ondine 1.9.1

Ondine - The LLM Dataset Engine. SDK for processing tabular datasets using LLMs with reliability, observability, and cost control

Ondine

A prompt is a column. A new DataFrame primitive for LLMs, with five dimensions of production support.

ondine.dev · Docs · PyPI

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Ondine makes LLM calls a first-class DataFrame operation. Define a column with natural language. Ondine computes it at production scale.

from ondine import PipelineBuilder

df = (
    PipelineBuilder.create()
    .from_dataframe(df, input_columns=["review"], output_columns=["sentiment"])
    .with_prompt("Classify the tone of: {review}")
    .with_llm(provider="openai", model="gpt-5.4-mini")
    .build()
    .execute().data
)

The LLM stops being a service you call from your pipeline. It becomes a column function inside it.

Everything else in this README is how Ondine makes that primitive production-true across five dimensions: richer inputs (KB/RAG/OCR), constrained outputs (schemas, grounding), reliable execution (checkpoints, budget caps, adaptive concurrency), full observability, and any LLM backend.

Install

pip install ondine

Python 3.10+. Works with any LLM through LiteLLM: OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, Mistral, Cerebras, Ollama, MLX, vLLM, SGLang, 100+ others.

30-second quickstart

from ondine import PipelineBuilder

pipeline = (
    PipelineBuilder.create()
    .from_csv("reviews.csv",
              input_columns=["review"],
              output_columns=["sentiment", "topic"])
    .with_prompt("Classify sentiment and extract the key topic from: {review}")
    .with_llm(provider="openai", model="gpt-5.4-mini")
    .with_max_budget(5.00)
    .build()
)

result = pipeline.execute()
print(f"Processed {result.metrics.processed_rows} rows · ${result.costs.total_cost:.2f}")

One builder chain: input columns, prompt, model, budget cap. Multi-column outputs get a JSON parser; schema enforcement, checkpointing, and cost tracking are on by default.

Prefer a one-liner? QuickPipeline.create(...) wraps the same builder with sensible defaults (see examples/).

The 5 dimensions

1. INPUTS: make the prompt richer

Feed the LLM more than raw column text. Pull context from documents, images, and prior runs.

• Knowledge Base (RAG): ingest PDFs, Markdown, HTML, images via OCR. Hybrid BM25 + dense search with optional cross-encoder reranker. HyDE / multi-query / step-back query transforms.
• OCR: three pluggable backends: multimodal Vision LLM, Tesseract (offline), DocTR.
• Multi-column placeholders: use any number of input columns in one prompt ({col_a}, {col_b}).
• Jinja2 templates + system prompts for richer prompt shaping.

2. OUTPUTS: constrain what comes back

Stop parsing strings. Get typed columns, validated against your schema, verified against your evidence.

• Pydantic structured output: define a model, get typed columns back. Malformed JSON auto-retries up to 3x.
• Multi-column parsing: one prompt → N typed columns.
• Grounding verification (Context Store): each LLM answer checked against an evidence graph built from your dataset. Rust + SQLite + FTS5 backend. Contradictions flagged, not silently returned.

3. EXECUTION: run N rows reliably

Production plumbing that df.apply() doesn't give you.

• Checkpointing to Parquet after every batch. Durable SQLite response cache for crash-atomic resume (A4, #144).
• Hard budget caps: pre-run cost estimation, live tracking, halts the pipeline at your USD limit.
• Multi-row batching: pack N rows per API call. 200 calls instead of 10,000 at batch_size=50.
• Prefix caching: system prompt cached across batches. 40–50% token savings.
• Adaptive concurrency: Netflix Gradient2 algorithm. Shrinks on 429, grows on saturation.
• Retry-After parsing across 5 header shapes (OpenAI / Anthropic / Groq / RFC 7231 / ms-delta).
• Distributed rate limiting via Redis (atomic Lua token bucket, cluster-aware).

4. OBSERVATION: see what happened

On by default. Integrates with the observability stack you already run.

• ProgressBar + Logging + CostTracking observers active on every run.
• Langfuse for LLM trace logging.
• OpenTelemetry for distributed tracing.
• Prometheus metrics export (request count, duration histogram, cost gauge).
• Decimal precision for cost tracking (no floating-point surprises).

