AiClient

First and foremost a big THANK YOU to Kevin Sylvestre for his gem OmniAI and Olympia for their open_router gem upon which this effort depends.

Version 0.4.0 has two changes which may break your existing application.

1. The default configuration no longer has a Logger instance. You will need to add your own instance to either the class or instance configuration using AiClient.class_config.logger = YourLogger and/or client.config.logger = YourLogger
2. The chat method now keeps a context window. The window length is defined by the configuration item context_length If you do not want to maintain a context window, set the context_length configuration item to either nil or zero.

See the change log for recent modifications.

You should also checkout the raix gem. I like the way that Obie's API is setup for callback functions. raix-rails is also available.

• Summary
• Installation
• Environment Variables for Provider Access
  • Changing Envar API Key Names
  • api_key: Parameter
  • provider: Parameter
• Usage
  • Basic Top-leve Methods
  • Utility Methods
  • Configuration
    • Default Configuration
    • Class Configuration
      • 1. Class Configuration Block
      • 2. Set by a Config File
      • 3. Supplemented by a Config File
    • Instance Configuration
      • 1. Supplement from a Constructor Block
      • 2. Supplement from a YAML File
      • 3. Load Complete Configuration from a YAML File
  • Top-level Client Methods
    • chat
      • Cpmtext
    • embed
    • speak
    • transcribe
  • Options
    • Common Options for All Methods
    • Chat-specific Options
    • Embed-specific Options
    • Speak-specific Options
    • Transcribe-specific Options
  • Advanced Prompts
  • Callback Functions (aka Tools)
    • Defining a Callback Function
  • OpenRouter Extensions and AiClient::LLM
    • Instance Methods
    • Class Methods
  • AiClient::LLM Data Table
    • Key Features
    • Class Methods
    • Instance Methods
    • Usage Example
    • Integration with ActiveHash
• Best ?? Practices
• OmniAI and OpenRouter
• The chatbot Method
• Contributing
• License

AiClient is a Ruby gem that simplifies integration with AI services by providing:

• Unified interface across multiple LLM providers
• Automatic provider detection from model names
• Context management for chat conversations
• Function calling (tools) support
• Middleware for logging, retries, and customization
• Batch processing for embeddings
• Text-to-speech and transcription
• Interactive chatbot mode

The gem supports leading providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, LocalAI, and Ollama. Whether you're building a chatbot, implementing RAG, or need speech services, AiClient handles the complexity so you can focus on your application logic.

If you are using a Gemfile and bundler in your project just install the gem by executing:

bundle add ai_client

If bundler is not being used to manage dependencies, install the gem by executing:

gem install ai_client

For fee providers require an account and provide an access token to allow the use of their LLM models. The value of these access tokens is typically saved in system environment variables or some other secure data store. AiClient has a default set of system environment variable names for these access tokens based upon the pattern of provider_api_key which can be over-ridden.

You can also configure the system environment variable names to match your on standards at the class level.

AiClient.class_config.envar_api_key_bames = {
  anthropic:    'your_envar_name',
  google:       'your_envar_name',
  mistral:      'your_envar_name',
  open_router:  'your_envar_name',
  openai:       'your_envar_name'
}

AiClient.class_config.save('path/to/file.yml')

In case you are using a different environment variable for your access token than the ones shown above you can use the api_key: parameter.

client = AiClient.new('provider/model_name', api_key: ENV['OPENROUTER_API_KEY'])

This way if you are using AiClient inside of a Rails application you can retrieve your access token from a secretes file.

To explicitly designate a provider to use with an AiClient instance use the parameter provider: :your_provider with the Symbol for the supported provider you want to use with the model you specify. The following providers are supported by the OmniAI gem upon which AiClient depends along with a few extensions.

require 'ai_client'

# Simple chat with default model
ai = AiClient.new
response = ai.chat('Hello!')

# Interactive chatbot mode
ai.chatbot('Start conversation')

# Batch embeddings
texts = ['text1', 'text2', 'text3']
embeddings = ai.batch_embed(texts)

# Text-to-speech
audio = ai.speak("Convert this to speech")

# Transcription
text = ai.transcribe("path/to/audio.mp3")

# Function calling
WeatherFunction.register
response = ai.chat("What's the weather?", tools: ['weather'])

require 'ai_client'
ai = AiClient.new # use default model and provider
ai.model    #=> 'gpt-4o' is the default
ai.provider #=> :openai  is the default
#
# To change the class defaults:
#
AiClient.default_provider       = :anthropic
AiClient.default_model[:openai] = 'gpt-4o-mini'
#
# To get an Array of models and providers
#
AiClient.models     # from open_router.ai
AiClient.providers  # from open_router.ai
#
# To get details about a specific provider/model pair:
#
AiClient.model_details('openai/gpt-4o-mini')  # from open_router.ai

