Pipecat's conversation flow system allows you to create structured, multi-turn conversations by defining your flow in JSON and processing it through the FlowManager. The system treats conversations as a series of connected nodes, where each node represents a distinct state with specific behaviors and options.

Pipecat Flows is comprised of:

• A python module for building conversation flows with Pipecat
• A visual editor for visualizing conversations and exporting into flow_configs

To learn more about building with Pipecat Flows, check out the guide.

Pipecat Flows Package

A Python package for managing conversation flows in Pipecat applications.

Installation

If you're already using Pipecat:

pip install pipecat-ai-flows

If you're starting fresh:

# Basic installation
pip install pipecat-ai-flows

# Install Pipecat with required options
# For example, to use Daily, OpenAI, and Deepgram:
pip install "pipecat-ai[daily, openai,deepgram]"

Learn more about the available options with Pipecat.

Basic Usage

from pipecat_flows import FlowManager  # When developing with the repository
# or
from pipecat.flows import FlowManager  # When installed via pip

# Initialize context and tools
initial_tools = flow_config["nodes"]["start"]["functions"]  # Available functions for starting state
context = OpenAILLMContext(messages, initial_tools)        # Create LLM context with initial state
context_aggregator = llm.create_context_aggregator(context)

# Create your pipeline: No new processors are required
pipeline = Pipeline(
    [
        transport.input(),               # Transport user input
        stt,                             # STT
        context_aggregator.user(),  # User responses
        llm,                             # LLM
        tts,                             # TTS
        transport.output(),              # Transport bot output
        context_aggregator.assistant(),  # Assistant spoken responses
    ]
)

# Create the Pipecat task
task = PipelineTask(pipeline, PipelineParams(allow_interruptions=True))

# Initialize flow management
flow_manager = FlowManager(flow_config, task, llm, tts)  # Create flow manager

# Initialize with starting messages
@transport.event_handler("on_first_participant_joined")
async def on_first_participant_joined(transport, participant):
    await transport.capture_participant_transcription(participant["id"])
    # Initialize the flow processor
    await flow_manager.initialize(messages)
    # Kick off the conversation using the context aggregator
    await task.queue_frames([context_aggregator.user().get_context_frame()])

Running Examples

The repository includes several complete example implementations in the examples/ directory:

• food_ordering.py - A restaurant order flow demonstrating node and edge functions
• movie_booking.py - A movie ticket booking system with date-based branching
• movie_explorer.py - Movie information bot demonstrating real API integration with TMDB
• movie_explorer_anthropic.py - The movie_explorer.py example but using an Anthropic LLM
• movie_explorer_gemini.py - The movie_explorer.py example but using a Google Gemini LLM
• patient_intake.py - A medical intake system showing complex state management
• restaurant_reservation.py - A reservation system with availability checking
• travel_planner.py - A vacation planning assistant with parallel paths
• travel_planner_gemini.py - The travel_planner.py example but using a Google Gemini LLM

Each LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) has slightly different function calling formats, but Pipecat Flows handles these differences internally while maintaining a consistent API for developers.

To run these examples:

1. Setup Virtual Environment (recommended):

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate

2. Installation:

   Install the package in development mode:

   pip install -e .

   Install Pipecat with required options for examples:

   pip install "pipecat-ai[daily,openai,deepgram,silero,examples]"

   If you're running Google or Anthropic examples, you will need to update the installed options. For example:

   # Install Google Gemini
   pip install "pipecat-ai[daily,google,deepgram,silero,examples]"
   # Install Anthropic
   pip install "pipecat-ai[daily,anthropic,deepgram,silero,examples]"

3. Configuration:

   Copy env.example to .env in the examples directory:

   cp env.example .env

   Add your API keys and configuration:

   • DEEPGRAM_API_KEY
   • OPENAI_API_KEY
   • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
   • DAILY_API_KEY

   Looking for a Daily API key and room URL? Sign up on the Daily Dashboard.

4. Running:

   python examples/food_ordering.py -u YOUR_DAILY_ROOM_URL

Running Tests

The package includes a comprehensive test suite covering the core functionality.

Setup Test Environment

1. Create Virtual Environment:

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

2. Install Test Dependencies:

   pip install -r dev-requirements.txt -r test-requirements.txt
   pip install "pipecat-ai[google,openai,anthropic]"
   pip install -e .

Running Tests

Run all tests:

pytest tests/

Run specific test file:

pytest tests/test_state.py

Run specific test:

pytest tests/test_state.py -k test_initialization

Run with coverage report:

pytest tests/ --cov=pipecat_flows

Pipecat Flows Editor

A visual editor for creating and managing Pipecat conversation flows.

Features

• Visual flow creation and editing
• Import/export of flow configurations
• Support for node and edge functions
• Merge node support for complex flows
• Real-time validation

Naming Conventions

While the underlying system is flexible with node naming, the editor follows these conventions for clarity:

• Start Node: Named after your initial conversation state (e.g., "greeting", "welcome")
• End Node: Conventionally named "end" for clarity, though other names are supported
• Flow Nodes: Named to reflect their purpose in the conversation (e.g., "get_time", "confirm_order")

These conventions help maintain readable and maintainable flows while preserving technical flexibility.

Online Editor

The editor is available online at flows.pipecat.ai.

Local Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm (v6 or higher)

Installation

Clone the repository

git clone [email protected]:pipecat-ai/pipecat-flows.git

Navigate to project directory

cd pipecat-flows/editor

Install dependencies

npm install

Start development server

npm run dev

Open the page in your browser: http://localhost:5173.

Usage

1. Create a new flow using the toolbar buttons
2. Add nodes by right-clicking in the canvas
   • Start nodes can have descriptive names (e.g., "greeting")
   • End nodes are conventionally named "end"
3. Connect nodes by dragging from outputs to inputs
4. Edit node properties in the side panel
5. Export your flow configuration using the toolbar

Examples

The editor/examples/ directory contains sample flow configurations:

• food_ordering.json
• movie_booking.json
• movie_explorer.py
• patient_intake.json
• restaurant_reservation.json
• travel_planner.json

To use an example:

1. Open the editor
2. Click "Import Flow"
3. Select an example JSON file

See the examples directory for the complete files and documentation.

Development

Available Scripts

• npm start - Start production server
• npm run dev - Start development server
• npm run build - Build for production
• npm run preview - Preview production build locally
• npm run preview:prod - Preview production build with base path
• npm run lint - Check for linting issues
• npm run lint:fix - Fix linting issues
• npm run format - Format code with Prettier
• npm run format:check - Check code formatting
• npm run docs - Generate documentation
• npm run docs:serve - Serve documentation locally

Documentation

The Pipecat Flows Editor project uses JSDoc for documentation. To generate and view the documentation:

Generate documentation:

npm run docs

Serve documentation locally:

npm run docs:serve

View in browser by opening: http://localhost:8080

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Whether you're fixing bugs, improving documentation, or adding new features, here's how you can help:

• Found a bug? Open an issue
• Have a feature idea? Start a discussion
• Want to contribute code? Check our CONTRIBUTING.md guide
• Documentation improvements? Docs PRs are always welcome

Before submitting a pull request, please check existing issues and PRs to avoid duplicates.

We aim to review all contributions promptly and provide constructive feedback to help get your changes merged.

Getting help

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➡️ Pipecat Flows Guide

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