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Circuit Breaker Pattern in Python for LLM API Calls
Implements a circuit breaker class that wraps LLM client calls to fail fast when the service is degrading, then recover automatically after a timeout.
import time
class CircuitBreaker:
def __init__(self, failure_threshold=3, recovery_timeout=5):
self.failure_threshold = failure_threshold
self.recovery_timeout = recovery_timeout
self.failure_count = 0
self.state = "closed"
self.last_failure_time = None
def call(self, …
How to Build a Data Helper for LLM Prompts in Python
A beginner-friendly helper class that flattens nested dictionaries, formats prompt templates, and safely parses JSON for AI/LLM pipelines.
import json
from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
class DataHelper:
"""Simple helper class for working with data in AI/LLM pipelines."""
def __init__(self, data: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None) -> None:
self.data = data or {}
def flatten(self, prefix: str = "") -> Dict[str, Any]…
How to Detect Prompt Injection in Python
Implements a regex-based heuristic in Python to flag common prompt injection attempts before sending input to an LLM.
import re
def contains_prompt_injection(user_input: str) -> bool:
# Directives to ignore previous instructions or act as system
ignore_patterns = [
r"\bignore\s+(all\s+)?previous\s+instructions\b",
r"\bdisregard\s+(all\s+)?previous\s+instructions\b",
r"\bdon'?t\s+follow\s+(any\s+)?inst…
How to Repair Malformed JSON Braces Heuristically in Python
Heuristically fix malformed JSON by balancing braces and quotes, using a stack-based approach to add missing closing characters.
import json
import re
def repair_json(text: str) -> str:
"""Heuristically repair malformed JSON by balancing braces and quotes."""
# Trim whitespace and handle leading/trailing garbage
text = text.strip()
# Remove common non-JSON decorations
text = re.sub(r'^(
How to Retry LLM Calls on Rate Limit Errors in Python
Implement a retry mechanism with exponential backoff for LLM API calls that raises a custom RateLimitError, using a mock function to demonstrate the pattern.
import time
import random
def mock_llm_call():
"""Simulates an LLM API call that may raise a rate limit error."""
if random.random() < 0.4: # 40% chance of rate limit
raise RateLimitError("Rate limit exceeded. Try again later.")
return {"response": "Hello world from mock LLM"}
class RateLimitE…
How to cache embeddings with a Python dict to avoid recomputation
Caches embeddings computed from text in a dictionary keyed by SHA-256 hash, returning cached results for repeated calls.
import hashlib
import time
class EmbeddingCache:
def __init__(self):
self.cache = {}
def _hash_text(self, text):
return hashlib.sha256(text.encode()).hexdigest()
def get_embedding(self, text, compute_func):
key = self._hash_text(text)
if key not in self.cache:
…
How to implement exponential backoff for LLM API calls in Python
A decorator that retries flaky LLM API calls with exponential delay, using a mock client to demonstrate the pattern.
import time
import random
class MockLLM:
def call(self, prompt):
if random.random() < 0.7: # 70% chance of transient failure
raise ConnectionError("API unavailable")
return f"LLM response for: {prompt}"
def with_exponential_backoff(max_retries=5, base_delay=0.1):
def decorator(fu…
How to parallel map embeddings with a thread pool in Python
Run embedding computations in parallel using ThreadPoolExecutor, collect results into a dict keyed by the original item.
import threading
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
import time
def compute_embedding(item: int) -> tuple[int, int]:
time.sleep(0.05) # Simulate embedding work
return item, item * 10
def parallel_map_embed(items, max_workers=3):
results = {}
with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=max_w…
Parse ReAct Logs into Thought Action Observation Steps in Python
Parse a ReAct agent's textual log into structured steps with thought, action, and observation using regex and named tuples.
import re
from collections import namedtuple
ReActStep = namedtuple("ReActStep", ["thought", "action", "observation"])
def parse_react_log(log: str) -> list[ReActStep]:
"""Parse a ReAct log into structured thought/action/observation steps."""
pattern = re.compile(
r"Thought:\s*(?P<thought>.+?)\s*"
…
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