You can specify which model you want to use and AiClient will use the provider associated with that model.

ai = AiClient.new('gpt-4o-mini') # sets provider to :openai
#
# If you want to use the open_router.ai service instead of
# going directly to OpenAI do it this way:
#
ai = AiClient.new('openai/gpt-4o-mini') # sets provider to :open_router

That's it. What could be simpler? If your application is using more than one model, no worries, just create multiple AiClient instances.

c1 = AiClient.new('nomic-embed-text')
c2 = AiClient.new('gpt-4o-mini')

You can also use the provider: parameter in the event that the model you want to use is available through multiple providers or that AiClient can not automatically associate the model name with a provider.

ai = AiClient.new('nomic-embed-text', provider: :ollama)

There are three levels of configuration, each inherenting from the level above. The following sections describe those configuration levels.

The file [lib/ai_client/configuration.rb] hard codes the default configuration. This is used to update the [lib/ai_client/config.yml] file during development. If you have some changes for this configuration please send me a pull request so we can all benefit from your efforts.

{
                 :logger => nil,
                :timeout => nil,
             :return_raw => false,
         :context_length => 5,
              :providers => {},
    :envar_api_key_names => {
          :anthropic => [
            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
        ],
             :google => [
            "GOOGLE_API_KEY"
        ],
            :mistral => [
            "MISTRAL_API_KEY"
        ],
        :open_router => [
            "OPEN_ROUTER_API_KEY",
            "OPENROUTER_API_KEY"
        ],
             :openai => [
            "OPENAI_API_KEY"
        ]
    },
      :provider_patterns => {
          :anthropic => /^claude/i,
             :openai => /^(gpt|chatgpt|o1|davinci|curie|babbage|ada|whisper|tts|dall-e)/i,
             :google => /^(gemini|gemma|palm)/i,
            :mistral => /^(mistral|codestral|mixtral)/i,
            :localai => /^local-/i,
             :ollama => /(llama|nomic)/i,
        :open_router => /\//
    },
       :default_provider => :openai,
          :default_model => {
          :anthropic => "claude-3-5-sonnet-20240620",
             :openai => "gpt-4o",
             :google => "gemini-pro-1.5",
            :mistral => "mistral-large",
            :localai => "llama3.2",
             :ollama => "llama3.2",
        :open_router => "auto"
    }
}

The class configuration is derived initially from the default configuration. It can be changed in three ways.

AiClient.configuration do |config|
  config.some_item = some_value
  ...
end

AiClient.class_config = AiClient::Config.load('path/to/file.yml')

AiClient.class_config.merge! AiClient::Config.load('path/to/file.yml')

All instances have a configuration. Initially that configuration is the same as the class configuration; however, each instance can have its own separate configuration. For an instance the class configuration can either be supplemented or complete over-ridden.

client = AiClient.new('super-ai-overlord-model') do |config|
  config.some_item = some_value
  ...
end

client = AiClient.new('baby-model', config: 'path/to/file.yml')

client = AiClient.new('your-model')
client.config = AiClient::Config.load('path/to/file.yml')

See the examples directory for some ideas on how to use AiClient.

The following examples are based upon the same client configuration.

AI = AiClient.new(...) do ... end

Typically chat(...) is the most used top-level. Sometimes refered to as completion. You are giving a prompt to an LLM and expecting the LLM to respond (ie. complete its transformation). If you consider the prompt to be a question, the response would be the answer. If the prompt were a task, the response would be the completion of that task.

response = AI.chat(...)

The simplest form is a string prompt. The prompt can come from anywher - a litteral, variable, or get if from a database or a file.

response = AI.chat("Is there anything simpler than this?")

The response will be a simple string or a response object based upon the setting of your config.return_raw item. If true then you get the whole shebang. If false you get just the string.

See the [Advanced Prompts] section to learn how to configure a complex prompt message.

####### Cpmtext

context_length

The context_length configuration item is used to keep the last "context_length" responses within the chat context window. If you do not want to keep a context window, you should set the value of config.context_length = 0 When you do either at the class or instance level, the chat response will be provided without the LLM knowing any prior context. If you are implementing a chat-bot, you will want it to have a context of the current conversation.

AiClient.config.context_length #=> 5
AiClient.config.context_length = 0  # Turns off the context window

Embeddings (as in 'embed additional information') is how retrial augmented generation (RAG) works - which is a deeper subject for another place. Basically when using an LLM that supports the vectorization of stuff to create embeddings you can use embed(stuff) to return the vector associated with the stuff you gave the model. This vector (an Array of Floating Points Numbers) is a mathematical representation of the stuff that can be used to compare, mathematically, one piece of stuff to a collection of stuff to find other stuff in that collection that closely resembles the stuff for which you are looking. Q: What is stuff? A: You know; its just stuff.

