Functional API

Author: Yejin Park
Peer Review:
Proofread : fastjw
This is a part of LangChain Open Tutorial

Overview

This tutorial covers LangGraph's Functional API, focusing on workflow automation with @entrypoint and @task decorators.

Key features include state management, parallel processing, and human-in-the-loop capabilities.

References

Environment Setup

Setting up your environment is the first step. See the Environment Setup guide for more details.

[Note]

The langchain-opentutorial is a package of easy-to-use environment setup guidance, useful functions and utilities for tutorials. Check out the langchain-opentutorial for more details.

%%capture --no-stderr
%pip install langchain-opentutorial

# Install required packages
from langchain_opentutorial import package

package.install(
    [
        "langchain_core",
        "langgraph",
        "langchain-openai",
    ],
    verbose=False,
    upgrade=True,
)

You can set API keys in a .env file or set them manually.

[Note] If you’re not using the .env file, no worries! Just enter the keys directly in the cell below, and you’re good to go.

from dotenv import load_dotenv
from langchain_opentutorial import set_env

# Attempt to load environment variables from a .env file; if unsuccessful, set them manually.
if not load_dotenv():
    set_env(
        {
            "OPENAI_API_KEY": "",
            "LANGCHAIN_API_KEY": "",
            "LANGCHAIN_TRACING_V2": "true",
            "LANGCHAIN_ENDPOINT": "https://api.smith.langchain.com",
            "LANGCHAIN_PROJECT": "15-LangGraph-Functional-API",
        }
    )

Functional API

The Functional API is a programming interface provided by LangGraph that extends existing Python functions with advanced features such as state management, parallel processing, and memory management, all while requiring minimal code modifications.

Core Components

The Functional API uses two primitives to define workflows:

@entrypoint Decorator

Defines the entry point of a workflow
Automates state management and checkpointing
Manages streaming and interruption points

from uuid import uuid4
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
from langgraph.func import entrypoint


@entrypoint(checkpointer=MemorySaver())
def calculate_sum(numbers: list[int]) -> int:
    """A simple workflow that sums numbers"""
    return sum(numbers)

config = {
    "configurable": {
        "thread_id": str(uuid4())
    }
}

calculate_sum.invoke([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], config)

@task Decorator

Defines units of work that can be executed asynchronously
Handles retry policies and error handling
Supports parallel processing

from uuid import uuid4
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
from langgraph.func import task

@task()
def multiply_number(num: int) -> int:
    """Simple task that multiplies a number by 2"""
    return num * 2

@entrypoint(checkpointer=MemorySaver())
def calculate_multiply(num: int) -> int:
    """A simple workflow that multiplies two numbers"""
    future = multiply_number(num)
    return future.result()

config = {
    "configurable": {
        "thread_id": str(uuid4())
    }
}
calculate_multiply.invoke(3, config)

Use Cases

Asynchronous and Parallel Processing

Long-running tasks can significantly impact application performance.

The Functional API allows you to execute tasks asynchronously and in parallel, improving efficiency especially for I/O-bound operations like LLMs API calls.

The @task decorator makes it easy to convert regular functions into asynchronous tasks.

from langgraph.func import task
import time

@task()
def process_number(n: int) -> int:
    """Simulates processing by waiting for 1 second"""
    time.sleep(1)
    return n * 2

@entrypoint()
def parallel_processing(numbers: list[int]) -> list[int]:
    """Processes multiple numbers in parallel"""
    # Start all tasks
    futures = [process_number(n) for n in numbers]
    return [f.result() for f in futures]

parallel_processing.invoke([1, 2, 3, 4, 5])

[2, 4, 6, 8, 10]

Interrupts and Human Intervention

Some workflows require human oversight or intervention at critical points.

The Functional API provides built-in support for human-in-the-loop processes through its interrupt mechanism.

