Wikidata NER Classifier 0.9.0

wikidata-ner-classifier predicts retrieval-oriented NER types in two ways:

1. Wikidata items: deterministic prediction from P31/P279 token clues and an optional description.
2. Input data: LLM prediction from a target mention and its context, supplied as free text or tabular data.

Both paths return types from the same hierarchy:

coarse_type -> fine_type -> subtype -> specific_type

The prediction can be used to narrow the candidate-retrieval space before entity linking. The library does not make the final identity decision. LLM predictions may include unverified Wikipedia and DBpedia URLs as search hints; a downstream linker must retrieve and verify them. Wikidata QIDs and URLs are deliberately excluded because they would be unique-identity guesses.

Installation

pip install wikidata-ner-classifier

1. Predict NER types for Wikidata items

Use WikidataNERClassifier when the input is already a Wikidata item and its P31/P279 type labels or aliases are available. Prediction is deterministic and does not require an LLM or network request.

from wikidata_ner import WikidataNERClassifier

classifier = WikidataNERClassifier()

prediction = classifier.predict(
    qid="Q3441181",
    types=[
        {"id": "Q11424", "name": "film"},
    ],
    description="1964 sword-and-sandal film directed by Giuseppe Vari",
)

print(prediction.coarse_type)    # CREATIVE_WORK
print(prediction.fine_type)      # FILM
print(prediction.specific_type)  # SWORD_AND_SANDAL_FILM
print(prediction.retrieval_key)
# CREATIVE_WORK/FILM/SWORD_AND_SANDAL_FILM

The P31/P279 token clues select the semantic branch. The description may refine the result, but it does not replace the type-token evidence.

A complete entity mapping can also be passed directly:

prediction = classifier.predict_entity(
    {
        "qid": "Q3441181",
        "types": [{"id": "Q11424", "name": "film"}],
        "description": "1964 sword-and-sandal film",
    }
)

For multiple Wikidata items, use predict_batch():

predictions = classifier.predict_batch(
    [
        {
            "qid": "Q3441181",
            "types": [{"name": "film"}],
            "description": "1964 sword-and-sandal film",
        },
        {
            "qid": "Q7259",
            "types": [{"name": "human"}],
            "description": "English mathematician and writer",
        },
    ]
)

2. Predict NER types for input data with an LLM

Use OpenRouterNERClassifier when the input is a mention whose type must be inferred from context. The context can be free text, a structured record, or a table cell.

Set an OpenRouter API key:

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="..."

Create the classifier:

from wikidata_ner import OpenRouterNERClassifier

classifier = OpenRouterNERClassifier(
    model="openai/gpt-oss-120b",
    provider="cerebras",
    allow_fallbacks=False,
    reasoning_effort="low",
)

Free text

prediction = classifier.predict_text(
    "Rome Against Rome is a 1964 sword-and-sandal film.",
    mention="Rome Against Rome",
)

print(prediction.coarse_type)    # CREATIVE_WORK
print(prediction.fine_type)      # FILM
print(prediction.specific_type)  # SWORD_AND_SANDAL_FILM

Only the supplied target mention is classified. The surrounding sentence is contextual evidence.

The same LLM call also returns backend-neutral candidate-retrieval metadata:

prediction = classifier.predict_text(
    "Rmoe is the capital and largest city of Italy.",
    mention="Rmoe",
)

print(prediction.retrieval_metadata.corrected_mention)  # Rome
print(prediction.retrieval_metadata.surface_variants)   # local bounded repairs
print(prediction.retrieval_metadata.mention_query_signals)
# weighted lexical surfaces; the original mention is first
print(prediction.retrieval_metadata.context_keywords)   # e.g. ("capital city", "Italy")
print(prediction.retrieval_metadata.wikipedia_urls)
# e.g. ("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome",)
print(prediction.retrieval_metadata.dbpedia_urls)
# e.g. ("https://dbpedia.org/resource/Rome",)
print(prediction.high_level_reason)

Reference URLs are model predictions, not verified links. Invalid URL shapes, Wikidata URLs, and QID-bearing values are removed locally, and every serialized metadata object is explicitly marked unverified.