AI.embed(...)
response = AI.batch_embed(...)

Recommendation: Use PostgreSQL, pg_vector and the neighbor gem.

response = AI.speak("Isn't it nice to have a computer that will talk to you?")

The response will contain audio data that can be played, manipulated or saved to a file.

response = AI.transcribe(...)

The four major methods (chat, embed, speak, and transcribe) support various options that can be passed to the underlying client code. Here's a breakdown of the common options for each method:

• provider: - Specifies the AI provider to use (e.g., :openai, :anthropic, :google, :mistral, :ollama, :localai).
• model: - Specifies the model to use within the chosen provider.
• api_key: - Allows passing a specific API key, overriding the default environment variable.
• temperature: - Controls the randomness of the output (typically a float between 0 and 1).
• max_tokens: - Limits the length of the generated response.

• messages: - An array of message objects for multi-turn conversations.
• functions: - An array of available functions/tools for the model to use.
• function_call: - Specifies how the model should use functions ("auto", "none", or a specific function name).
• stream: - Boolean to enable streaming responses.

• input: - The text or array of texts to embed.
• dimensions: - The desired dimensionality of the resulting embeddings (if supported by the model).

• voice: - Specifies the voice to use for text-to-speech (provider-dependent).
• speed: - Adjusts the speaking rate (typically a float, where 1.0 is normal speed).
• format: - Specifies the audio format of the output (e.g., "mp3", "wav").

• file: - The audio file to transcribe (can be a file path or audio data).
• language: - Specifies the language of the audio (if known).
• prompt: - Provides context or specific words to aid in transcription accuracy.

Note: The availability and exact names of these options may vary depending on the specific provider and model being used. Always refer to the documentation of the chosen provider for the most up-to-date and accurate information on supported options.

In more complex application providing a simple string as your prompt is not sufficient. AiClient can take advantage of OmniAI's complex message builder.

client = AiClient.new 'some_model_name'

completion = client.chat do |prompt|
  prompt.system('You are an expert biologist with an expertise in animals.')
  prompt.user do |message|
    message.text 'What species are in the attached photos?'
    message.url('https://.../cat.jpeg', "image/jpeg")
    message.url('https://.../dog.jpeg', "image/jpeg")
    message.file('./hamster.jpeg', "image/jpeg")
  end
end

completion #=> 'The photos are of a cat, a dog, and a hamster.'

Of course if client.config.return_raw is true, the completion value will be the complete response object.

With the release of version 0.3.0, the way callback functions (also referred to as tools) are defined in the ai_client gem has undergone significant changes. This section outlines the new approach in detail. These changes are designed to create a clearer and more robust interface for developers when working with callback functions. If you encounter any issues while updating your functions, please consult the official documentation or raise an issue in the repository.

To define a callback function, you need to create a subclass of AiClient::Function. In this subclass, both the call and details methods must be implemented.

Example

Here's an example illustrating how to define a callback function using the new convention:

class WeatherFunction < AiClient::Function
  # The call class method returns a String to be used by the LLM
  def self.call(location:, unit: 'Celsius')
    "#{rand(20..50)}° #{unit} in #{location}"
  end

  # The details method must return a hash with metadata about the function.
  def self.details
    {
      name:         'weather',
      description:  "Lookup the weather in a location",
      parameters:   AiClient::Tool::Parameters.new(
        properties: {
          location: AiClient::Tool::Property.string(description: 'e.g. Toronto'),
          unit:     AiClient::Tool::Property.string(enum: %w[Celsius Fahrenheit]),
        },
        required: [:location]
      )
    }
  end
end

# Register the WeatherFunction for use.
WeatherFunction.register

# Use the *.details[:name] value to reference the tools available for
# the LLM to use in processing the prompt.
response = AI.chat("what is the weather in London", tools: ['weather'])

In this example:

• The call method is defined to accept named parameters: location and unit. The default value for unit is set to 'Celsius'.
• The details method provides metadata about the function, ensuring that the parameters section clearly indicates which parameters are required.

See the examples/tools.rb file for additional examples.

The open_router.ai API provides a service that allows you to download a JSON file containing detailed information about all of the providers and their available models. AiClient has saved an old copy of this information in the models.yml file. If you want to update this file with the latest information from open_router.ai, you must have a valid API key.

You can still use the included models.yml file with the AiClient::LLM class. The following sections describe the convenient instance and class methods that are available. See the section on AiClient::LLM for complete details.