This allows you to pause execution, get human input, and continue processing based on that input.

from uuid import uuid4
from langgraph.func import entrypoint, task
from langgraph.types import Command, interrupt
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver


@task()
def step_1(input_query):
    """Append bar."""
    return f"{input_query} bar"


@task()
def human_feedback(input_query):
    """Append user input."""
    feedback = interrupt(f"Please provide feedback: {input_query}")
    return f"{input_query} {feedback}"


@task()
def step_3(input_query):
    """Append qux."""
    return f"{input_query} qux"

checkpointer = MemorySaver()

@entrypoint(checkpointer=checkpointer)
def graph(input_query):
    result_1 = step_1(input_query).result()
    feedback = interrupt(f"Please provide feedback: {result_1}")

    result_2 = f"{input_query} {feedback}"
    result_3 = step_3(result_2).result()

    return result_3

config = {"configurable": {"thread_id": str(uuid4())}}
for event in graph.stream("foo", config):
    print(event)
    print("\n")

{'step_1': 'foo bar'}
    
    
    {'__interrupt__': (Interrupt(value='Please provide feedback: foo bar', resumable=True, ns=['graph:f550c5f8-67e0-6c57-9206-c10c7affc896'], when='during'),)}

# Continue execution
for event in graph.stream(Command(resume="baz"), config):
    print(event)
    print("\n")

{'step_3': 'foo baz qux'}
    
    
    {'graph': 'foo baz qux'}

Automated State Management

The Functional API automatically handles state persistence and restoration between function calls.

This is particularly useful in conversational applications where maintaining context is crucial.

You can focus on your business logic while LangGraph handles the complexities of state management.

from uuid import uuid4
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
from langchain_core.messages import SystemMessage, HumanMessage, BaseMessage
from langgraph.func import entrypoint
from langgraph.graph import add_messages


llm = ChatOpenAI(
    model="gpt-4o-mini",
    temperature=0
)

checkpointer = MemorySaver()

# Set a checkpointer to enable persistence.
@entrypoint(checkpointer=checkpointer)
def conversational_agent(messages: list[BaseMessage], *, previous: list[BaseMessage] = None):
    # Add previous messages from short-term memory to the current messages
    if previous is not None:
        messages = add_messages(previous, messages)

    # Get agent's response based on conversation history.
    llm_response = llm.invoke(
         [
            SystemMessage(
                content="You are a helpful assistant tasked with performing arithmetic on a set of inputs."
            )
        ]
        + messages
    )

    # Add agent's messages to conversation history
    messages = add_messages(messages, llm_response)

    return messages

# Config
config = {
    "configurable": {
        "thread_id": str(uuid4())
    }
}

# Run with checkpointer to persist state in memory
messages = conversational_agent.invoke([HumanMessage(content="Hi. I'm currently creating a tutorial, named LangChain OpenTutorial.")], config)
for m in messages:
    m.pretty_print()

================================ Human Message =================================
    
    Hi. I'm currently creating a tutorial, named LangChain OpenTutorial.
    ================================== Ai Message ==================================
    
    That sounds like a great project! How can I assist you with your LangChain OpenTutorial? Are you looking for help with content, examples, or something else?

# Checkpoint state
agent_state = conversational_agent.get_state(config)
for m in agent_state.values:
    m.pretty_print()

================================ Human Message =================================
    
    Hi. I'm currently creating a tutorial, named LangChain OpenTutorial.
    ================================== Ai Message ==================================
    
    That sounds like a great project! How can I assist you with your LangChain OpenTutorial? Are you looking for help with content, examples, or something else?

# Continue with the same thread
messages = conversational_agent.invoke([HumanMessage(content="Do you remember the name of my tutorial that I'm now working on?")], config)
for m in messages:
    m.pretty_print()

================================ Human Message =================================
    
    Hi. I'm currently creating a tutorial, named LangChain OpenTutorial.
    ================================== Ai Message ==================================
    
    That sounds like a great project! How can I assist you with your LangChain OpenTutorial? Are you looking for help with content, examples, or something else?
    ================================ Human Message =================================
    
    Do you remember the name of my tutorial that I'm now working on?
    ================================== Ai Message ==================================
    
    Yes, you mentioned that you are creating a tutorial named "LangChain OpenTutorial." How can I assist you further with it?

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Overview

Table of Contents

References

Environment Setup

Functional API

Core Components

Use Cases

Asynchronous and Parallel Processing

Interrupts and Human Intervention

Automated State Management