Instructor, The Most Popular Library for Simple Structured Outputs¶

Structured outputs powered by llms. Designed for simplicity, transparency, and control.

Instructor makes it easy to get structured data like JSON from LLMs like GPT-3.5, GPT-4, GPT-4-Vision, and open-source models including Mistral/Mixtral, Anyscale, Ollama, and llama-cpp-python.

It stands out for its simplicity, transparency, and user-centric design, built on top of Pydantic. Instructor helps you manage validation context, retries with Tenacity, and streaming Lists and Partial responses.

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Why use Instructor?¶

Simple API with Full Prompt Control

Instructor provides a straightforward API that gives you complete ownership and control over your prompts. This allows for fine-tuned customization and optimization of your LLM interactions.

Explore Concepts
Multi-Language Support

Simplify structured data extraction from LLMs with type hints and validation.

Python · TypeScript · Ruby · Go · Elixir · Rust
Reasking and Validation

Automatically reask the model when validation fails, ensuring high-quality outputs. Leverage Pydantic's validation for robust error handling.

Learn about Reasking
Streaming Support

Stream partial results and iterables with ease, allowing for real-time processing and improved responsiveness in your applications.

Learn about Streaming
Powered by Type Hints

Leverage Pydantic for schema validation, prompting control, less code, and IDE integration.

Learn more
Simplified LLM Interactions

Support for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Vertex AI, Mistral/Mixtral, Anyscale, Ollama, llama-cpp-python, Cohere, LiteLLM.

See Hub

Getting Started¶

pip install -U instructor

If you ever get stuck, you can always run instructor docs to open the documentation in your browser. It even supports searching for specific topics.

instructor docs [QUERY]

You can also check out our cookbooks and concepts to learn more about how to use Instructor.

Make sure you've installed the dependencies for your specific client

To keep the bundle size small, instructor only ships with the OpenAI client. Before using the other clients and their respective from_xx method, make sure you've installed the dependencies following the instructions below.

Anthropic : pip install "instructor[anthropic]"
Google Generative AI: pip install "instructor[google-generativeai]"
Vertex AI: pip install "instructor[vertexai]"
Cohere: pip install "instructor[cohere]"
Litellm: pip install "instructor[litellm]"
Mistral: pip install "instructor[mistralai]"

Now, let's see Instructor in action with a simple example:

Using OpenAI¶

Want to use OpenAI's Structured Output Response?

We've added support for OpenAI's structured output response. With this, you'll get all the benefits of instructor you like with the constrained sampling from OpenAI.

from openai import OpenAI
from instructor import from_openai, Mode
from pydantic import BaseModel

client = from_openai(OpenAI(), mode=Mode.TOOLS_STRICT)


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    response_model=User,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
    model="gpt-4o",
)

import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel
from openai import OpenAI


# Define your desired output structure
class UserInfo(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


# Patch the OpenAI client
client = instructor.from_openai(OpenAI())

# Extract structured data from natural language
user_info = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-3.5-turbo",
    response_model=UserInfo,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "John Doe is 30 years old."}],
)

print(user_info.name)
#> John Doe
print(user_info.age)
#> 30

Using Hooks¶

Instructor provides a powerful hooks system that allows you to intercept and log various stages of the LLM interaction process. Here's a simple example demonstrating how to use hooks:

import instructor
from openai import OpenAI
from pydantic import BaseModel

class UserInfo(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int

# Initialize the OpenAI client with Instructor
client = instructor.from_openai(OpenAI())

# Define hook functions
def log_kwargs(**kwargs):
    print(f"Function called with kwargs: {kwargs}")

def log_exception(exception: Exception):
    print(f"An exception occurred: {str(exception)}")

client.on("completion:kwargs", log_kwargs)
client.on("completion:error", log_exception)

user_info = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-3.5-turbo",
    response_model=UserInfo,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Extract the user name: 'John is 20 years old'"}],
)

