home / skills / jeremylongshore / claude-code-plugins-plus-skills / langchain-hello-world

This skill helps you create and test minimal LangChain integrations by guiding setup, prompts, and chains with a hello world example.

npx playbooks add skill jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills --skill langchain-hello-world

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SKILL.md
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---
name: langchain-hello-world
description: |
  Create a minimal working LangChain example.
  Use when starting a new LangChain integration, testing your setup,
  or learning basic LangChain patterns with chains and prompts.
  Trigger with phrases like "langchain hello world", "langchain example",
  "langchain quick start", "simple langchain code", "first langchain app".
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <[email protected]>
---

# LangChain Hello World

## Overview
Minimal working example demonstrating core LangChain functionality with chains and prompts.

## Prerequisites
- Completed `langchain-install-auth` setup
- Valid LLM provider API credentials configured
- Python 3.9+ or Node.js 18+ environment ready

## Instructions

### Step 1: Create Entry File
Create a new file `hello_langchain.py` for your hello world example.

### Step 2: Import and Initialize
```python
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
from langchain_core.prompts import ChatPromptTemplate

llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o-mini")
```

### Step 3: Create Your First Chain
```python
from langchain_core.output_parsers import StrOutputParser

prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_messages([
    ("system", "You are a helpful assistant."),
    ("user", "{input}")
])

chain = prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()

response = chain.invoke({"input": "Hello, LangChain!"})
print(response)
```

## Output
- Working Python file with LangChain chain
- Successful LLM response confirming connection
- Console output showing:
```
Hello! I'm your LangChain-powered assistant. How can I help you today?
```

## Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| Import Error | SDK not installed | Run `pip install langchain langchain-openai` |
| Auth Error | Invalid credentials | Check environment variable is set |
| Timeout | Network issues | Increase timeout or check connectivity |
| Rate Limit | Too many requests | Wait and retry with exponential backoff |
| Model Not Found | Invalid model name | Check available models in provider docs |

## Examples

### Simple Chain (Python)
```python
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
from langchain_core.prompts import ChatPromptTemplate
from langchain_core.output_parsers import StrOutputParser

llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o-mini")
prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template("Tell me a joke about {topic}")
chain = prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()

result = chain.invoke({"topic": "programming"})
print(result)
```

### With Memory (Python)
```python
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
from langchain_core.prompts import ChatPromptTemplate, MessagesPlaceholder
from langchain_core.messages import HumanMessage, AIMessage

llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o-mini")
prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_messages([
    ("system", "You are a helpful assistant."),
    MessagesPlaceholder(variable_name="history"),
    ("user", "{input}")
])

chain = prompt | llm

history = []
response = chain.invoke({"input": "Hi!", "history": history})
print(response.content)
```

### TypeScript Example
```typescript
import { ChatOpenAI } from "@langchain/openai";
import { ChatPromptTemplate } from "@langchain/core/prompts";
import { StringOutputParser } from "@langchain/core/output_parsers";

const llm = new ChatOpenAI({ modelName: "gpt-4o-mini" });
const prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.fromTemplate("Tell me about {topic}");
const chain = prompt.pipe(llm).pipe(new StringOutputParser());

const result = await chain.invoke({ topic: "LangChain" });
console.log(result);
```

## Resources
- [LangChain LCEL Guide](https://python.langchain.com/docs/concepts/lcel/)
- [Prompt Templates](https://python.langchain.com/docs/concepts/prompt_templates/)
- [Output Parsers](https://python.langchain.com/docs/concepts/output_parsers/)

## Next Steps
Proceed to `langchain-local-dev-loop` for development workflow setup.

Overview

This skill provides a minimal working LangChain example that demonstrates core patterns: prompts, chains, and basic memory. It helps you create a quick Python (and TypeScript reference) hello-world to verify environment, credentials, and basic chain composition. Use it to validate your LangChain integration and get a runnable sample in minutes.

How this skill works

The skill shows how to initialize an LLM client, build a ChatPromptTemplate, and pipe the prompt into the LLM and a simple output parser to produce a string response. It includes both a minimal Python chain and a TypeScript equivalent, plus an example of adding ephemeral conversation memory. The examples are executable: run the file to confirm the LLM responds and to surface common setup errors.

When to use it

  • Starting a new LangChain integration and you need a working baseline.
  • Verifying provider credentials, network connectivity, and model availability.
  • Learning chain composition, prompt templates, and simple output parsing.
  • Testing local development setup or CI job that needs an LLM smoke test.
  • Creating a minimal reproducible example to share when troubleshooting.

Best practices

  • Ensure API credentials are set and the correct environment variables are configured before running examples.
  • Use a lightweight model for quick smoke tests to avoid rate limits and high cost.
  • Wrap calls with timeout and exponential backoff to handle transient network or rate errors.
  • Start with a simple output parser (string) and add structured parsers only when needed.
  • Keep system prompt and user prompt templates concise and test variations iteratively.

Example use cases

  • Run a quick hello-world Python script to confirm langchain and provider SDKs are installed and working.
  • Demonstrate prompt-to-LLM chaining in a new project or onboarding tutorial.
  • Validate local dev loop and iterate on prompt templates before integrating into production chains.
  • Build a minimal reproducible sample to attach to a bug report when encountering import or auth errors.

FAQ

What are common errors and how do I fix them?

Import errors indicate missing SDKs—install langchain and the provider package. Auth errors mean invalid or missing credentials—check environment variables. Timeouts and rate limits require retries, increased timeouts, or using a smaller model.

Which Python version is required?

Use Python 3.9 or newer to run the provided examples reliably.

Can I use memory in the example?

Yes. The example includes a simple history placeholder pattern you can pass a list to so the chain can consider prior messages.