Rasa Python-SDK

Python SDK for the development of custom actions for Rasa.

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Installation

To install the SDK run

pip install rasa-sdk

Compatibility

rasa-sdk package:

old rasa_core_sdk package:

Usage

Detailed instructions can be found in the Rasa Documentation about Custom Actions.

Docker

Usage

In order to start an action server using implemented custom actions, you can use the available Docker image rasa/rasa-sdk.

Before starting the action server ensure that the folder containing your actions is handled as Python module and therefore has to contain a file called __init__.py

Then start the action server using:

docker run -p 5055:5055 --mount type=bind,source=<ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_YOUR_ACTIONS>,target=/app/actions \
	rasa/rasa-sdk:<version>

The action server is then available at http://localhost:5055/webhook.

Custom Dependencies

To add custom dependencies you enhance the given Docker image, e.g.:

# Extend the official Rasa SDK image
FROM rasa/rasa-sdk:<version>

# Change back to root user to install dependencies
USER root

# To install system dependencies
RUN apt-get update -qq && \
    apt-get install -y <NAME_OF_REQUIRED_PACKAGE> && \
    apt-get clean && \
    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* /tmp/* /var/tmp/*

# To install packages from PyPI
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir <A_REQUIRED_PACKAGE_ON_PYPI>

# Switch back to non-root to run code
USER 1001

Building from source

Rasa SDK uses Poetry for packaging and dependency management. If you want to build it from source, you have to install Poetry first. This is how it can be done:

curl -sSL https://install.python-poetry.org | python3 -

There are several other ways to install Poetry. Please, follow the official guide to see all possible options.

To install dependencies and rasa-sdk itself in editable mode execute

make install

Code Style

To ensure a standardized code style we use the formatter ruff. If your code is not formatted properly, GitHub CI will fail to build.

If you want to automatically format your code on every commit, you can use pre-commit. Just install it via pip install pre-commit and execute pre-commit install.

To check and reformat files execute

make lint

Steps to release a new version

Releasing a new version is quite simple, as the packages are build and distributed by GitHub Actions.

Release steps:

1. Switch to the branch you want to cut the release from (main in case of a major / minor, the current release branch for patch releases).
2. If this is a minor / major release: Make sure all fixes from currently supported minor versions have been merged from their respective release branches (e.g. 3.3.x) back into main.
3. Run make release
4. Create a PR against main or the release branch (e.g. 1.2.x)
5. If this is a minor release, a new release branch should be created pointing to the same commit as the tag to allow for future patch releases, e.g.

   git checkout -b 1.2.x
   git push origin 1.2.x
   

Auto patch after Renovate (supported 3.N.x lines)

When a Renovate dependency PR is merged into a supported SDK release line (3.N.x, never main), Auto Release Renovate prepares the next micro/patch (via scripts/release.py) and opens a prepare-release-<version> PR against that same line.

Operator steps:

1. Confirm the prepare PR appeared (Actions also supports manual workflow_dispatch with base_branch like 3.16.x if you need to re-run).
2. Review CI, changelog, and version on the prepare PR.
3. Approve and merge it yourself.
4. Existing Release workflow tags on prepare-release-* merge; publish continues as usual.

If an open prepare-release-* already targets that 3.N.x, further Renovate merges on the same line do not open another competing prepare PR. Manual make release / Release workflow dispatch remains available. Merges to main and non-Renovate merges on 3.N.x do not start this path.

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. Copyright 2021 Rasa Technologies GmbH. Copy of the license.

A list of the Licenses of the dependencies of the project can be found at the bottom of the Libraries Summary.