Kailash Core SDK - Foundational Skills

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

Overview

The Core SDK provides the foundational building blocks for creating custom workflows with fine-grained control. This skill collection covers:

• Workflow Creation: Building workflows from scratch
• Node Patterns: Using the 110+ available nodes
• Connections: Linking nodes and passing data
• Runtime Execution: Running workflows synchronously and asynchronously
• Parameter Passing: Managing data flow between nodes
• Error Handling: Robust error management patterns
• Advanced Features: Cyclic workflows, async patterns, MCP integration

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)
• LocalRuntime: For CLI/scripts (sync contexts)
• get_runtime(): Auto-detection helper

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)
• ❌ NEVER: workflow.execute(runtime)
• ❌ NEVER: Instance-based nodes

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
• 03-nexus - Multi-channel platform framework
• 04-kaizen - AI agent framework
• 06-cheatsheets - Quick reference patterns
• 08-nodes-reference - Node reference
• 09-workflow-patterns - Workflow templates
• 17-gold-standards - Best practices and standards

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