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    *   [How to stream chat model responses](/v0.2/docs/how_to/chat_streaming)
    *   [How to embed text data](/v0.2/docs/how_to/embed_text)
    *   [How to use few shot examples in chat models](/v0.2/docs/how_to/few_shot_examples_chat)
    *   [How to cache model responses](/v0.2/docs/how_to/llm_caching)
    *   [How to cache chat model responses](/v0.2/docs/how_to/chat_model_caching)
    *   [How to create a custom LLM class](/v0.2/docs/how_to/custom_llm)
    *   [How to use few shot examples](/v0.2/docs/how_to/few_shot_examples)
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    *   [How to pass through arguments from one step to the next](/v0.2/docs/how_to/passthrough)
    *   [How to compose prompts together](/v0.2/docs/how_to/prompts_composition)
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    *   [How to generate multiple queries to retrieve data for](/v0.2/docs/how_to/multiple_queries)
    *   [How to parse JSON output](/v0.2/docs/how_to/output_parser_json)
    *   [How to retry when output parsing errors occur](/v0.2/docs/how_to/output_parser_retry)
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    *   [How to partially format prompt templates](/v0.2/docs/how_to/prompts_partial)
    *   [How to add chat history to a question-answering chain](/v0.2/docs/how_to/qa_chat_history_how_to)
    *   [How to return citations](/v0.2/docs/how_to/qa_citations)
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    *   [How to construct filters](/v0.2/docs/how_to/query_constructing_filters)
    *   [How to add examples to the prompt](/v0.2/docs/how_to/query_few_shot)
    *   [How to deal with high cardinality categorical variables](/v0.2/docs/how_to/query_high_cardinality)
    *   [How to handle multiple queries](/v0.2/docs/how_to/query_multiple_queries)
    *   [How to handle multiple retrievers](/v0.2/docs/how_to/query_multiple_retrievers)
    *   [How to handle cases where no queries are generated](/v0.2/docs/how_to/query_no_queries)
    *   [How to recursively split text by characters](/v0.2/docs/how_to/recursive_text_splitter)
    *   [How to reduce retrieval latency](/v0.2/docs/how_to/reduce_retrieval_latency)
    *   [How to route execution within a chain](/v0.2/docs/how_to/routing)
    *   [How to chain runnables](/v0.2/docs/how_to/sequence)
    *   [How to split text by tokens](/v0.2/docs/how_to/split_by_token)
    *   [How to deal with large databases](/v0.2/docs/how_to/sql_large_db)
    *   [How to use prompting to improve results](/v0.2/docs/how_to/sql_prompting)
    *   [How to do query validation](/v0.2/docs/how_to/sql_query_checking)
    *   [How to stream](/v0.2/docs/how_to/streaming)
    *   [How to create a time-weighted retriever](/v0.2/docs/how_to/time_weighted_vectorstore)
    *   [How to use a chat model to call tools](/v0.2/docs/how_to/tool_calling)
    *   [How to call tools with multi-modal data](/v0.2/docs/how_to/tool_calls_multi_modal)
    *   [How to use LangChain tools](/v0.2/docs/how_to/tools_builtin)
    *   [How use a vector store to retrieve data](/v0.2/docs/how_to/vectorstore_retriever)
    *   [How to create and query vector stores](/v0.2/docs/how_to/vectorstores)
*   [Conceptual guide](/v0.2/docs/concepts)
*   Ecosystem
    
    *   [🦜🛠️ LangSmith](/v0.2/docs/langsmith/)
        
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*   [How-to guides](/v0.2/docs/how_to/)
*   How to chain runnables

On this page

How to chain runnables
======================

One point about [LangChain Expression Language](/v0.2/docs/concepts/#langchain-expression-language) is that any two runnables can be “chained” together into sequences. The output of the previous runnable’s `.invoke()` call is passed as input to the next runnable. This can be done using the `.pipe()` method.

