddings
llm = Langchain::LLM::OpenAI.new(api_key: ENV["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Weaviate.new(
url: ENV["WEAVIATE_URL"],
api_key: ENV["WEAVIATE_API_KEY"],
index_name: "Documents",
llm: llm
)
You can instantiate any other supported vector search database:
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Chroma.new(...) # `gem "chroma-db", "~> 0.6.0"`
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Epsilla.new(...) # `gem "epsilla-ruby", "~> 0.0.3"`
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Hnswlib.new(...) # `gem "hnswlib", "~> 0.8.1"`
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Milvus.new(...) # `gem "milvus", "~> 0.9.2"`
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Pinecone.new(...) # `gem "pinecone", "~> 0.1.6"`
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Pgvector.new(...) # `gem "pgvector", "~> 0.2"`
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Qdrant.new(...) # `gem "qdrant-ruby", "~> 0.9.3"`
client = Langchain::Vectorsearch::Elasticsearch.new(...) # `gem "elasticsearch", "~> 8.2.0"`
Create the default schema:
client.create_default_schema
Add plain text data to your vector search database:
client.add_texts(
texts: [
"Begin by preheating your oven to 375°F (190°C). Prepare four boneless, skinless chicken breasts by cutting a pocket into the side of each breast, being careful not to cut all the way through. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium heat. Add 1 small diced onion and 2 minced garlic cloves, and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add 8 ounces of fresh spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.",
"In a bowl, combine the spinach mixture with 4 ounces of softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Mix until well combined. Stuff each chicken breast pocket with an equal amount of the spinach mixture. Seal the pocket with a toothpick if necessary. In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the stuffed chicken breasts and sear on each side for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown."
]
)
Or use the file parsers to load, parse and index data into your database:
my_pdf = Langchain.root.join("path/to/my.pdf")
my_text = Langchain.root.join("path/to/my.txt")
my_docx = Langchain.root.join("path/to/my.docx")
client.add_data(paths: [my_pdf, my_text, my_docx])
Supported file formats: docx, html, pdf, text, json, jsonl, csv, xlsx, eml.
Retrieve similar documents based on the query string passed in:
client.similarity_search(
query:,
k: # number of results to be retrieved
)
Retrieve similar documents based on the query string passed in via the HyDE technique:
client.similarity_search_with_hyde()
Retrieve similar documents based on the embedding passed in:
client.similarity_search_by_vector(
embedding:,
k: # number of results to be retrieved
)
RAG-based querying
client.ask(question: "...")
Assistants are Agent-like objects that leverage helpful instructions, LLMs, tools and knowledge to respond to user queries. Assistants can be configured with an LLM of your choice (currently only OpenAI), any vector search database and easily extended with additional tools.
- Building an AI Assistant that operates a simulated E-commerce Store
- New Langchain.rb Assistants interface
- Instantiate an LLM of your choice
llm = Langchain::LLM::OpenAI.new(api_key: ENV["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
- Instantiate a Thread. Threads keep track of the messages in the Assistant conversation.
thread = Langchain::Thread.new
You can pass old message from previously using the Assistant:
thread.messages = messages
Messages contain the conversation history and the whole message history is sent to the LLM every time. A Message belongs to 1 of the 4 roles:
Message(role: "system")
message usually contains the instructions.Message(role: "user")
messages come from the user.Message(role: "assistant")
messages are produced by the LLM.Message(role: "tool")
messages are sent in response to tool calls with tool outputs.
- Instantiate an Assistant
assistant = Langchain::Assistant.new(
llm: llm,
thread: thread,
instructions: "You are a Meteorologist Assistant that is able to pull the weather for any location",
tools: [
Langchain::Tool::GoogleSearch.new(api_key: ENV["SERPAPI_API_KEY"])
]
)
You can now add your message to an Assistant.
assistant.add_message content: "What's the weather in New York City?"
Run the Assistant to generate a response.
assistant.run
If a Tool is invoked you can manually submit an output.
assistant.submit_tool_output tool_call_id: "...", output: "It's 70 degrees and sunny in New York City"
Or run the assistant with auto_tool_execution: tool
to call Tools automatically.
assistant.add_message content: "How about San Diego, CA?"
assistant.run(auto_tool_execution: true)
You can also combine the two by calling:
assistant.add_message_and_run content: "What about Sacramento, CA?", auto_tool_execution: true
You can access the messages in a Thread by calling assistant.thread.messages
.
assistant.thread.messages
The Assistant checks the context window limits before every request to the LLM and remove oldest thread messages one by one if the context window is exceeded.
The Evaluations module is a collection of tools that can be used to evaluate and track the performance of the output products by LLM and your RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) pipelines.
Ragas helps you evaluate your Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines. The implementation is based on this paper and the original Python repo. Ragas tracks the following 3 metrics and assigns the 0.0 - 1.0 scores:
- Faithfulness - the answer is grounded in the given context.
- Context Relevance - the retrieved context is focused, containing little to no irrelevant information.
- Answer Relevance - the generated answer addresses the actual question that was provided.
# We recommend using Langchain::LLM::OpenAI as your llm for Ragas
ragas = Langchain::Evals::Ragas::Main.new(llm: llm)
# The answer that the LLM generated
# The question (or the original prompt) that was asked
# The context that was retrieved (usually from a vectorsearch database)
ragas.score(answer: "", question: "", context: "")
# =>
# {
# ragas_score: 0.6601257446503674,
# answer_relevance_score: 0.9573145866787608,
# context_relevance_score: 0.6666666666666666,
# faithfulness_score: 0.5
# }
Additional examples available: /examples
Langchain.rb uses standard logging mechanisms and defaults to :warn
level. Most messages are at info level, but we will add debug or warn statements as needed.
To show all log messages:
Langchain.logger.level = :debug
If you're having issues installing unicode
gem required by pragmatic_segmenter
, try running:
gem install unicode -- --with-cflags="-Wno-incompatible-function-pointer-types"
git clone https://github.com/andreibondarev/langchainrb.git
cp .env.example .env
, then fill out the environment variables in.env
bundle exec rake
to ensure that the tests pass and to run standardrbbin/console
to load the gem in a REPL session. Feel free to add your own instances of LLMs, Tools, Agents, etc. and experiment with them.- Optionally, install lefthook git hooks for pre-commit to auto lint:
gem install lefthook && lefthook install -f
Join us in the Langchain.rb Discord server.
Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/andreibondarev/langchainrb.
The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.