Kailash Core SDK - Foundational Skills

Comprehensive guide to Kailash Core SDK fundamentals for workflow automation and integration.

Features

The Core SDK provides the foundational building blocks for creating custom workflows with fine-grained control:

• •110+ Workflow Nodes: Pre-built nodes for AI, API, database, file operations, logic, and more
• •WorkflowBuilder API: String-based workflow construction with type safety
• •Dual Runtime Support: AsyncLocalRuntime (Docker/FastAPI) and LocalRuntime (CLI/scripts)
• •Advanced Patterns: Cyclic workflows, conditional execution, error handling
• •MCP Integration: Built-in Model Context Protocol support
• •Parameter Passing: Flexible data flow between nodes
• •Zero Configuration: Auto-detection of runtime context
• •Production Ready: Enterprise features including monitoring, validation, and debugging

Quick Start

from kailash.workflow.builder import WorkflowBuilder
from kailash.runtime.local import LocalRuntime

workflow = WorkflowBuilder()
workflow.add_node("NodeName", "id", {"param": "value"})
runtime = LocalRuntime()
results, run_id = runtime.execute(workflow.build())

Reference Documentation

Getting Started

• •workflow-quickstart - Create basic workflows with WorkflowBuilder
• •kailash-installation - Installation and setup guide
• •kailash-imports - Import patterns and module organization

Core Patterns

• •node-patterns-common - Common node usage patterns
• •connection-patterns - Linking nodes and data flow
• •param-passing-quick - Parameter passing strategies
• •runtime-execution - Executing workflows (sync/async)

Advanced Topics

• •async-workflow-patterns - Asynchronous workflow execution
• •cycle-workflows-basics - Cyclic workflow patterns
• •error-handling-patterns - Error management strategies
• •switchnode-patterns - Conditional routing with SwitchNode
• •pythoncode-best-practices - PythonCode node best practices
• •mcp-integration-guide - Model Context Protocol integration

Key Concepts

WorkflowBuilder Pattern

• •String-based node API: workflow.add_node("NodeName", "id", {})
• •Always call .build() before execution
• •Never workflow.execute(runtime) - always runtime.execute(workflow.build())

Runtime Selection

• •AsyncLocalRuntime: For Docker/FastAPI (async contexts) - async-first, no threading, 10-100x faster
• •LocalRuntime: For CLI/scripts (sync contexts) - synchronous execution with thread support
• •get_runtime(): Auto-detection helper that selects appropriate runtime based on context

Both runtimes return identical structure: (results, run_id) tuple.

Runtime Architecture

Both LocalRuntime and AsyncLocalRuntime inherit from BaseRuntime with shared capabilities:

BaseRuntime Foundation:

• •29 configuration parameters (debug, enable_cycles, conditional_execution, connection_validation, etc.)
• •Execution metadata management
• •Common initialization and validation modes (strict, warn, off)

Shared Mixins:

• •CycleExecutionMixin: Cyclic workflow execution with validation
• •ValidationMixin: Workflow structure validation (5 methods)
• •ConditionalExecutionMixin: Conditional execution and branching with SwitchNode support

AsyncLocalRuntime-Specific:

• •WorkflowAnalyzer for optimal execution strategy
• •Level-based parallelism for concurrent execution
• •Thread pool for sync nodes without blocking
• •Semaphore control to prevent resource exhaustion

Critical Rules

• •✅ ALWAYS: runtime.execute(workflow.build())
• •✅ String-based nodes: workflow.add_node("NodeName", "id", {})
• •✅ 4-parameter connections: (source_id, source_param, target_id, target_param)
• •✅ Docker/FastAPI: Use AsyncLocalRuntime (mandatory)
• •✅ CLI/Scripts: Use LocalRuntime
• •❌ NEVER: workflow.execute(runtime)
• •❌ NEVER: Instance-based nodes
• •❌ NEVER: Use LocalRuntime in Docker (causes hangs)

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• •Create custom workflows from scratch
• •Understand workflow fundamentals
• •Learn node patterns and connections
• •Set up runtime execution
• •Handle errors in workflows
• •Implement cyclic or async patterns
• •Integrate with MCP
• •Get started with Kailash SDK

Related Skills

• •02-dataflow - Database operations framework built on Core SDK
• •03-nexus - Multi-channel platform framework built on Core SDK
• •04-kaizen - AI agent framework built on Core SDK
• •06-cheatsheets - Quick reference patterns
• •08-nodes-reference - Complete node reference
• •09-workflow-patterns - Industry workflow templates
• •17-gold-standards - Mandatory best practices

Support

For complex workflows or debugging, invoke:

• •pattern-expert - Workflow patterns and cyclic debugging
• •sdk-navigator - Find specific nodes or patterns
• •testing-specialist - Test workflow implementations