DSPy is a framework for algorithmically optimizing language model prompts and weights. Portkey’s integration with DSPy makes your DSPy pipelines production-ready with detailed insights on costs & performance metrics for each run, and also makes your existing DSPy code work across 250+ LLMs.

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Getting Started

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Installation

pip install dspy-ai==2.4.14  # Use Version 2.4.14 or higher
pip install portkey-ai

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Setting up

Portkey extends the existing OpenAI client in DSPy and makes it work with 250+ LLMs and gives you detailed cost insights. Just change api_base and add Portkey related headers in the default_headers param.
Grab your Portkey API key from here.
import os
from portkey_ai import PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL, createHeaders
import dspy

# Set up your Portkey client
turbo = dspy.OpenAI(
    api_base=PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL + "/",
    model='gpt-4o',
    max_tokens=250,
    api_key="YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY", # Enter Your OpenAI key
    model_type="chat",
    default_headers=createHeaders(
        api_key="YOUR_PORTKEY_API_KEY", # Enter Your Portkey API Key
        metadata={'_user': "dspy"},
        provider="openai"
    )
)

# Configure DSPy to use the Portkey-enabled client
dspy.settings.configure(lm=turbo)
🎉 Voila! that’s all you need to do integrate Portkey with DSPy. Let’s try making our first request.

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Let’s make your first Request

Here’s a simple Google Colab notebook that demonstrates DSPy with Portkey integration Open In Colab 
import dspy

# Set up the Portkey-enabled client (as shown in the Getting Started section)

class QA(dspy.Signature):
    """Given the question, generate the answer"""
    question = dspy.InputField(desc="User's question")
    answer = dspy.OutputField(desc="often between 1 and 3 words")

dspy.settings.configure(lm=turbo)

predict = dspy.Predict(QA)

# Make a prediction
prediction = predict(question="Who won the Golden Boot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup?")
print(prediction.answer)
When you make a request using Portkey with DSPy, you can view detailed information about the request in the Portkey dashboard. Here’s what you’ll see:
Portkey Dashboard
  • Request Details: Information about the specific request, including the model used, input, and output.
  • Metrics: Performance metrics such as latency, token usage, and cost.
  • Logs: Detailed logs of the request, including any errors or warnings.
  • Traces: A visual representation of the request flow, especially useful for complex DSPy modules.

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Portkey Features with DSPy

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1. Interoperability

Portkey’s Unified API enables you to easily switch between 250+ language models. This includes the LLMs that are not natively integrated with DSPy. Here’s how you can modify your DSPy setup to use Claude from Gpt-4 model: 
# OpenAI setup
turbo = dspy.OpenAI(
    api_base=PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL + "/",
    model='gpt-4o',
    api_key="YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY", # Enter your OpenAI API key
    model_type="chat",
    default_headers=createHeaders(
        api_key="YOUR_PORTKEY_API_KEY",
        metadata={'_user': "dspy"},
        provider="openai"
    )
)
dspy.settings.configure(lm=turbo)

# Anthropic setup
turbo = dspy.OpenAI(
    api_base=PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL + "/",
    model='claude-3-opus-20240229',  # Change the model name from Gpt-4 to claude
    api_key="YOUR_Anthropic_API_KEY", # Enter your Anthropic API key
    model_type="chat",
    default_headers=createHeaders(
        api_key="YOUR_PORTKEY_API_KEY",
        metadata={'_user': "dspy"}, # Enter any key-value pair for filtering logs
        trace_id="test_dspy_trace", 
        provider="anthropic" # Change your provider, you can find the provider slug in Portkey's docs
    )
)
dspy.settings.configure(lm=turbo)

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2. Logs and Traces

Portkey provides detailed tracing for each request. This is especially useful for complex DSPy modules with multiple LLM calls. You can view these traces in the Portkey dashboard to understand the flow of your DSPy application.
DSPy Traces

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3. Metrics

Portkey’s Observability suite helps you track key metrics like cost and token usage, which is crucial for managing the high cost of DSPy. The observability dashboard helps you track 40+ key metrics, giving you detailed insights into your DSPy run.
Portkey Metrics Dashboard

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4. Caching

Caching can significantly reduce these costs by storing frequently used data and responses. While DSPy has built-in simple caching, Portkey also offers advanced semantic caching to help you save more time and money. Just modify your Portkey config as shown below and pass it with the config key in the default_headers param: 
config={ "cache": { "mode": "semantic" } }

turbo = dspy.OpenAI(
    api_base=PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL + "/",
    model='gpt-4o',
    api_key="YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY", # Enter your OpenAI API key
    model_type="chat",
    default_headers=createHeaders(
        api_key="YOUR_PORTKEY_API_KEY",
        metadata={'_user': "dspy"},
        provider="openai",
        config=config
    )
)
dspy.settings.configure(lm=turbo)

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5. Reliability

Portkey offers built-in fallbacks between different LLMs or providers, load-balancing across multiple instances or API keys, and implementing automatic retries and request timeouts. This makes your DSPy more reliable and resilient. Similar to caching example above, just define your Config and pass it with the Config key in the default_headers param. 
{
  "retry": {
    "attempts": 5
  },
  "strategy": {
    "mode": "loadbalance" // Choose between "loadbalance" or "fallback"
  },
  "targets": [
    {
      "provider": "openai",
      "api_key": "OpenAI_API_Key"
    },
    {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "api_key": "Anthropic_API_Key"
    }
  ]
}

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6. Virtual Keys

Securely store your LLM API keys in Portkey vault and get a disposable virtual key with custom budget limits. Add your API key in Portkey UI here to get a virtual key, and pass it in your request like this: 
turbo = dspy.OpenAI(
    api_base=PORTKEY_GATEWAY_URL + "/",
    model='gpt-4o',
    api_key="xx",
    model_type="chat",
    default_headers=createHeaders(
        api_key="YOUR_PORTKEY_API_KEY",
        virtual_key="MY_OPENAI_VIRTUAL_KEY"
    )
)
dspy.settings.configure(lm=turbo)

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Advanced Examples

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Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system

Make your RAG prompts better with Portkey x DSPy Open In Colab

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Troubleshoot - Missing LLM Calls in Traces