PipelineConfig¶

Overview¶

PipelineConfig is a type-safe configuration class built with Pydantic that provides validation, defaults, and IDE autocomplete for pipeline configuration.

Key Features: - Type validation - Default values - IDE autocomplete - Validation errors - Convenience methods

Basic Usage¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# Create configuration
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    backend="llm",
    inference="remote"
)

# Run pipeline
run_pipeline(config)

Constructor Parameters¶

Required Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`source`	`str \| Path`	Path to source document
`template`	`str \| Type[BaseModel]`	Pydantic template (dotted path or class)

Core Settings¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`backend`	`Literal["llm", "vlm"]`	`"llm"`	Backend type
`inference`	`Literal["local", "remote"]`	`"local"`	Inference mode
`processing_mode`	`Literal["one-to-one", "many-to-one"]`	`"many-to-one"`	Processing strategy

Docling Settings¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`docling_config`	`Literal["ocr", "vision"]`	`"ocr"`	Docling pipeline type

Model Overrides¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`model_override`	`str \| None`	`None`	Override model name
`provider_override`	`str \| None`	`None`	Override provider name

Custom LLM Client¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`llm_client`	`LLMClientProtocol \\| None`	`None`	Custom LLM client instance. When set, the pipeline uses this client for all LLM calls and does not initialize a provider/model from config. Use this to target a custom inference URL, on-prem endpoint, or any client implementing `get_json_response(prompt, schema_json) -> dict \| list`.

Usage: Pass any object that implements LLMClientProtocol (e.g. a LiteLLM-backed client with a custom base_url). See LLM Clients — Custom LLM Clients for a full example.

from docling_graph import PipelineConfig, run_pipeline

# Your custom client (must implement get_json_response(prompt, schema_json))
custom_client = MyLiteLLMEndpointClient(base_url="https://...", model="openai/...")

config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    backend="llm",
    llm_client=custom_client,
)
run_pipeline(config)  # or config.run()

Extraction Settings¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`use_chunking`	`bool`	`True`	Enable document chunking
`llm_consolidation`	`bool`	`False`	Enable LLM consolidation
`max_batch_size`	`int`	`1`	Maximum batch size

Debug Settings¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`debug`	`bool`	`False`	Enable debug mode to save all intermediate extraction artifacts

Export Settings¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`dump_to_disk`	`bool \| None`	`None`	Control file exports. `None`=auto (CLI=True, API=False), `True`=always, `False`=never
`export_format`	`Literal["csv", "cypher"]`	`"csv"`	Export format
`export_docling`	`bool`	`True`	Export Docling outputs
`export_docling_json`	`bool`	`True`	Export Docling JSON
`export_markdown`	`bool`	`True`	Export markdown
`export_per_page_markdown`	`bool`	`False`	Export per-page markdown

Graph Settings¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`reverse_edges`	`bool`	`False`	Create bidirectional edges

Output Settings¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`output_dir`	`str \| Path`	`"outputs"`	Output directory path

Models Configuration¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`models`	`ModelsConfig`	Default models	Models configuration

Methods¶

run()¶

Execute the pipeline with this configuration.

from docling_graph import run_pipeline

config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument"
)

# Returns PipelineContext with results
context = run_pipeline(config)
graph = context.knowledge_graph

Returns: PipelineContext - Contains knowledge graph, Pydantic model, and other results

Raises: PipelineError, ConfigurationError, ExtractionError

Accessing pipeline return values

Use run_pipeline(config) instead of config.run() to access return values.

to_dict()¶

Convert configuration to dictionary format.

config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument"
)

config_dict = config.to_dict()
print(config_dict)
# {
#     "source": "document.pdf",
#     "template": "templates.BillingDocument",
#     "backend": "llm",
#     ...
# }

Returns: Dict[str, Any]

Complete Examples¶

📍 Minimal Config (API Mode)¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# Only required parameters - no file exports by default
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="invoice.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument"
)

# Returns data in memory
context = run_pipeline(config)
graph = context.knowledge_graph
invoice = context.pydantic_model

📍 Debug Mode Enabled¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# Enable debug mode for troubleshooting
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    debug=True,  # Save all intermediate artifacts
    dump_to_disk=True,  # Also save final outputs
    output_dir="outputs/debug_run"
)

context = run_pipeline(config)

