synth-ai 0.13.1

Python-only SDK for Synth containers, tunnels, pools, and Research

Synth AI SDK

Python SDK and CLI for Synth infrastructure surfaces: tunnels, pools, and hosted containers.

Documentation: https://docs.usesynth.ai/sdk/overview

Installation

uv add synth-ai

Or install with pip:

pip install synth-ai

Authenticate

Set SYNTH_API_KEY before using the SDK or CLI:

export SYNTH_API_KEY="sk_..."

Local Workspaces

For local multi-repo development, synth-ai treats workspace resolution as a read-only overlay. .env and Synth home config may provide defaults and secrets; selecting a worktree must not rewrite those defaults.

Use SYNTH_WORKSPACE_MANIFEST or SYNTH_WORKSPACE_ROOT for command-scoped worktree resolution. The resolver in synth_ai.core.utils.workspace returns repo paths and a scoped env mapping for subprocesses without mutating .env.

Pass base_url when you need to pin a production, local, staging, or private backend explicitly:

from synth_ai import SynthClient

client = SynthClient(base_url="http://127.0.0.1:8000")

The CLI also reads SYNTH_BACKEND_URL and accepts --backend-url.

Quickstart

from synth_ai import SynthClient

client = SynthClient()

print(client.containers.list())
print(client.tunnels.health())
print(client.pools.list())

Managed Research (hero SDK)

Install the research extra when you need hosted runs, projects, Factory Tag, or MCP:

pip install "synth-ai[research]"

Hero entrypoint — SynthClient().research only (no standalone control client in new code):

from synth_ai import SynthClient

client = SynthClient()
research = client.research

# Org limits
limits = research.limits.get()

# Factory Tag loop
session = research.factories.tag.sessions.create("Improve rollout throughput")
research.factories.tag.sessions.messages.send(session.session_id, "Status update")
scope = research.factories.tag.scopes.get_default()

# Launch path
project = research.projects.create({"name": "demo", "work_mode": "standard"})
research.projects.setup.prepare(project.project_id)
preflight = research.runs.check_preflight(project.project_id)
run = research.runs.create(project.project_id, work_mode="standard")
session = research.runs.get(project.project_id, run["run_id"])

# Run readouts (nested namespaces — never ``manderqueue`` on hero)
session.snapshots.get(detail="control")
session.progress.get()
session.usage.get()
session.message_queue.messages.list()
research.projects.objectives.list(project.project_id, run_id=session.run_id)

CLI smoke:

synth-ai research limits get
synth-ai research tag smoke
synth-ai research smoke

CLI

synth-ai --help
synth-ai containers list
synth-ai tunnels health
synth-ai pools list

Public Surface

Use SynthClient as the front door:

Surface	Client namespace	Use it for
Managed Research / Factory	client.research	Hosted research runs, projects, Factory Tag, limits, MCP (synth-ai[research]).
Containers	client.containers	Hosted container records and lifecycle operations.
Tunnels	client.tunnels	Managed tunnel records, leases, health, and rotation.
Pools	client.pools	Container pools, tasks, rollouts, artifacts, usage, and events.
CLI	synth-ai	Terminal access to containers, tunnels, and pools.

Use Managed Research when you want hosted research workers, repo runs, evidence, checkpoints, MCP, or final reports.

Managed Research Billing

Standalone SMR and Managed Factory draw from the same org-level allowance and flex-credit wallet. Free, Standard ($20/month), and Max ($200/month) expose premium and value usage windows with reset times, then use explicit flex credits after included usage is exhausted. Premium models consume allowance faster; value models stretch the same allowance further. Promo, make-good, banked, and override grants are manual audit events rather than automatic resets.

The canonical backend surfaces are GET /smr/billing/catalog, GET /smr/billing/plan, GET /smr/billing/runs/{run_id}/drawdown, and GET /smr/billing/factory-efforts/{factory_effort_id}/drawdown. In the Python SDK, use client.research.session.billing.catalog() and related billing namespace helpers for advanced billing reads. Prefer hero namespaces for new integrations; do not infer allowance from legacy Autumn balances or local spend summaries.

Links

• Install and authenticate
• SynthClient guide
• Tunnels
• Pools
• Containers
• SDK reference
• OpenAPI contracts

Local Development

Use uv run for Python tools:

uv sync --group dev
uv run ruff format --check .
uv run ruff check .
uv run ty check
make docs-gen   # generate Mintlify SDK reference into docs/
make docs-dev   # preview at http://localhost:3000/overview

Optional: install Lefthook and run lefthook install to run formatting, linting, and type checks on staged Python files.

SMR Handoff X thread — hand agent tasks to Managed Research from Cursor, Codex, or Claude Code (repo).