The resulting [`RunnableSequence`](https://v02.api.js.langchain.com/classes/langchain_core_runnables.RunnableSequence.html) is itself a runnable, which means it can be invoked, streamed, or further chained just like any other runnable. Advantages of chaining runnables in this way are efficient streaming (the sequence will stream output as soon as it is available), and debugging and tracing with tools like [LangSmith](/v0.2/docs/how_to/debugging).

Prerequisites

This guide assumes familiarity with the following concepts:

*   [LangChain Expression Language (LCEL)](/v0.2/docs/concepts/#langchain-expression-language)
*   [Prompt templates](/v0.2/docs/concepts/#prompt-templates)
*   [Chat models](/v0.2/docs/concepts/#chat-models)
*   [Output parser](/v0.2/docs/concepts/#output-parsers)

The pipe method[​](#the-pipe-method "Direct link to The pipe method")
---------------------------------------------------------------------

To show off how this works, let’s go through an example. We’ll walk through a common pattern in LangChain: using a [prompt template](/v0.2/docs/concepts#prompt-templates) to format input into a [chat model](/v0.2/docs/concepts/#chat-models), and finally converting the chat message output into a string with an \[output parser\](/docs/concepts#output-parsers.

### Pick your chat model:

*   OpenAI
*   Anthropic
*   FireworksAI
*   MistralAI
*   Groq
*   VertexAI

#### Install dependencies

tip

See [this section for general instructions on installing integration packages](/docs/get_started/installation#installing-integration-packages).

*   npm
*   yarn
*   pnpm

    npm i @langchain/openai 

    yarn add @langchain/openai 

    pnpm add @langchain/openai 

#### Add environment variables

    OPENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key

#### Instantiate the model

    import { ChatOpenAI } from "@langchain/openai";const model = new ChatOpenAI({  model: "gpt-3.5-turbo",  temperature: 0});

#### Install dependencies

tip

See [this section for general instructions on installing integration packages](/docs/get_started/installation#installing-integration-packages).

*   npm
*   yarn
*   pnpm

    npm i @langchain/anthropic 

    yarn add @langchain/anthropic 

    pnpm add @langchain/anthropic 

#### Add environment variables

    ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-api-key

#### Instantiate the model

    import { ChatAnthropic } from "@langchain/anthropic";const model = new ChatAnthropic({  model: "claude-3-sonnet-20240229",  temperature: 0});

#### Install dependencies

tip

See [this section for general instructions on installing integration packages](/docs/get_started/installation#installing-integration-packages).

*   npm
*   yarn
*   pnpm

    npm i @langchain/community 

    yarn add @langchain/community 

    pnpm add @langchain/community 

#### Add environment variables

    FIREWORKS_API_KEY=your-api-key

#### Instantiate the model

    import { ChatFireworks } from "@langchain/community/chat_models/fireworks";const model = new ChatFireworks({  model: "accounts/fireworks/models/firefunction-v1",  temperature: 0});

#### Install dependencies

tip

See [this section for general instructions on installing integration packages](/docs/get_started/installation#installing-integration-packages).

*   npm
*   yarn
*   pnpm

    npm i @langchain/mistralai 

    yarn add @langchain/mistralai 

    pnpm add @langchain/mistralai 

#### Add environment variables

    MISTRAL_API_KEY=your-api-key

#### Instantiate the model

    import { ChatMistralAI } from "@langchain/mistralai";const model = new ChatMistralAI({  model: "mistral-large-latest",  temperature: 0});

#### Install dependencies

tip

See [this section for general instructions on installing integration packages](/docs/get_started/installation#installing-integration-packages).

*   npm
*   yarn
*   pnpm

    npm i @langchain/groq 

    yarn add @langchain/groq 

    pnpm add @langchain/groq 

#### Add environment variables

    GROQ_API_KEY=your-api-key

#### Instantiate the model

    import { ChatGroq } from "@langchain/groq";const model = new ChatGroq({  model: "mixtral-8x7b-32768",  temperature: 0});

#### Install dependencies

tip

See [this section for general instructions on installing integration packages](/docs/get_started/installation#installing-integration-packages).

