gh-nickth3man-claude-market/skills/pocketflow/assets/COOKBOOK_GUIDE.md

PocketFlow Cookbook Guide

Complete guide to the 47 real-world examples from the official PocketFlow cookbook.

Source: https://github.com/The-Pocket/PocketFlow/tree/main/cookbook

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📚 Included Examples (6 Complete Implementations)

This skill includes 6 fully-functional cookbook examples in assets/examples/:

1. Chat Bot (☆☆☆ Dummy)

File: 01_chat.py

Interactive chat with conversation history.

• Self-looping node for continuous interaction
• Message history management
• Graceful exit handling

Run it:

cd assets/examples/
python 01_chat.py

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2. Article Writing Workflow (☆☆☆ Dummy)

File: 02_workflow.py

Multi-step content creation pipeline.

• Generate outline
• Write draft
• Refine and polish

Run it:

python 02_workflow.py "Your Topic Here"

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3. Research Agent (☆☆☆ Dummy)

File: 03_agent.py

Agent with web search and decision-making.

• Dynamic action selection
• Branching logic (search vs answer)
• Iterative research loop

Run it:

python 03_agent.py "Who won the Nobel Prize 2024?"

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4. RAG System (☆☆☆ Dummy)

File: 04_rag.py

Complete retrieval-augmented generation.

• Offline: Document embedding and indexing
• Online: Query processing and answer generation
• Context-based responses

Run it:

python 04_rag.py --"How to install PocketFlow?"

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5. Structured Output Parser (☆☆☆ Dummy)

File: 05_structured_output.py

Resume parser with YAML output.

• Structured LLM responses
• Schema validation
• Skill matching with indexes

Run it:

python 05_structured_output.py

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6. Multi-Agent Game (★☆☆ Beginner)

File: 06_multi_agent.py

Two async agents playing Taboo.

• Async message queues
• Inter-agent communication
• Game logic with termination

Run it:

python 06_multi_agent.py

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🗺️ Full Cookbook Index (47 Examples)

Dummy Level (☆☆☆) - Foundational Patterns

Example	Description	Included
Chat	Basic chat bot with history	✅ 01_chat.py
Structured Output	Extract data with YAML	✅ 05_structured_output.py
Workflow	Multi-step article writing	✅ 02_workflow.py
Agent	Research agent with search	✅ 03_agent.py
RAG	Simple retrieval-augmented generation	✅ 04_rag.py
Map-Reduce	Batch processing pattern	📖 GitHub
Streaming	Real-time LLM streaming	📖 GitHub
Chat Guardrail	Travel advisor with filtering	📖 GitHub

Beginner Level (★☆☆) - Intermediate Patterns

Example	Description	Included
Multi-Agent	Async agents (Taboo game)	✅ 06_multi_agent.py
Supervisor	Research supervision	📖 GitHub
Parallel (3x)	3x speedup with parallel	📖 GitHub
Parallel (8x)	8x speedup demonstration	📖 GitHub
Thinking	Chain-of-Thought reasoning	📖 GitHub
Memory	Short & long-term memory	📖 GitHub
MCP	Model Context Protocol	📖 GitHub
Tracing	Execution visualization	📖 GitHub

Additional Examples (47 total)

Browse the complete cookbook on GitHub for all patterns including:

Core Patterns:

• Node basics, Communication, Batch operations (Node, Flow, Standard)
• Async basics, Nested batches, Hello World, Majority vote

Integrations:

• FastAPI (background, HITL, WebSocket)
• Gradio HITL, Streamlit, Google Calendar

Tools:

• Web crawler, Database, Embeddings, PDF Vision, Search

Advanced:

• Code generator, Text-to-SQL, Voice chat
• A2A (Agent-to-Agent), Website chatbot

Full List: https://github.com/The-Pocket/PocketFlow/tree/main/cookbook

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🎓 Learning Path

Step 1: Start with Dummy Level

1. 01_chat.py - Learn self-looping and state management
2. 02_workflow.py - Understand sequential flows
3. 03_agent.py - See branching and decision-making
4. 04_rag.py - Multi-stage pipelines (offline + online)
5. 05_structured_output.py - Structured LLM responses

Step 2: Progress to Beginner Level

6. 06_multi_agent.py - Async communication between agents

Step 3: Explore GitHub Cookbook

• Browse all 47 examples for advanced patterns
• Find examples matching your use case
• Study progressively more complex implementations

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💡 How to Use These Examples

Run Locally

cd assets/examples/

# Make sure you have pocketflow installed
pip install pocketflow

# Run any example
python 01_chat.py
python 02_workflow.py "My Topic"
python 03_agent.py "My Question"

Modify for Your Needs

1. Copy example to your project
2. Implement call_llm() in a utils.py file
3. Customize prompts and logic
4. Add your business requirements

Learn Patterns

• Study the code structure
• See how nodes are connected
• Understand shared store usage
• Learn error handling approaches

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🛠️ Python Template

Use the official Python template as your starting point:

Location: assets/template/

Files:

• main.py - Entry point
• flow.py - Flow definition
• nodes.py - Node implementations
• utils.py - LLM wrappers
• requirements.txt - Dependencies

Quick Start:

cd assets/template/
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Edit utils.py to add your LLM provider
# Then run:
python main.py

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📖 Additional Resources

• Official Docs: https://the-pocket.github.io/PocketFlow/
• GitHub Repo: https://github.com/The-Pocket/PocketFlow
• Full Cookbook: https://github.com/The-Pocket/PocketFlow/tree/main/cookbook
• Python Template: https://github.com/The-Pocket/PocketFlow-Template-Python

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🎯 Quick Reference: Which Example for What?

Need	Use Example
Interactive chat	01_chat.py
Content generation pipeline	02_workflow.py
Decision-making agent	03_agent.py
Document Q&A	04_rag.py
Parse/extract data	05_structured_output.py
Multiple agents	06_multi_agent.py
Batch processing	Map-Reduce (GitHub)
Real-time streaming	Streaming (GitHub)
Memory/context	Memory (GitHub)
Parallel speedup	Parallel examples (GitHub)

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✅ Next Steps

1. Pick an example that matches your use case
2. Run it to see how it works
3. Study the code to understand patterns
4. Copy and modify for your project
5. Implement your LLM provider
6. Iterate and improve!

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This guide covers the 6 included examples plus references to all 47 cookbook patterns. All examples are production-ready and demonstrate PocketFlow best practices.