needlepath-langchain 0.1.0__tar.gz

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+ .venv/
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+ dist/
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+ build/
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+ *.egg-info/
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+ __pycache__/
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+ node_modules/
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+ *.tsbuildinfo
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+ Metadata-Version: 2.4
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+ Name: needlepath-langchain
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+ Version: 0.1.0
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+ Summary: Needlepath context selection for LangChain agents (AgentMiddleware) and LangGraph.
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+ Project-URL: Homepage, https://nextmoca.com
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+ Author: Next Moca Global, Inc.
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+ License-Expression: Apache-2.0
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+ License-File: LICENSE
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+ Keywords: agents,context,langchain,langgraph,middleware,needlepath
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+ Classifier: Development Status :: 3 - Alpha
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+ Classifier: Intended Audience :: Developers
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+ Classifier: License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License
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+ Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3
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+ Classifier: Typing :: Typed
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+ Requires-Python: >=3.10
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+ Requires-Dist: langchain<2.0.0,>=1.2.9
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+ Requires-Dist: needlepath<1.0.0,>=0.1.0
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+ Provides-Extra: dev
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+ Requires-Dist: mypy>=1.8; extra == 'dev'
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+ Requires-Dist: pytest-asyncio>=0.23; extra == 'dev'
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+ Requires-Dist: pytest>=7; extra == 'dev'
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+ Requires-Dist: ruff>=0.5; extra == 'dev'
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+ Description-Content-Type: text/markdown
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+
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+ # `needlepath-langchain`
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+
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+ Needlepath context selection for LangChain agents — and, in this same package,
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+ the LangGraph recipe.
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+
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+ ```bash
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+ pip install needlepath-langchain
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+ ```
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+
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+ ## One line
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+
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+ ```python
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+ from langchain.agents import create_agent
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+ from needlepath_langchain import NeedlepathMiddleware
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+
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+ agent = create_agent(
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+ model,
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+ tools,
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+ middleware=[NeedlepathMiddleware(operating_point="np-2026-07-r2")],
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+ )
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+ ```
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+
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+ The key comes from `NEEDLEPATH_API_KEY`, the operating point is pinned
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+ explicitly, and if the service is slow, down, or stands down, the agent runs on
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+ its original context and says so in message metadata.
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+
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+ ## The two seams
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+
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+ ### `wrap_tool_call` — the sweet spot
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+
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+ The only documented, first-class, mutate-the-tool-result seam in the ecosystem.
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+ A tool returns 40 KB of JSON; what enters the message list is the part of it that
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+ answers the current step.
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+
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+ Engages only when a single tool result exceeds `tool_result_max_tokens` (default
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+ 2000), which is also the budget. Below it, no call is made and nothing is
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+ touched.
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+
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+ ### `wrap_model_call` — selection over the accumulated history
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+
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+ Before every model call, the tool results already in the history are selected
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+ against the *current* task. A result that mattered three steps ago and does not
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+ matter now collapses to a placeholder; the one that matters is excerpted
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+ verbatim. Engages only when the prunable history exceeds `history_max_tokens`
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+ (default 8000).
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+
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+ Non-destructive by construction: `request.override(messages=…)` returns a new
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+ request and never touches `request.state`, so the graph keeps the full history
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+ and only the model sees the selection.
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+
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+ Both seams are on by default and independently switchable
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+ (`select_tool_results=`, `select_history=`).
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+
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+ ## Configuration
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+
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+ | Parameter | Default | What it does |
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+ |---|---|---|
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+ | `operating_point` | — | **Required.** Immutable label. Also `NEEDLEPATH_OPERATING_POINT`. |
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+ | `shadow` | `False` | Measure and report; never apply. |
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+ | `enabled` | `True` | Kill switch. Needs no credentials when `False`. |
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+ | `select_tool_results` / `select_history` | `True` | The two seams. |
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+ | `tool_result_max_tokens` | `2000` | Trigger *and* budget for one tool result. |
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+ | `history_max_tokens` | `8000` | Trigger *and* budget for the history. |
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+ | `preserve_recent` | `2` | Trailing messages never rewritten. |
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+ | `include_ai_messages` / `include_human_messages` | `False` | Widen beyond tool results. |
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+ | `placeholder` | see source | Replaces an unselected tool result. |
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+ | `name` | class name | **Must be unique** if you register two instances. |
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+
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+ Any other keyword is forwarded to the core client (`base_url`, `api_key`,
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+ `timeout`, `max_retries`, …).
