name	perplexity-sdk-patterns
description	Apply production-ready Perplexity SDK patterns for TypeScript and Python. Use when implementing Perplexity integrations, refactoring SDK usage, or establishing team coding standards for Perplexity. Trigger with phrases like "perplexity SDK patterns", "perplexity best practices", "perplexity code patterns", "idiomatic perplexity".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit
version	1.0.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>

Perplexity SDK Patterns

Name: perplexity-sdk-patterns
Author: jeremylongshore

Overview

Production-ready patterns for Perplexity SDK usage in TypeScript and Python.

Prerequisites

Completed perplexity-install-auth setup
Familiarity with async/await patterns
Understanding of error handling best practices

Instructions

Step 1: Implement Singleton Pattern (Recommended)

// src/perplexity/client.ts
import { PerplexityClient } from '@perplexity/sdk';

let instance: PerplexityClient | null = null;

export function getPerplexityClient(): PerplexityClient {
  if (!instance) {
    instance = new PerplexityClient({
      apiKey: process.env.PERPLEXITY_API_KEY!,
      // Additional options
    });
  }
  return instance;
}

Step 2: Add Error Handling Wrapper

import { PerplexityError } from '@perplexity/sdk';

async function safePerplexityCall<T>(
  operation: () => Promise<T>
): Promise<{ data: T | null; error: Error | null }> {
  try {
    const data = await operation();
    return { data, error: null };
  } catch (err) {
    if (err instanceof PerplexityError) {
      console.error({
        code: err.code,
        message: err.message,
      });
    }
    return { data: null, error: err as Error };
  }
}

Step 3: Implement Retry Logic

async function withRetry<T>(
  operation: () => Promise<T>,
  maxRetries = 3,
  backoffMs = 1000
): Promise<T> {
  for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) {
    try {
      return await operation();
    } catch (err) {
      if (attempt === maxRetries) throw err;
      const delay = backoffMs * Math.pow(2, attempt - 1);
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, delay));
    }
  }
  throw new Error('Unreachable');
}

Output

Type-safe client singleton
Robust error handling with structured logging
Automatic retry with exponential backoff
Runtime validation for API responses

Error Handling

Pattern	Use Case	Benefit
Safe wrapper	All API calls	Prevents uncaught exceptions
Retry logic	Transient failures	Improves reliability
Type guards	Response validation	Catches API changes
Logging	All operations	Debugging and monitoring

Examples

Factory Pattern (Multi-tenant)

const clients = new Map<string, PerplexityClient>();

export function getClientForTenant(tenantId: string): PerplexityClient {
  if (!clients.has(tenantId)) {
    const apiKey = getTenantApiKey(tenantId);
    clients.set(tenantId, new PerplexityClient({ apiKey }));
  }
  return clients.get(tenantId)!;
}

Python Context Manager

from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
from perplexity import PerplexityClient

@asynccontextmanager
async def get_perplexity_client():
    client = PerplexityClient()
    try:
        yield client
    finally:
        await client.close()

Zod Validation

import { z } from 'zod';

const perplexityResponseSchema = z.object({
  id: z.string(),
  status: z.enum(['active', 'inactive']),
  createdAt: z.string().datetime(),
});

Resources

Next Steps

Apply patterns in perplexity-core-workflow-a for real-world usage.

perplexity-sdk-patterns

Install Skill

SKILL.md