*   npm
*   yarn
*   pnpm

    npm i @langchain/google-vertexai 

    yarn add @langchain/google-vertexai 

    pnpm add @langchain/google-vertexai 

#### Add environment variables

    GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=credentials.json

#### Instantiate the model

    import { ChatVertexAI } from "@langchain/google-vertexai";const model = new ChatVertexAI({  model: "gemini-1.5-pro",  temperature: 0});

tip

See [this section for general instructions on installing integration packages](/v0.2/docs/how_to/installation#installing-integration-packages).

*   npm
*   yarn
*   pnpm

    npm i @langchain/core

    yarn add @langchain/core

    pnpm add @langchain/core

    import { StringOutputParser } from "@langchain/core/output_parsers";import { ChatPromptTemplate } from "@langchain/core/prompts";const prompt = ChatPromptTemplate.fromTemplate("tell me a joke about {topic}");const chain = prompt.pipe(model).pipe(new StringOutputParser());

Prompts and models are both runnable, and the output type from the prompt call is the same as the input type of the chat model, so we can chain them together. We can then invoke the resulting sequence like any other runnable:

    await chain.invoke({ topic: "bears" });

    "Here's a bear joke for you:\n\nWhy did the bear dissolve in water?\nBecause it was a polar bear!"

### Coercion[​](#coercion "Direct link to Coercion")

We can even combine this chain with more runnables to create another chain. This may involve some input/output formatting using other types of runnables, depending on the required inputs and outputs of the chain components.

For example, let’s say we wanted to compose the joke generating chain with another chain that evaluates whether or not the generated joke was funny.

We would need to be careful with how we format the input into the next chain. In the below example, the dict in the chain is automatically parsed and converted into a [`RunnableParallel`](/v0.2/docs/how_to/parallel), which runs all of its values in parallel and returns a dict with the results.

This happens to be the same format the next prompt template expects. Here it is in action:

    import { RunnableLambda } from "@langchain/core/runnables";const analysisPrompt = ChatPromptTemplate.fromTemplate(  "is this a funny joke? {joke}");const composedChain = new RunnableLambda({  func: async (input) => {    const result = await chain.invoke(input);    return { joke: result };  },})  .pipe(analysisPrompt)  .pipe(model)  .pipe(new StringOutputParser());await composedChain.invoke({ topic: "bears" });

    'Haha, that\'s a clever play on words! Using "polar" to imply the bear dissolved or became polar/polarized when put in water. Not the most hilarious joke ever, but it has a cute, groan-worthy pun that makes it mildly amusing. I appreciate a good pun or wordplay joke.'

Functions will also be coerced into runnables, so you can add custom logic to your chains too. The below chain results in the same logical flow as before:

    import { RunnableSequence } from "@langchain/core/runnables";const composedChainWithLambda = RunnableSequence.from([  chain,  (input) => ({ joke: input }),  analysisPrompt,  model,  new StringOutputParser(),]);await composedChainWithLambda.invoke({ topic: "beets" });

    "Haha, that's a cute and punny joke! I like how it plays on the idea of beets blushing or turning red like someone blushing. Food puns can be quite amusing. While not a total knee-slapper, it's a light-hearted, groan-worthy dad joke that would make me chuckle and shake my head. Simple vegetable humor!"

> See the LangSmith trace for the run above [here](https://smith.langchain.com/public/ef1bf347-a243-4da6-9be6-54f5d73e6da2/r)

However, keep in mind that using functions like this may interfere with operations like streaming. See [this section](/v0.2/docs/how_to/functions) for more information.

Next steps[​](#next-steps "Direct link to Next steps")
------------------------------------------------------

You now know some ways to chain two runnables together.

To learn more, see the other how-to guides on runnables in this section.

* * *

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*   [The pipe method](#the-pipe-method)
    *   [Coercion](#coercion)
*   [Next steps](#next-steps)

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