Langchain Orchestration

LangChain Orchestration Skill

Complete guide for building production-grade LLM applications with LangChain, covering chains, agents, memory, RAG patterns, and advanced orchestration techniques.

Table of Contents

1. Core Concepts
2. Chains
3. Agents
4. Memory Systems
5. RAG Patterns
6. LLM Integrations
7. Callbacks & Monitoring
8. Retrieval Strategies
9. Streaming
10. Error Handling
11. Production Best Practices

Core Concepts

LangChain Expression Language (LCEL)

LCEL is the declarative way to compose chains in LangChain, enabling streaming, async, and parallel execution.

from langchain_core.runnables import RunnablePassthrough
from langchain_core.prompts import ChatPromptTemplate
from langchain_core.output_parsers import StrOutputParser
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI

# Basic LCEL chain
prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template("Tell me about {topic}")
llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o-mini", temperature=0)
output_parser = StrOutputParser()

chain = prompt | llm | output_parser
result = chain.invoke({"topic": "quantum computing"})

Runnable Interface

Every component in LangChain implements the Runnable interface with standard methods:

from langchain_core.runnables import RunnablePassthrough

# Key methods: invoke, stream, batch, ainvoke, astream, abatch
chain = prompt | llm | output_parser

# Synchronous invoke
result = chain.invoke({"topic": "AI"})

# Streaming
for chunk in chain.stream({"topic": "AI"}):
    print(chunk, end="", flush=True)

# Batch processing
results = chain.batch([{"topic": "AI"}, {"topic": "ML"}])

# Async variants
result = await chain.ainvoke({"topic": "AI"})

RunnablePassthrough

Pass inputs directly through or apply transformations:

from langchain_core.runnables import RunnablePassthrough

# Pass through unchanged
chain = RunnablePassthrough() | llm | output_parser

# With transformation
def add_context(x):
    return {"text": x["input"], "context": "important"}

chain = RunnablePassthrough.assign(processed=add_context) | llm

Chains

Sequential Chains

Process data through multiple steps sequentially.

from langchain_core.prompts import ChatPromptTemplate
from langchain_core.output_parsers import StrOutputParser
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI

llm = ChatOpenAI(temperature=0)

# Step 1: Generate ideas
idea_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Generate 3 creative ideas for: {topic}"
)
idea_chain = idea_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()

# Step 2: Evaluate ideas
eval_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Evaluate these ideas and pick the best one:\n{ideas}"
)
eval_chain = eval_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()

# Combine into sequential chain
sequential_chain = (
    {"ideas": idea_chain}
    | RunnablePassthrough.assign(evaluation=eval_chain)
)

result = sequential_chain.invoke({"topic": "mobile app"})

Map-Reduce Chains

Process multiple inputs in parallel and combine results.

from langchain_core.runnables import RunnableParallel
from langchain_core.prompts import ChatPromptTemplate

# Define parallel processing
summary_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Summarize this text in one sentence: {text}"
)
keywords_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Extract 3 keywords from: {text}"
)
sentiment_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Analyze sentiment (positive/negative/neutral): {text}"
)

# Map: Process in parallel
map_chain = RunnableParallel(
    summary=summary_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser(),
    keywords=keywords_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser(),
    sentiment=sentiment_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()
)

# Reduce: Combine results
reduce_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    """Combine the analysis:
    Summary: {summary}
    Keywords: {keywords}
    Sentiment: {sentiment}

    Provide a comprehensive report:"""
)

map_reduce_chain = map_chain | reduce_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()

result = map_reduce_chain.invoke({
    "text": "LangChain is an amazing framework for building LLM applications."
})

Router Chains

Route inputs to different chains based on conditions.

from langchain_core.prompts import ChatPromptTemplate
from langchain_core.output_parsers import StrOutputParser

# Define specialized chains
technical_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Provide a technical explanation of: {query}"
)
simple_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Explain in simple terms: {query}"
)

technical_chain = technical_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()
simple_chain = simple_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()

# Router function
def route_query(input_dict):
    query = input_dict["query"]
    complexity = input_dict.get("complexity", "simple")

    if complexity == "technical":
        return technical_chain
    return simple_chain

# Create router chain
from langchain_core.runnables import RunnableLambda

router_chain = RunnableLambda(route_query)

# Use the router
result = router_chain.invoke({
    "query": "quantum entanglement",
    "complexity": "technical"
})

Conditional Chains

Execute chains based on conditions.

from langchain_core.runnables import RunnableBranch

# Define condition-based routing
classification_prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Classify this as 'question', 'statement', or 'command': {text}"
)

question_handler = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Answer this question: {text}"
) | llm | StrOutputParser()

statement_handler = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Acknowledge this statement: {text}"
) | llm | StrOutputParser()

command_handler = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    "Execute this command: {text}"
) | llm | StrOutputParser()

# Create conditional branch
branch = RunnableBranch(
    (lambda x: "question" in x["type"].lower(), question_handler),
    (lambda x: "statement" in x["type"].lower(), statement_handler),
    command_handler  # default
)

# Full chain with classification
full_chain = (
    {"text": RunnablePassthrough(), "type": classification_prompt | llm | StrOutputParser()}
    | branch
)

LLMChain (Legacy)

Traditional chain format still supported:

from langchain.chains import LLMChain
from langchain_core.prompts import PromptTemplate

prompt = PromptTemplate(
    input_variables=["product"],
    template="What is a good name for a company that makes {product}?"
)

chain = LLMChain(llm=llm, prompt=prompt)
result = chain.run(product="eco-friendly water bottles")

Stuff Documents Chain

Combine documents into a single context:

from langchain.chains.combine_documents import create_stuff_documents_chain
from langchain_core.documents import Document

prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.from_template(
    """Answer based on the following context:

<context>
{context}
</context>

Question: {input}"""
)

document_chain = create_stuff_documents_chain(llm, prompt)

docs = [
    Document(page_content="LangChain supports multiple LLM providers."),
    Document(page_content="Chains can be composed using LCEL.")
]

result = document_chain.invoke({
    "input": "What does LangChain support?",
    "context": docs
})

Agents

ReAct Agents

Reasoning and Acting agents that use tools iteratively.

from langchain.agents import create_react_agent, AgentExecutor
from langchain_core.tools import Tool
from langchain import hub

# Define tools
def search_tool(query: str) -> str:
    """Search for information"""
    return f"Search results for: {query}"

def calculator_tool(expression: str) -> str:
    """Calculate mathematical expressions"""
    try:
        return str(eval(expression))
    except:
        return "Invalid expression"

tools = [
    Tool(
        name="Search",
        func=search_tool,