"""
{
        'args': (),
        'kwargs': {
            'messages': [
                {
                    'role': 'user',
                    'content': "Extract the user name: 'John is 20 years old'",
                }
            ],
            'model': 'gpt-3.5-turbo',
            'tools': [
                {
                    'type': 'function',
                    'function': {
                        'name': 'UserInfo',
                        'description': 'Correctly extracted `UserInfo` with all the required parameters with correct types',
                        'parameters': {
                            'properties': {
                                'name': {'title': 'Name', 'type': 'string'},
                                'age': {'title': 'Age', 'type': 'integer'},
                            },
                            'required': ['age', 'name'],
                            'type': 'object',
                        },
                    },
                }
            ],
            'tool_choice': {'type': 'function', 'function': {'name': 'UserInfo'}},
        },
    }
"""

print(f"Name: {user_info.name}, Age: {user_info.age}")
#> Name: John, Age: 20

This example demonstrates: 1. A pre-execution hook that logs all kwargs passed to the function. 2. An exception hook that logs any exceptions that occur during execution.

The hooks provide valuable insights into the function's inputs and any errors, enhancing debugging and monitoring capabilities.

Using Anthropic¶

import instructor
from anthropic import Anthropic
from pydantic import BaseModel


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


client = instructor.from_anthropic(Anthropic())

# note that client.chat.completions.create will also work
resp = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-3-opus-20240229",
    max_tokens=1024,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
    response_model=User,
)

assert isinstance(resp, User)
assert resp.name == "Jason"
assert resp.age == 25

Using Gemini¶

The Vertex AI and Gemini Clients have different APIs. When using instructor with these clients, make sure to read the documentation for the specific client you're using to make sure you're using the correct methods.

Note: Gemini Tool Calling is still in preview, and there are some limitations. You can learn more about them in the Vertex AI examples notebook. As of now, you cannot use tool calling with Gemini when you have multi-modal inputs (Eg. Images, Audio, Video), you must use the JSON mode equivalent for that client.

Google AI¶

import instructor
import google.generativeai as genai
from pydantic import BaseModel


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


client = instructor.from_gemini(
    client=genai.GenerativeModel(
        model_name="models/gemini-1.5-flash-latest",
    ),
    mode=instructor.Mode.GEMINI_JSON,
)

# note that client.chat.completions.create will also work
resp = client.messages.create(
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
    response_model=User,
)

assert isinstance(resp, User)
assert resp.name == "Jason"
assert resp.age == 25

Using Gemini's multi-modal capabilities with google-generativeai

The google.generativeai library has a different API than the vertexai library. But, using instructor, working with multi-modal data is easy.

Here's a quick example of how to use an Audio file with google-generativeai. We've used this recording that's taken from the Google Generative AI cookbook

For a more in-depth example, you can check out our guide to working with Gemini using the google-generativeai package here.

import instructor
import google.generativeai as genai
from pydantic import BaseModel


client = instructor.from_gemini(
    client=genai.GenerativeModel(
        model_name="models/gemini-1.5-flash-latest",
    ),
    mode=instructor.Mode.GEMINI_JSON,  # (1)!
)

mp3_file = genai.upload_file("./sample.mp3")  # (2)!


class Description(BaseModel):
    description: str


resp = client.create(
    response_model=Description,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Summarize what's happening in this audio file and who the main speaker is",
        },
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": mp3_file,  # (3)!
        },
    ],
)

print(resp)
#> description="The main speaker is President John F. Kennedy, and he's giving a
#> State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. He begins by
#> acknowledging his fondness for the House of Representatives and his long
#> history with it. He then goes on to discuss the state of the economy,
#> highlighting the difficulties faced by Americans, such as unemployment and
#> low farm incomes. He also touches on the Cold War and the international
#> balance of payments. He speaks of the need to strengthen the US military,
#> and he also discusses the importance of international cooperation and the
#> need to address global issues like hunger and illiteracy. He ends by urging
#> his audience to work together to face the challenges that lie ahead."