# Debug artifacts available at:
# outputs/debug_run/document_pdf_20260206_094500/debug/
print(f"Debug artifacts saved to: {context.output_dir}/debug/")

Output Settings¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`output_dir`	`str \| Path`	`"outputs"`	Output directory path

📍 Minimal Config With File Exports¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# Enable file exports
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="invoice.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    dump_to_disk=True,
    output_dir="outputs/invoice"
)

# Returns data AND writes files
context = run_pipeline(config)

📍 Remote LLM¶

import os
from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# Set API key
os.environ["MISTRAL_API_KEY"] = "your-key"

# Configure for remote inference
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="research.pdf",
    template="templates.ScholarlyRheologyPaper",
    backend="llm",
    inference="remote",
    provider_override="mistral",
    model_override="mistral-large-latest",
    processing_mode="many-to-one",
    use_chunking=True,
    llm_consolidation=True
)

run_pipeline(config)

📍 Local VLM¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# VLM for form extraction
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="form.jpg",
    template="templates.IDCard",
    backend="vlm",
    inference="local",  # VLM only supports local
    processing_mode="one-to-one",
    docling_config="vision"
)

run_pipeline(config)

📍 Template as Class¶

from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# Define template inline
class Invoice(BaseModel):
    """Invoice template."""
    invoice_number: str = Field(description="Invoice number")
    total: float = Field(description="Total amount")

# Pass class directly
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="invoice.pdf",
    template=Invoice  # Class instead of string
)

run_pipeline(config)

📍 Custom Models Configuration¶

from docling_graph import LLMConfig, ModelConfig, ModelsConfig, PipelineConfig, run_pipeline

# Custom models configuration
models = ModelsConfig(
    llm=LLMConfig(
        remote=ModelConfig(
            model="gpt-4o",
            provider="openai"
        )
    )
)

config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    backend="llm",
    inference="remote",
    models=models
)

run_pipeline(config)

For full registry and override details, see docs/usage/api/llm-model-config.md.

Validation¶

Automatic Validation¶

PipelineConfig validates parameters at creation:

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# This raises ValidationError
try:
    config = PipelineConfig(
        source="document.pdf",
        template="templates.BillingDocument",
        backend="invalid"  # Invalid value
    )
except ValueError as e:
    print(f"Validation error: {e}")

VLM Constraints¶

VLM backend only supports local inference:

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# This raises ValidationError
try:
    config = PipelineConfig(
        source="document.pdf",
        template="templates.BillingDocument",
        backend="vlm",
        inference="remote"  # Not allowed for VLM
    )
except ValueError as e:
    print(f"VLM only supports local inference: {e}")

Type Safety Benefits¶

IDE Autocomplete¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    backend="llm",  # IDE suggests: "llm" | "vlm"
    inference="remote",  # IDE suggests: "local" | "remote"
    processing_mode="many-to-one"  # IDE suggests valid options
)

Type Checking¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# mypy will catch this error
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    use_chunking="yes"  # Error: expected bool, got str
)

Advanced Usage¶

Programmatic Configuration¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig
from pathlib import Path

def create_config(source: str, template: str, use_remote: bool = False):
    """Factory function for creating configurations."""
    return PipelineConfig(
        source=source,
        template=template,
        backend="llm",
        inference="remote" if use_remote else "local",
        provider_override="mistral" if use_remote else "ollama"
    )

# Use factory
config = create_config("document.pdf", "templates.BillingDocument", use_remote=True)
run_pipeline(config)

Configuration Templates¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

# Base configuration
BASE_CONFIG = {
    "backend": "llm",
    "inference": "remote",
    "provider_override": "mistral",
    "use_chunking": True,
    "llm_consolidation": False
}

# Create specific configurations
def process_invoice(source: str):
    config = PipelineConfig(
        source=source,
        template="templates.BillingDocument",
        **BASE_CONFIG
    )
    run_pipeline(config)

def process_research(source: str):
    config = PipelineConfig(
        source=source,
        template="templates.ScholarlyRheologyPaper",
        **BASE_CONFIG,
        llm_consolidation=True  # Override for research
    )
    run_pipeline(config)

