dspy-ruby

DSPy.rb Expert

Overview

DSPy.rb is a Ruby framework that enables developers to program LLMs, not prompt them. Instead of manually crafting prompts, define application requirements through type-safe, composable modules that can be tested, optimized, and version-controlled like regular code.

This skill provides comprehensive guidance on:

• Creating type-safe signatures for LLM operations
• Building composable modules and workflows
• Configuring multiple LLM providers
• Implementing agents with tools
• Testing and optimizing LLM applications
• Production deployment patterns

Core Capabilities

1. Type-Safe Signatures

Create input/output contracts for LLM operations with runtime type checking.

When to use: Defining any LLM task, from simple classification to complex analysis.

Quick reference:

class EmailClassificationSignature < DSPy::Signature
  description "Classify customer support emails"

  input do
    const :email_subject, String
    const :email_body, String
  end

  output do
    const :category, T.enum(["Technical", "Billing", "General"])
    const :priority, T.enum(["Low", "Medium", "High"])
  end
end

Templates: See assets/signature-template.rb for comprehensive examples including:

• Basic signatures with multiple field types
• Vision signatures for multimodal tasks
• Sentiment analysis signatures
• Code generation signatures

Best practices:

• Always provide clear, specific descriptions
• Use enums for constrained outputs
• Include field descriptions with desc: parameter
• Prefer specific types over generic String when possible

Full documentation: See references/core-concepts.md sections on Signatures and Type Safety.

2. Composable Modules

Build reusable, chainable modules that encapsulate LLM operations.

When to use: Implementing any LLM-powered feature, especially complex multi-step workflows.

Quick reference:

class EmailProcessor < DSPy::Module
  def initialize
    super
    @classifier = DSPy::Predict.new(EmailClassificationSignature)
  end

  def forward(email_subject:, email_body:)
    @classifier.forward(
      email_subject: email_subject,
      email_body: email_body
    )
  end
end