llmproc 0.5.0

A simple framework for LLM-powered applications

LLMProc

LLMProc: A Unix-inspired operating system for language models. Like processes in an OS, LLMs execute instructions, make system calls, manage resources, and communicate with each other - enabling powerful multi-model applications with sophisticated I/O management.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Quick Start
• Features
• Demo Tools
• Documentation
• Design Philosophy
• Roadmap
• License

Installation

# Install with uv (recommended)
uv pip install llmproc               # Base package
uv pip install "llmproc[openai]"     # For OpenAI models
uv pip install "llmproc[anthropic]"  # For Anthropic models
uv pip install "llmproc[all]"        # All providers

See MISC.md for additional installation options and provider configurations.

Quick Start

Python usage

# Full example: examples/multiply_example.py
import asyncio
from llmproc import LLMProgram, register_tool


@register_tool()
def multiply(a: float, b: float) -> dict:
    """Multiply two numbers and return the result."""
    return {"result": a * b}  # Expected: π * e = 8.539734222677128


async def main():
    program = LLMProgram(
        model_name="claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219", 
        provider="anthropic",
        system_prompt="You're a helpful assistant.",
        parameters={"max_tokens": 1024}
    )
    
    program.set_enabled_tools([multiply])
    
    process = await program.start()
    await process.run("Can you multiply 3.14159265359 by 2.71828182846?")
    
    print(process.get_last_message())


if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

CLI usage

# Start interactive session
llmproc-demo ./examples/anthropic/claude-3-5-haiku.toml

# Single prompt
llmproc-demo ./examples/anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet.toml -p "What is Python?"

# Read from stdin
cat questions.txt | llmproc-demo ./examples/anthropic/claude-3-7-sonnet.toml -n

# Use Gemini models
llmproc-demo ./examples/gemini/gemini-2.0-flash-direct.toml

Features

Supported Model Providers

• OpenAI: GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini, GPT-4.5
• Anthropic: Claude 3 Haiku, Claude 3.5/3.7 Sonnet (direct API and Vertex AI)
• Google: Gemini 1.5 Flash/Pro, Gemini 2.0 Flash, Gemini 2.5 Pro (direct API and Vertex AI)

LLMProc offers a Unix-inspired toolkit for building sophisticated LLM applications:

Process Management - Unix-like LLM Orchestration

• Program Linking - Spawn specialized LLM processes for delegated tasks
• Fork Tool - Create process copies with shared conversation state
• GOTO (Time Travel) - Reset conversations to previous points with context compaction demo

Large Content Handling - Sophisticated I/O Management

• File Descriptor System - Unix-like pagination for large outputs
• Reference ID System - Mark up and reference specific pieces of content
• Smart Content Pagination - Optimized line-aware chunking for content too large for context windows

Usage Examples

• See the Python SDK documentation for the fluent API
• Use Function-Based Tools to register Python functions as tools
• Start with a simple configuration for quick experimentation

Additional Features

• File Preloading - Enhance context by loading files into system prompts
• Environment Info - Add runtime context like working directory
• Prompt Caching - Automatic 90% token savings for Claude models (enabled by default)
• Reasoning/Thinking models - Claude 3.7 Thinking and OpenAI Reasoning models
• MCP Protocol - Standardized interface for tool usage
• Tool Aliases - Provide simpler, intuitive names for tools
• Cross-provider support - Currently supports Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google Gemini

Demo Tools

LLMProc includes demo command-line tools for quick experimentation:

llmproc-demo

Interactive CLI for testing LLM configurations:

llmproc-demo ./examples/anthropic/claude-3-5-haiku.toml  # Interactive session
llmproc-demo ./config.toml -p "What is Python?"          # Single prompt
cat questions.txt | llmproc-demo ./config.toml -n        # Pipe mode

Commands: exit or quit to end the session

llmproc-prompt

View the compiled system prompt without making API calls:

llmproc-prompt ./config.toml                 # Display to stdout
llmproc-prompt ./config.toml -o prompt.txt   # Save to file
llmproc-prompt ./config.toml -E              # Without environment info

Use Cases

• Claude Code - A minimal Claude Code implementation, with support for preloading CLAUDE.md, spawning, MCP

Documentation

Documentation Index: Start here for guided learning paths

• Examples: Sample configurations and use cases
• API Docs: Detailed API documentation
• Python SDK: Fluent API and program creation
• Function-Based Tools: Python function tools with type hints
• File Descriptor System: Handling large outputs
• Program Linking: LLM-to-LLM communication
• GOTO (Time Travel): Conversation time travel
• MCP Feature: Model Context Protocol for tools
• Tool Aliases: Using simpler names for tools
• Gemini Integration: Google Gemini models usage guide
• Testing Guide: Testing and validation
• For complete reference, see reference.toml

For advanced usage and implementation details, see MISC.md. For design rationales and API decisions, see FAQ.md.

Design Philosophy

LLMProc treats LLMs as processes in a Unix-inspired operating system framework:

• LLMs function as processes that execute prompts and make tool calls
• Tools operate at both user and kernel levels, with system tools able to modify process state
• The Process abstraction naturally maps to Unix concepts like spawn, fork, goto, and IPC
• This architecture provides a foundation for evolving toward a more complete LLM operating system

For in-depth explanations of these design decisions, see our API Design FAQ.

Roadmap

• Persistent children & inter-process communication
• llmproc mcp server
• Streaming api support
• Process State Serialization & Restoration
• Feature parity for openai/gemini models

License

Apache License 2.0