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Installation

The Flow SDK (flow-sdk) is pre-installed in all Manifest Platform runtimes — Code Blocks, Hosted Services, Agents, and Workflows. No installation is required when writing code on the platform.

Using the SDK on the Platform

When your code runs inside a Code Block or Hosted Service, flow-sdk is already available. Import and use it directly:

from flow_sdk import FlowSDK

flow = FlowSDK()  # auto-configures from the platform environment

# Call the AI Gateway
response = await flow.gateway.chat_completion(
    model="openai/gpt-4o",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
)

No virtual environments, no configuration files, no package management. The platform injects all required environment variables automatically.

Local Developer Tools

Coming Soon

The flow-sdk CLI and local developer tools (CLIClient, GatewayClient, PlatformClient) are not yet publicly available. They will be released in an upcoming release. The documentation below is provided as a preview of upcoming capabilities.

Local development tools (coming soon)

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10 or later — Check your version with python3 --version

Python version support

Flow SDK requires Python 3.10+ for full typing module support (union types with |, TypeAlias, etc.). Python 3.12+ is recommended for the best performance.

Verify Installation

Once the SDK is publicly available, confirm that both the Python package and CLI are accessible:

flow-sdk --version

You can also verify the package imports correctly in Python:

from flow_sdk import FlowSDK

print(FlowSDK.__module__)

Setting Up a Virtual Environment

For local project work, we recommend isolating your dependencies in a virtual environment. This prevents version conflicts with other Python projects on your system.

# Create a virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv

# Activate it
source .venv/bin/activate   # macOS / Linux
# .venv\Scripts\activate    # Windows

# Verify
flow-sdk --version

Activate on every session

Virtual environments must be activated each time you open a new terminal. Add source .venv/bin/activate to your shell profile or use a tool like direnv to automate activation when you enter the project directory.

Troubleshooting

command not found: flow-sdk

If the CLI is not found after installation, your Python scripts directory may not be on your PATH. Common fixes:

# Check where the package installs scripts
python3 -m site --user-base
# Add the bin directory to your PATH (add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

# Check where the package installs scripts
python -m site --user-base
# Add the Scripts directory to your PATH via System Settings

SSL certificate errors

If you encounter SSL errors during installation behind a corporate proxy, configure pip to use your organization's CA bundle:

pip install --cert /path/to/corporate-ca-bundle.crt <package-name>

Permission errors

Never use sudo to install. Instead, use a virtual environment (recommended) or install with the --user flag:

pip install --user <package-name>

Next Steps

Proceed to the Quickstart to build your first component on the platform.