Dynamic Configuration¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig
from pathlib import Path

def smart_config(source: str) -> PipelineConfig:
    """Create configuration based on document characteristics."""
    path = Path(source)
    file_size = path.stat().st_size

    # Choose settings based on file size
    if file_size < 1_000_000:  # < 1MB
        use_chunking = False
        processing = "one-to-one"
    else:
        use_chunking = True
        processing = "many-to-one"

    # Choose backend based on extension
    if path.suffix.lower() in ['.jpg', '.png']:
        backend = "vlm"
    else:
        backend = "llm"

    return PipelineConfig(
        source=source,
        template="templates.BillingDocument",
        backend=backend,
        processing_mode=processing,
        use_chunking=use_chunking
    )

# Use smart configuration
config = smart_config("document.pdf")
run_pipeline(config)

Configuration Patterns¶

Pattern 1: Environment-Based Configuration¶

import os
from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

def get_config(source: str, template: str) -> PipelineConfig:
    """Get configuration based on environment."""
    env = os.getenv("ENVIRONMENT", "development")

    if env == "production":
        return PipelineConfig(
            source=source,
            template=template,
            backend="llm",
            inference="remote",
            provider_override="mistral",
            model_override="mistral-large-latest",
            llm_consolidation=True
        )
    else:
        return PipelineConfig(
            source=source,
            template=template,
            backend="llm",
            inference="local",
            provider_override="ollama",
            llm_consolidation=False
        )

config = get_config("document.pdf", "templates.BillingDocument")
run_pipeline(config)

Pattern 2: Configuration Builder¶

from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

class ConfigBuilder:
    """Builder pattern for PipelineConfig."""

    def __init__(self, source: str, template: str):
        self.config_dict = {
            "source": source,
            "template": template
        }

    def with_remote_llm(self, provider: str, model: str):
        self.config_dict.update({
            "backend": "llm",
            "inference": "remote",
            "provider_override": provider,
            "model_override": model
        })
        return self

    def with_chunking(self, enabled: bool = True):
        self.config_dict["use_chunking"] = enabled
        return self

    def with_consolidation(self, enabled: bool = True):
        self.config_dict["llm_consolidation"] = enabled
        return self

    def build(self) -> PipelineConfig:
        return PipelineConfig(**self.config_dict)

# Use builder
config = (ConfigBuilder("document.pdf", "templates.BillingDocument")
    .with_remote_llm("mistral", "mistral-large-latest")
    .with_chunking(True)
    .with_consolidation(True)
    .build())

run_pipeline(config)

Best Practices¶

👍 Use Type-Safe Configuration¶

# ✅ Good - Type-safe with validation
from docling_graph import run_pipeline, PipelineConfig

config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    backend="llm"  # Validated at creation
)

# ❌ Avoid - Dictionary without validation
config = {
    "source": "document.pdf",
    "template": "templates.BillingDocument",
    "backend": "invalid"  # No validation
}

👍 Use Defaults When Possible¶

# ✅ Good - Rely on sensible defaults
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument"
    # Uses default backend, inference, etc.
)

# ❌ Avoid - Specifying every parameter
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    backend="llm",
    inference="local",
    processing_mode="many-to-one",
    use_chunking=True,
    # ... all defaults
)

Troubleshooting¶

🐛 Validation Error¶

Error:

ValidationError: 1 validation error for PipelineConfig
backend
  Input should be 'llm' or 'vlm'

Solution:

# Use valid values
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="document.pdf",
    template="templates.BillingDocument",
    backend="llm"  # Valid: "llm" or "vlm"
)

🐛 VLM Remote Inference¶

Error:

ValueError: VLM backend currently only supports local inference

Solution:

# VLM only supports local
config = PipelineConfig(
    source="form.jpg",
    template="templates.IDCard",
    backend="vlm",
    inference="local"  # Must be local for VLM
)

Next Steps¶

Programmatic Examples → - More code examples
Batch Processing → - Batch patterns
API Reference → - Complete API docs