Make sure to set the mode to GEMINI_JSON, this is important because Tool Calling doesn't work with multi-modal inputs.
Use genai.upload_file to upload your file. If you've already uploaded the file, you can get it by using genai.get_file
Pass in the file object as any normal user message

Vertex AI¶

import instructor
import vertexai  # type: ignore
from vertexai.generative_models import GenerativeModel  # type: ignore
from pydantic import BaseModel

vertexai.init()


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


client = instructor.from_vertexai(
    client=GenerativeModel("gemini-1.5-pro-preview-0409"),
    mode=instructor.Mode.VERTEXAI_TOOLS,
)

# note that client.chat.completions.create will also work
resp = client.create(
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
    response_model=User,
)

assert isinstance(resp, User)
assert resp.name == "Jason"
assert resp.age == 25

Using Gemini's multi-modal capabilities with VertexAI

We've most recently added support for multi-part file formats using google's gm.Part objects. This allows you to pass in additional information to the LLM about the data you'd like to see.

Here are two examples of how to use multi-part formats with Instructor.

We can combine multiple gm.Part objects into a single list and combine them into a single message to be sent to the LLM. Under the hood, we'll convert them into the appropriate format for Gemini.

import instructor
import vertexai.generative_models as gm  # type: ignore
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field

client = instructor.from_vertexai(gm.GenerativeModel("gemini-1.5-pro-001"))
content = [
    "Order Details:",
    gm.Part.from_text("Customer: Alice"),
    gm.Part.from_text("Items:"),
    "Name: Laptop, Price: 999.99",
    "Name: Mouse, Price: 29.99",
]


class Item(BaseModel):
    name: str
    price: float


class Order(BaseModel):
    items: list[Item] = Field(..., default_factory=list)
    customer: str


resp = client.create(
    response_model=Order,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": content,
        },
    ],
)

print(resp)
#> items=[Item(name='Laptop', price=999.99), Item(name='Mouse', price=29.99)] customer='Alice'

This is also the same for multi-modal responses when we want to work with images. In this example, we'll ask the LLM to describe an image and pass in the image as a gm.Part object.

import instructor
import vertexai.generative_models as gm  # type: ignore
from pydantic import BaseModel
import requests

client = instructor.from_vertexai(
    gm.GenerativeModel("gemini-1.5-pro-001"), mode=instructor.Mode.VERTEXAI_JSON
)
content = [
    gm.Part.from_text("Count the number of objects in the image."),
    gm.Part.from_data(
        bytes(
            requests.get(
                "https://img.taste.com.au/Oq97xT-Q/taste/2016/11/blueberry-scones-75492-1.jpeg"
            ).content
        ),
        "image/jpeg",
    ),
]


class Description(BaseModel):
    description: str


resp = client.create(
    response_model=Description,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": content,
        },
    ],
)

print(resp)
#> description='Seven blueberry scones sit inside a metal pie plate.'

Using Litellm¶

import instructor
from litellm import completion
from pydantic import BaseModel


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


client = instructor.from_litellm(completion)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="claude-3-opus-20240229",
    max_tokens=1024,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
    response_model=User,
)

assert isinstance(resp, User)
assert resp.name == "Jason"
assert resp.age == 25

Using Cohere¶

We also support users who want to use the Cohere models using the from_cohere method.

Want to get the original Cohere response?

If you want to get the original response object from the LLM instead of a structured output, you can pass response_model=None to the create method. This will return the raw response from the underlying API.

# This will return the original Cohere response object
raw_response = client.chat.completions.create(
    response_model=None,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
)

This can be useful when you need access to additional metadata or want to handle the raw response yourself.

import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel
from cohere import Client


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


client = instructor.from_cohere(Client())

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    response_model=User,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
)

assert resp.name == "Jason"
assert resp.age == 25

Using Cerebras¶

For those who want to use the Cerebras models, you can use the from_cerebras method to patch the client. You can see their list of models here.

from cerebras.cloud.sdk import Cerebras
import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel
import os

client = Cerebras(
    api_key=os.environ.get("CEREBRAS_API_KEY"),
)
client = instructor.from_cerebras(client)