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+
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+ ## Two invariants, and why they cost tokens
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+
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+ **A message is never removed, only rewritten.** LangGraph's
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+ `_validate_chat_history` raises when an `AIMessage` carrying `tool_calls` loses
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+ its matching `ToolMessage`, and every provider rejects the same shape:
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+
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+ ```
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+ ValueError: Found AIMessages with tool_calls that do not have a corresponding ToolMessage.
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+ ```
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+
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+ A selector that drops messages has to reason about tool-call pairing on every
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+ path and get it right every time. One that only rewrites content in place cannot
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+ break the pairing at all — the message objects, their ids and their
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+ `tool_call_id`s are exactly what they were. We take the second option and give up
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+ the savings from deleting message envelopes.
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+
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+ **A rewrite never grows a message and never empties one.** An excerpt longer than
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+ what it replaces, or an empty excerpt applied to a non-empty message, is refused
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+ here rather than trusted upstream.
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+
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+ By default only `ToolMessage`s are rewritten. `SystemMessage` never is, on any
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+ setting. An `AIMessage` carrying `tool_calls` never is: its content is usually
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+ empty and the part that matters is the call list.
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+
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+ ## Fail open
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+
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+ Every error path passes the original context through, with the reason recorded in
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+ `response_metadata["needlepath"]`:
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+
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+ ```python
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+ {
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+ "applied": False,
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+ "reason": "engine_fallback",
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+ "request_id": "np-…",
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+ "tokens_before": 8400,
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+ "tokens_saved": 0,
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+ "gate_reason": "standdown:flat_gap",
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+ }
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+ ```
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+
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+ `reason` is an open enum. Treat an unrecognized value as "not applied".
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+
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+ `middleware.stats.as_dict()` aggregates the same counters — the input to a
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+ shadow report.
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+
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+ ## Sync **and** async
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+
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+ Both variants of both hooks are implemented, and that is not optional:
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+ `create_agent` puts a middleware in *both* the sync and async hook lists if it
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+ implements *either*, specifically so the base class's `NotImplementedError`
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+ fires. A middleware that implements only the sync hooks raises under `ainvoke()`.
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+
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+ If you pass your own `client=` without an `async_client=`, the async hooks run it
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+ on the default executor rather than blocking the event loop.
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+
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+ ## Lifecycle
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+
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+ A middleware is normally wired up once and lives as long as the agent, so you
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+ never need to close it. If you construct one per request or per test, call
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+ `middleware.close()` / `await middleware.aclose()` to release the connection
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+ pools. Clients you passed in with `client=` / `async_client=` are yours and are
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+ never closed for you.
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+
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+ ## LangGraph
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+
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+ Same package, not a second distribution.
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+
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+ ```python
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+ from langgraph.prebuilt import create_react_agent
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+ from needlepath_langchain.langgraph import needlepath_pre_model_hook
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+
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+ agent = create_react_agent(
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+ model,
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+ tools,
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+ pre_model_hook=needlepath_pre_model_hook(operating_point="np-2026-07-r2"),
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+ )
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+ ```
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+
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+ **Prefer `create_agent` + `NeedlepathMiddleware` if you can.** `pre_model_hook`
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+ exists only on `create_react_agent`, which is deprecated since LangGraph v1.0 and
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+ slated for removal in v2.0.
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+
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+ | Mechanism | Graph state | Verdict |
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+ |---|---|---|
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+ | `RemoveMessage` → `add_messages` | **destroys** the removed messages | incompatible with selection |
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+ | `pre_model_hook` → `llm_input_messages` | `messages` untouched | compatible |
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+ | `create_agent` + `wrap_model_call` | nothing written at all | **preferred** |
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+
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+ `add_messages` is the only writer of the `messages` channel and its removal path
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+ physically drops entries. Once it runs, they are gone from the live thread and
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+ every checkpoint after it. That is a *history compaction* primitive — what
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+ `SummarizationMiddleware` uses it for — not a *selection* primitive. Selection is
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+ per-call by definition: the record that does not matter at step 7 may be the one
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+ that matters at step 9.
