Data & Message

In Langflow, the Data and Message objects serve as structured, functional representations of data that enhance the capabilities and reliability of the platform.

The Data Object

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The Data object is a Pydantic model that serves as a container for storing and manipulating data. It carries data—a dictionary that can be accessed as attributes—and uses text_key to specify which key in the dictionary should be considered the primary text content.

• Main Attributes:
  • text_key: Specifies the key to retrieve the primary text data.
  • data: A dictionary to store additional data.
  • default_value: default value when the text_key is not present in the data dictionary.

Creating a Data Object

You can create a Data object by directly assigning key-value pairs to it. For example:

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from langflow.schema import Data

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# Creating a Data object with specified key-value pairs

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data = Data(text="my_string", bar=3, foo="another_string")

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# Outputs:

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print(data.text) # Outputs: "my_string"

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print(data.bar) # Outputs: 3

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print(data.foo) # Outputs: "another_string"

The text_key specifies which key in the data dictionary should be considered the primary text content. The default_value provides a fallback if the text_key is not present.

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# Creating a Data object with a specific text_key and default_value

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data = Data(data={"title": "Hello, World!"}, text_key="content", default_value="No content available")

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# Accessing the primary text using text_key and default_value

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print(data.get_text()) # Outputs: "No content available" because "content" key is not in the data dictionary

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# Accessing data keys by calling the attribute directly

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print(data.title) # Outputs: "Hello, World!" because "title" key is in the data dictionary

The Data object is also convenient for visualization of outputs, since the output preview has visual elements to inspect data as a table and its cells as pop ups for basic types. The idea is to create a unified way to work and visualize complex information in Langflow.

To receive Data objects in a component input, you can use the DataInput input type.

The Message Object

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The Message object extends the functionality of Data and includes additional attributes and methods for chat interactions.

• Main Attributes:
  • text_key: Key to retrieve the primary text data.
  • text: The main text content of the message.
  • sender: Identifier for the sender (e.g., "User" or "AI").
  • sender_name: Name of the sender.
  • files: List of files associated with the message.
  • session_id: Identifier for the chat session.
  • timestamp: Timestamp when the message was created.
  • flow_id: Identifier for the flow.

The Message object can be used to send, store and manipulate chat messages within Langflow. You can create a Message object by directly assigning key-value pairs to it. For example:

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from langflow.schema.message import Message

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message = Message(text="Hello, AI!", sender="User", sender_name="John Doe")

To receive Message objects in a component input, you can use the MessageInput input type or MessageTextInput when the goal is to extract just the text field of the Message object.