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="llama3.1-70b",
    response_model=User,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
)

print(resp)
#> name='Jason' age=25

Using Fireworks¶

For those who want to use the Fireworks models, you can use the from_fireworks method to patch the client. You can see their list of models here.

from fireworks.client import Fireworks
import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel
import os

client = Fireworks(
    api_key=os.environ.get("FIREWORKS_API_KEY"),
)
client = instructor.from_fireworks(client)


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="accounts/fireworks/models/llama-v3p2-1b-instruct",
    response_model=User,
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "Extract Jason is 25 years old.",
        }
    ],
)

print(resp)
#> name='Jason' age=25

Correct Typing¶

This was the dream of instructor but due to the patching of openai, it wasnt possible for me to get typing to work well. Now, with the new client, we can get typing to work well! We've also added a few create_* methods to make it easier to create iterables and partials, and to access the original completion.

Calling `create`¶

import openai
import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


client = instructor.from_openai(openai.OpenAI())

user = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4-turbo-preview",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Create a user"},
    ],
    response_model=User,
)

Now if you use a IDE, you can see the type is correctly infered.

type

Handling async: `await create`¶

This will also work correctly with asynchronous clients.

import openai
import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel


client = instructor.from_openai(openai.AsyncOpenAI())


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


async def extract():
    return await client.chat.completions.create(
        model="gpt-4-turbo-preview",
        messages=[
            {"role": "user", "content": "Create a user"},
        ],
        response_model=User,
    )

Notice that simply because we return the create method, the extract() function will return the correct user type.

async

Returning the original completion: `create_with_completion`¶

You can also return the original completion object

import openai
import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel


client = instructor.from_openai(openai.OpenAI())


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


user, completion = client.chat.completions.create_with_completion(
    model="gpt-4-turbo-preview",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Create a user"},
    ],
    response_model=User,
)

with_completion

Streaming Partial Objects: `create_partial`¶

In order to handle streams, we still support Iterable[T] and Partial[T] but to simply the type inference, we've added create_iterable and create_partial methods as well!

import openai
import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel


client = instructor.from_openai(openai.OpenAI())


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


user_stream = client.chat.completions.create_partial(
    model="gpt-4-turbo-preview",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Create a user"},
    ],
    response_model=User,
)

for user in user_stream:
    print(user)
    #> name=None age=None
    #> name=None age=None
    #> name=None age=None
    #> name=None age=None
    #> name=None age=25
    #> name=None age=25
    #> name=None age=25
    #> name=None age=25
    #> name=None age=25
    #> name=None age=25
    #> name='John Doe' age=25
    # name=None age=None
    # name='' age=None
    # name='John' age=None
    # name='John Doe' age=None
    # name='John Doe' age=30

Notice now that the type infered is Generator[User, None]

generator

Streaming Iterables: `create_iterable`¶

We get an iterable of objects when we want to extract multiple objects.

import openai
import instructor
from pydantic import BaseModel


client = instructor.from_openai(openai.OpenAI())


class User(BaseModel):
    name: str
    age: int


users = client.chat.completions.create_iterable(
    model="gpt-4-turbo-preview",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Create 2 users"},
    ],
    response_model=User,
)

for user in users:
    print(user)
    #> name='John Doe' age=30
    #> name='Jane Doe' age=28
    # User(name='John Doe', age=30)
    # User(name='Jane Smith', age=25)

iterable

Templating¶

Instructor also ships with Jinja templating support. Check out our docs on templating to learn about how to use it to its full potential.

Validation¶

You can also use Pydantic to validate your outputs and get the llm to retry on failure. Check out our docs on retrying and validation context.

More Examples¶

If you'd like to see more check out our cookbook.

Installing Instructor is a breeze. Just run pip install instructor.

Contributing¶

If you want to help out, checkout some of the issues marked as good-first-issue or help-wanted. Found here. They could be anything from code improvements, a guest blog post, or a new cook book.

License¶

This project is licensed under the terms of the MIT License.