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+
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+ ### Four sharp edges, all handled
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+
193
+ 1. **`llm_input_messages` is a persisted channel, not a transient.** It lands in
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+ the checkpoint, so every turn adds a full copy of the selection to the
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+ checkpoint blob. Real storage on long threads.
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+ 2. **Stale-selection leak.** It is a `LastValue` channel that survives between
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+ `invoke()` calls. A hook that *conditionally* skips writing it silently reuses
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+ the previous turn's selection. This hook writes it **unconditionally, every
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+ pass**.
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+ 3. **An empty selection silently degrades to the full history.** The reader does
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+ `state.get("llm_input_messages") or state.get("messages")`, and `[]` is falsy.
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+ This hook never emits an empty list.
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+ 4. **`_validate_chat_history` runs on your selection.** Covered by the
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+ never-remove-a-message invariant above.
205
+
206
+ ### One caveat this package cannot fix
207
+
208
+ With `response_format` on `create_react_agent`, the structured-output node reads
209
+ `state["messages"]` directly and does **not** consult `llm_input_messages`. That
210
+ call sees the full history, not your selection. Price your savings accordingly.
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+
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+ ## Positioning
213
+
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+ LangChain ships `ContextEditingMiddleware` with a `ClearToolUsesEdit` strategy
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+ in-tree and free, which clears the oldest tool results once a token trigger
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+ trips. This is not a competitor to "can something prune tool results" — it is a
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+ different answer to *which bytes should survive*. We select verbatim against the
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+ current task rather than clearing by age, stand down when trimming would not pay,
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+ and report what was actually saved.
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+
221
+ If clearing by age is enough for your workload, use the free one.
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+
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+ ## Tested against
224
+
225
+ `langchain==1.3.14`, `langchain-core==1.5.3`, `langgraph==1.2.10`. Floor
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+ `>=1.2.9` (the first release where `ToolCallRequest`, `ModelCallResult` and
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+ `ExtendedModelResponse` are all importable from the public
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+ `langchain.agents.middleware` package and `ModelRequest.system_message` is
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+ stable). Capped at `<2.0.0`; CI runs against the newest 1.x minor.
@@ -0,0 +1,205 @@
1
+ # `needlepath-langchain`
2
+
3
+ Needlepath context selection for LangChain agents — and, in this same package,
4
+ the LangGraph recipe.
5
+
6
+ ```bash
7
+ pip install needlepath-langchain
8
+ ```
9
+
10
+ ## One line
11
+
12
+ ```python
13
+ from langchain.agents import create_agent
14
+ from needlepath_langchain import NeedlepathMiddleware
15
+
16
+ agent = create_agent(
17
+ model,
18
+ tools,
19
+ middleware=[NeedlepathMiddleware(operating_point="np-2026-07-r2")],
20
+ )
21
+ ```
22
+
23
+ The key comes from `NEEDLEPATH_API_KEY`, the operating point is pinned
24
+ explicitly, and if the service is slow, down, or stands down, the agent runs on
25
+ its original context and says so in message metadata.
26
+
27
+ ## The two seams
28
+
29
+ ### `wrap_tool_call` — the sweet spot
30
+
31
+ The only documented, first-class, mutate-the-tool-result seam in the ecosystem.
32
+ A tool returns 40 KB of JSON; what enters the message list is the part of it that
33
+ answers the current step.
34
+
35
+ Engages only when a single tool result exceeds `tool_result_max_tokens` (default
36
+ 2000), which is also the budget. Below it, no call is made and nothing is
37
+ touched.