• model_details: Retrieves details for the current model. Returns a hash containing the model's attributes or nil if not found.

client = AiClient.new('gpt-3.5-turbo')
details = client.model_details
details #=>
{
                    :id => "openai/gpt-3.5-turbo",
                  :name => "OpenAI: GPT-3.5 Turbo",
               :created => 1685232000,
           :description => "GPT-3.5 Turbo is OpenAI's fastest model. It can understand and generate natural language or code, and is optimized for chat and traditional completion tasks.\n\nTraining data up to Sep 2021.",
        :context_length => 16385,
          :architecture => {
             "modality" => "text->text",
            "tokenizer" => "GPT",
        "instruct_type" => nil
    },
               :pricing => {
            "prompt" => "0.0000005",
        "completion" => "0.0000015",
             "image" => "0",
           "request" => "0"
    },
          :top_provider => {
               "context_length" => 16385,
        "max_completion_tokens" => 4096,
                 "is_moderated" => true
    },
    :per_request_limits => {
            "prompt_tokens" => "40395633",
        "completion_tokens" => "13465211"
    }
}

• models: Retrieves model names for the current provider. Returns an array of strings with the names of the models.

models = client.models

• providers: Retrieves all available providers. Returns an array of unique symbols representing provider names.

available_providers = AiClient.providers

• models(substring = nil): Retrieves model IDs, optionally filtered by a substring.

available_models = AiClient.models('turbo')

• model_details(model_id): Retrieves details for a specific model using its ID. Accepts a string representing the model ID. Returns a hash containing the model's attributes or nil if not found.

model_info = AiClient.model_details('openai/gpt-3.5-turbo')

• reset_llm_data: Resets the LLM data with the available ORC models. Returns void.

AiClient.reset_llm_data

AiClient makes use of the active_hash to provide an ActiveRecord-like capability within its AiClient::LLM class. This class provides database-like access to the models.yml YAML file. Using the AiClient::LLM class you have access to details on the models maintained and available through the open_router.ai service. With an API key for OpenRouter you cab update your local copy of the models.yml file.

• Model and Provider Extraction:
  • The class provides methods to extract the model name and provider from the LLM's ID.
  • The model method returns the model ID derived from the ID.
  • The provider method extracts the provider name as a Symbol.

• reset_llm_data:
  • A class-level method that fetches the latest model data from the open_router.ai service and updates the models.yml file accordingly.

• model:
  • Returns the name of the model derived from the LLM's ID.

llm_instance = AiClient::LLM.find('openai/gpt-3.5-turbo')
puts llm_instance.model # Output: gpt-3.5-turbo

• provider:
  • Returns the name of the provider associated with the LLM's ID.

llm_instance = AiClient::LLM.find('openai/gpt-3.5-turbo')
puts llm_instance.provider # Output: :openai

The AiClient::LLM class is predominantly used to interact with different providers of LLMs. By utilizing the model and provider methods, users can seamlessly retrieve and utilize models in their applications.

llm_instance = AiClient::LLM.find('google/bard')
puts "Model: #{llm_instance.model}, Provider: #{llm_instance.provider}"

The AiClient::LLM class inherits from ActiveHash::Base, which provides an easy way to define a set of data and allows for lookups and easy manipulation of the data structure. The use of ActiveHash makes it easier to manage the LLM data effectively without needing a full database.

If you are going to be using one model for multiple purposes in different parts of your application you can assign the instance of AiClient to a constant so that the same client can be used everywhere.

AI = AiClient.new 'gpt-4o'
...
AI.chat "do something with this #{stuff}"
...
AI.speak "warning  Will Robinson! #{bad_things_happened}"
...

Using the constant for the instance allows you to reference the same client instance inside any method through out your application. Of course it does not apply to only one instance. You could assign multiple instances for different models/providers. For example you could have AI for your primary client and AIbackup for a fallback client in case you have a problem on the primary; or, maybe Vectorizer as a client name tied to a model specializing in embedding vectorization.

Both OmniAI and OpenRouter have similar goals - to provide a common interface to multiple providers and LLMs. OmniAI is a Ruby gem that supports specific providers directly using a common-ish API. You incur costs directly from those providers for which you have individual API keys (aka access tokens.) OpenRouter, on the other hand, is a web service that also establishes a common API for many providers and models; however, OpenRouter adds a small fee on top of the fee charged by those providers. You trade off cost for flexibility. With OpenRouter you only need one API key (OPEN_ROUTER_API_KEY) to access all of its supported services.

The advantage of AiClient is that you have the added flexibility to choose on a client by client bases where you want your model to be processed. You get free local processing through Ollama and LocalAI. You get less costly direct access to some providers via OmniAI. You get slightly more costly wide-spread access via OpenRouter

Just for grins I added a chatbot instance method. Try this out in IRB:

require 'ai_client'
ai = AiClient.new
ai.chatbot

I can sure use your help. This industry is moving faster than I can keep up with. If you have a bug fix or new feature idea then have at it. Send me a pull request so we all can benefit from your efforts.

If you only have time to report a bug, that's fine. Just create an issue in this repo.

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.