Structured input

prediction = classifier.predict_record(
    {
        "label": "Chrysler Cirrus",
        "description": "mid-size four-door sedan model",
        "manufacturer": "Chrysler",
    }
)

print(prediction.coarse_type)    # PRODUCT
print(prediction.fine_type)      # VEHICLE_WEAPON_OR_EQUIPMENT_MODEL
print(prediction.subtype)        # CAR_MODEL, when supported by the evidence

Existing QIDs, URLs, popularity, priors, and previous NER fields are not used as prediction evidence. Newly predicted reference URLs remain optional search hints and cannot determine the semantic type.

Tabular input

For one table cell, provide the column meaning and bounded row/column context:

prediction = classifier.predict_table_cell(
    "Germany",
    column_header="country name",
    row_context={
        "manufacturer": "Daimler AG",
        "vehicle_model": "Chrysler Cirrus",
        "assembly_location": "Sterling Heights, Michigan",
    },
    same_column_values=[
        "Germany",
        "United States",
        "Canada",
    ],
    table_name="vehicle_production.csv",
)

print(prediction.coarse_type)  # LOCATION
print(prediction.fine_type)    # COUNTRY_OR_SOVEREIGN_STATE

For multiple cells, use TableCellTask and predict_table_cells():

from wikidata_ner import TableCellTask

tasks = [
    TableCellTask(
        cell="Germany",
        column_header="country name",
        row_context={"manufacturer": "Daimler AG"},
        same_column_values=["Germany", "United States", "Canada"],
    ),
    TableCellTask(
        cell="United States",
        column_header="country name",
        row_context={"manufacturer": "General Motors"},
        same_column_values=["Germany", "United States", "Canada"],
    ),
]

predictions = classifier.predict_table_cells(tasks)

The production batch limit is 8 targets per physical request. Larger iterables are split into multiple requests automatically.

Prediction output

All prediction paths expose retrieval-oriented type fields such as:

• coarse_type
• fine_type
• subtype
• specific_type and specific_types
• retrieval_key, retrieval_path, and retrieval_tags
• confidence
• abstained and abstention_reason

LLM-backed mention predictions additionally expose:

• retrieval_metadata, including corrected spelling, model mention variants, identity-preserving local surface_variants, weighted mention_query_signals, disambiguating keywords, and optional Wikipedia/DBpedia reference URLs
• high_level_reason, one explanation covering the type and metadata choices

Type confidence is computed locally with evidence-derived posterior odds; model numeric self-ratings are never used. Metadata signal values are separate empirical estimates of retrieval usefulness/non-harm, not entity-correctness probabilities. This includes explicit estimates for corrections, variants, keywords, and reference URLs. Wikipedia and DBpedia URL hints are accepted only when the model explicitly returns them and they pass local domain, canonical-path, QID, and title checks; the library never constructs missing URLs. No other URL family or unique entity identifier is predicted.

Controlled type paths, keys, and tags are still validated and constructed locally. Only the bounded retrieval_metadata hints are model-predicted.

to_candidate_retrieval_profile() provides a generic query contract that can be adapted to Elasticsearch, a vector database, a knowledge-graph lookup, or another retrieval system. Keep its roles separate:

• use mention_query_signals for weighted lexical candidate recall, always retaining the original mention as the strongest surface;
• use context_keywords as soft disambiguation signals;
• use hierarchy hints as confidence-aware filters or boosts;
• treat reference_urls as optional exact lookups that still require verification.

In particular, avoid concatenating every context keyword into the mention query: that can reward labels containing the context words rather than the entity named by the mention.

For in-process candidate reranking, WikidataCandidateRanker.rank_many() accepts generic mappings and stops at max_candidates before scoring. The default and maximum are both 1,000, so an unbounded iterable cannot silently expand work. Medium-confidence hierarchy metadata uses coarse filtering with fine/specific boosts; low-confidence metadata is boost-only to protect recall.

When migrating serialized 0.8 source predictions, rebuild canonical path, key, tag, and level fields from the semantic type/facet inputs. Version 0.9 validates the unified path strictly and may reject the older three-level composite shape.

The live Cloudflare/CEA methodology, coverage comparisons, calibration caveats, and latency measurements for this release are recorded in benchmarks/RETRIEVAL_TUNING_2026-08-12.md.

Release history

See CHANGELOG.md for version details.

License

MIT