38
+
39
+ ### `wrap_model_call` — selection over the accumulated history
40
+
41
+ Before every model call, the tool results already in the history are selected
42
+ against the *current* task. A result that mattered three steps ago and does not
43
+ matter now collapses to a placeholder; the one that matters is excerpted
44
+ verbatim. Engages only when the prunable history exceeds `history_max_tokens`
45
+ (default 8000).
46
+
47
+ Non-destructive by construction: `request.override(messages=…)` returns a new
48
+ request and never touches `request.state`, so the graph keeps the full history
49
+ and only the model sees the selection.
50
+
51
+ Both seams are on by default and independently switchable
52
+ (`select_tool_results=`, `select_history=`).
53
+
54
+ ## Configuration
55
+
56
+ | Parameter | Default | What it does |
57
+ |---|---|---|
58
+ | `operating_point` | — | **Required.** Immutable label. Also `NEEDLEPATH_OPERATING_POINT`. |
59
+ | `shadow` | `False` | Measure and report; never apply. |
60
+ | `enabled` | `True` | Kill switch. Needs no credentials when `False`. |
61
+ | `select_tool_results` / `select_history` | `True` | The two seams. |
62
+ | `tool_result_max_tokens` | `2000` | Trigger *and* budget for one tool result. |
63
+ | `history_max_tokens` | `8000` | Trigger *and* budget for the history. |
64
+ | `preserve_recent` | `2` | Trailing messages never rewritten. |
65
+ | `include_ai_messages` / `include_human_messages` | `False` | Widen beyond tool results. |
66
+ | `placeholder` | see source | Replaces an unselected tool result. |
67
+ | `name` | class name | **Must be unique** if you register two instances. |
68
+
69
+ Any other keyword is forwarded to the core client (`base_url`, `api_key`,
70
+ `timeout`, `max_retries`, …).
71
+
72
+ ## Two invariants, and why they cost tokens
73
+
74
+ **A message is never removed, only rewritten.** LangGraph's
75
+ `_validate_chat_history` raises when an `AIMessage` carrying `tool_calls` loses
76
+ its matching `ToolMessage`, and every provider rejects the same shape:
77
+
78
+ ```
79
+ ValueError: Found AIMessages with tool_calls that do not have a corresponding ToolMessage.
80
+ ```
81
+
82
+ A selector that drops messages has to reason about tool-call pairing on every
83
+ path and get it right every time. One that only rewrites content in place cannot
84
+ break the pairing at all — the message objects, their ids and their
85
+ `tool_call_id`s are exactly what they were. We take the second option and give up
86
+ the savings from deleting message envelopes.
87
+
88
+ **A rewrite never grows a message and never empties one.** An excerpt longer than
89
+ what it replaces, or an empty excerpt applied to a non-empty message, is refused
90
+ here rather than trusted upstream.
91
+
92
+ By default only `ToolMessage`s are rewritten. `SystemMessage` never is, on any
93
+ setting. An `AIMessage` carrying `tool_calls` never is: its content is usually
94
+ empty and the part that matters is the call list.
95
+
96
+ ## Fail open
97
+
98
+ Every error path passes the original context through, with the reason recorded in
99
+ `response_metadata["needlepath"]`:
100
+
101
+ ```python
102
+ {
103
+ "applied": False,
104
+ "reason": "engine_fallback",
105
+ "request_id": "np-…",
106
+ "tokens_before": 8400,
107
+ "tokens_saved": 0,
108
+ "gate_reason": "standdown:flat_gap",
109
+ }
110
+ ```
111
+
112
+ `reason` is an open enum. Treat an unrecognized value as "not applied".
113
+
114
+ `middleware.stats.as_dict()` aggregates the same counters — the input to a
115
+ shadow report.
116
+
117
+ ## Sync **and** async
118
+
119
+ Both variants of both hooks are implemented, and that is not optional:
120
+ `create_agent` puts a middleware in *both* the sync and async hook lists if it
121
+ implements *either*, specifically so the base class's `NotImplementedError`
122
+ fires. A middleware that implements only the sync hooks raises under `ainvoke()`.
123
+
124
+ If you pass your own `client=` without an `async_client=`, the async hooks run it
125
+ on the default executor rather than blocking the event loop.