5. PROVIDERS: any LLM backend

• 100+ providers via LiteLLM. Swap with a string.
• Router with latency-based failover and automatic provider selection.
• Local inference: Ollama, MLX (Apple Silicon), vLLM, SGLang.
• Azure Managed Identity with 3 auth patterns (MI, API key, pre-fetched token).
• Custom endpoints: any OpenAI-compatible API.

Beyond the quickstart

from ondine import PipelineBuilder
from ondine.knowledge import KnowledgeStore
from ondine.context import RustContextStore
from pydantic import BaseModel

class ReviewAnalysis(BaseModel):
    sentiment: str
    score: int
    topic: str

kb = KnowledgeStore("knowledge.db")
kb.ingest("docs/")   # PDFs, MD, HTML, images via OCR

pipeline = (
    PipelineBuilder.create()
    .from_csv("reviews.csv",
              input_columns=["review"],
              output_columns=["sentiment", "score", "topic"])
    .with_knowledge_base(kb, top_k=5, rerank=True, query_transform="hyde")
    .with_prompt("Context:\n{_kb_context}\n\nAnalyze: {review}")
    .with_llm(provider="openai", model="gpt-5.4-mini")
    .with_structured_output(ReviewAnalysis)
    .with_context_store(RustContextStore("evidence.db"))
    .with_grounding(threshold=0.3)
    .with_batch_size(50)
    .with_max_budget(25.00)
    .with_checkpoint_interval(100)
    .with_disk_cache(".cache")
    .with_router(strategy="latency")
    .with_observer("langfuse")
    .build()
)

result = pipeline.execute()

Every chained method maps to one of the five dimensions. See docs.ondine.dev for the full reference.

What "a prompt is a column" unlocks

Same primitive. The use case lives in the prompt.

Transform	Prompt pattern
Classification	"Classify {text} into one of {labels}"
Extraction	"Extract name, date, amount from: {document}"
Scoring	"Score {item} against {criteria} on 1–10"
Comparison	"Is {a} equivalent to {b}? Return yes/no + reason."
Translation	"Translate {text} from {src_lang} to {tgt_lang}"
Summarization	"Summarize {document} in 3 bullets"

One abstraction. Any transform.

Compared to alternatives

Tool	Primitive	Why pick Ondine
Instructor	f(prompt) → Pydantic (one call)	Ondine applies that pattern to N rows, with the 5 dimensions
Pandas-AI	df.chat("question")	Different primitive (query vs. compute)
LangChain batch	chain.batch([...])	No budget cap, no grounding, no observability defaults
OpenAI/Anthropic Batch API	Provider-specific batch	No multi-provider, no grounding, no crash-safety, 24-hour turnaround
Airflow/Prefect/Dagster	Workflow orchestrators	Heavy setup, no LLM-specific features. Ondine ships integrations for them.
Ondine	Prompt(columns) → new_columns	A primitive, not a wrapper

Local inference

from ondine import QuickPipeline

# Ollama
pipeline = QuickPipeline.create(
    data="reviews.csv",
    prompt="Classify sentiment: {review}",
    output_columns=["sentiment"],
    model="ollama/qwen3.5",
)

# MLX (Apple Silicon, native; no server process)
pipeline = QuickPipeline.create(
    data="reviews.csv",
    prompt="Classify sentiment: {review}",
    output_columns=["sentiment"],
    model="mlx/mlx-community/Llama-4-Scout-Instruct-4bit",
)

No API keys. No telemetry. Fully offline.

Documentation

• ondine.dev: landing page + examples
• docs.ondine.dev: full reference, Context Store internals, Builder API, Airflow/Prefect integrations
• examples/: 27 runnable scripts covering every major use case
• CHANGELOG.md: release notes

Contributing

PRs welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md. Code style: Black + Ruff. Tests required for new features.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Acknowledgments

• LiteLLM: provider routing layer
• Instructor: the single-call pattern Ondine applies at DataFrame scale
• The Pydantic team: validation backbone

Support

• Issues: https://github.com/ptimizeroracle/ondine/issues
• Discussions: https://github.com/ptimizeroracle/ondine/discussions
• Website: https://ondine.dev