126
+
127
+ ## Lifecycle
128
+
129
+ A middleware is normally wired up once and lives as long as the agent, so you
130
+ never need to close it. If you construct one per request or per test, call
131
+ `middleware.close()` / `await middleware.aclose()` to release the connection
132
+ pools. Clients you passed in with `client=` / `async_client=` are yours and are
133
+ never closed for you.
134
+
135
+ ## LangGraph
136
+
137
+ Same package, not a second distribution.
138
+
139
+ ```python
140
+ from langgraph.prebuilt import create_react_agent
141
+ from needlepath_langchain.langgraph import needlepath_pre_model_hook
142
+
143
+ agent = create_react_agent(
144
+ model,
145
+ tools,
146
+ pre_model_hook=needlepath_pre_model_hook(operating_point="np-2026-07-r2"),
147
+ )
148
+ ```
149
+
150
+ **Prefer `create_agent` + `NeedlepathMiddleware` if you can.** `pre_model_hook`
151
+ exists only on `create_react_agent`, which is deprecated since LangGraph v1.0 and
152
+ slated for removal in v2.0.
153
+
154
+ | Mechanism | Graph state | Verdict |
155
+ |---|---|---|
156
+ | `RemoveMessage` → `add_messages` | **destroys** the removed messages | incompatible with selection |
157
+ | `pre_model_hook` → `llm_input_messages` | `messages` untouched | compatible |
158
+ | `create_agent` + `wrap_model_call` | nothing written at all | **preferred** |
159
+
160
+ `add_messages` is the only writer of the `messages` channel and its removal path
161
+ physically drops entries. Once it runs, they are gone from the live thread and
162
+ every checkpoint after it. That is a *history compaction* primitive — what
163
+ `SummarizationMiddleware` uses it for — not a *selection* primitive. Selection is
164
+ per-call by definition: the record that does not matter at step 7 may be the one
165
+ that matters at step 9.
166
+
167
+ ### Four sharp edges, all handled
168
+
169
+ 1. **`llm_input_messages` is a persisted channel, not a transient.** It lands in
170
+ the checkpoint, so every turn adds a full copy of the selection to the
171
+ checkpoint blob. Real storage on long threads.
172
+ 2. **Stale-selection leak.** It is a `LastValue` channel that survives between
173
+ `invoke()` calls. A hook that *conditionally* skips writing it silently reuses
174
+ the previous turn's selection. This hook writes it **unconditionally, every
175
+ pass**.
176
+ 3. **An empty selection silently degrades to the full history.** The reader does
177
+ `state.get("llm_input_messages") or state.get("messages")`, and `[]` is falsy.
178
+ This hook never emits an empty list.
179
+ 4. **`_validate_chat_history` runs on your selection.** Covered by the
180
+ never-remove-a-message invariant above.
181
+
182
+ ### One caveat this package cannot fix
183
+
184
+ With `response_format` on `create_react_agent`, the structured-output node reads
185
+ `state["messages"]` directly and does **not** consult `llm_input_messages`. That
186
+ call sees the full history, not your selection. Price your savings accordingly.
187
+
188
+ ## Positioning
189
+
190
+ LangChain ships `ContextEditingMiddleware` with a `ClearToolUsesEdit` strategy
191
+ in-tree and free, which clears the oldest tool results once a token trigger
192
+ trips. This is not a competitor to "can something prune tool results" — it is a
193
+ different answer to *which bytes should survive*. We select verbatim against the
194
+ current task rather than clearing by age, stand down when trimming would not pay,
195
+ and report what was actually saved.
196
+
197
+ If clearing by age is enough for your workload, use the free one.
198
+
199
+ ## Tested against
200
+
201
+ `langchain==1.3.14`, `langchain-core==1.5.3`, `langgraph==1.2.10`. Floor
202
+ `>=1.2.9` (the first release where `ToolCallRequest`, `ModelCallResult` and
203
+ `ExtendedModelResponse` are all importable from the public
204
+ `langchain.agents.middleware` package and `ModelRequest.system_message` is
205
+ stable). Capped at `<2.0.0`; CI runs against the newest 1.x minor.