Raif
Raif (Ruby AI Framework) is a Rails engine that helps you add AI-powered features to your Rails apps, such as tasks, conversations, and agents. It supports for multiple LLM providers including OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, AWS Bedrock, and OpenRouter.
Raif is built by Cultivate Labs and is used to power ARC, an AI-powered research & analysis platform.
Table of Contents
Setup
Add this line to your application’s Gemfile:
gem "raif"
And then execute:
bundle install
Run the install generator:
rails generate raif:install
This will: - Create a configuration file at config/initializers/raif.rb
- Copy Raif’s database migrations to your application - Mount Raif’s engine at /raif
in your application’s config/routes.rb
file
Run the migrations. Raif is compatible with both PostgreSQL and MySQL databases.
rails db:migrate
If you plan to use the conversations feature or Raif’s web admin, configure authentication and authorization for Raif’s controllers in config/initializers/raif.rb
:
Raif.configure do |config|
# Configure who can access non-admin controllers
# For example, to allow all logged in users:
config. = ->{ current_user.present? }
# Configure who can access admin controllers
# For example, to allow users with admin privileges:
config. = ->{ current_user&.admin? }
end
Configure your LLM providers. You’ll need at least one of:
OpenAI
Raif.configure do |config|
config.open_ai_models_enabled = true
config.open_ai_api_key = ENV["OPENAI_API_KEY"]
config.default_llm_model_key = "open_ai_gpt_4o"
end
Currently supported OpenAI models: - open_ai_gpt_4o_mini
- open_ai_gpt_4o
- open_ai_gpt_3_5_turbo
Anthropic Claude
Raif.configure do |config|
config.anthropic_models_enabled = true
config.anthropic_api_key = ENV["ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"]
config.default_llm_model_key = "anthropic_claude_3_5_sonnet"
end
Currently supported Anthropic models: - anthropic_claude_3_7_sonnet
- anthropic_claude_3_5_sonnet
- anthropic_claude_3_5_haiku
- anthropic_claude_3_opus
AWS Bedrock (Claude)
Raif.configure do |config|
config.anthropic_bedrock_models_enabled = true
config.aws_bedrock_region = "us-east-1"
config.default_llm_model_key = "bedrock_claude_3_5_sonnet"
end
Currently supported Bedrock models: - bedrock_claude_3_5_sonnet
- bedrock_claude_3_7_sonnet
- bedrock_claude_3_5_haiku
- bedrock_claude_3_opus
Note: Raif utilizes the AWS Bedrock gem and AWS credentials should be configured via the AWS SDK (environment variables, IAM role, etc.)
OpenRouter
OpenRouter is a unified API that provides access to multiple AI models from different providers including Anthropic, Meta, Google, and more.
Raif.configure do |config|
config.open_router_models_enabled = true
config.open_router_api_key = ENV["OPENROUTER_API_KEY"]
config.open_router_app_name = "Your App Name" # Optional
config.open_router_site_url = "https://yourdomain.com" # Optional
config.default_llm_model_key = "open_router_claude_3_7_sonnet"
end
Currently included OpenRouter models: - open_router_claude_3_7_sonnet
- open_router_llama_3_3_70b_instruct
- open_router_llama_3_1_8b_instruct
- open_router_gemini_2_0_flash
- open_router_deepseek_chat_v3
See Adding LLM Models for more information on adding new OpenRouter models.
Chatting with the LLM
When using Raif, it’s often useful to use one of the higher level abstractions in your application. But when needed, you can utilize Raif::Llm
to chat with the model directly. All calls to the LLM will create and return a Raif::ModelCompletion
record, providing you a log of all interactions with the LLM which can be viewed in the web admin.
Call Raif::Llm#chat
with either a message
string or messages
array.:
llm = Raif.llm(:open_ai_gpt_4o) # will return a Raif::Llm instance
model_completion = llm.chat(message: "Hello")
puts model_completion.raw_response
# => "Hello! How can I assist you today?"
The Raif::ModelCompletion
class will handle parsing the response for you, should you ask for a different response format (which can be one of :html
, :text
, or :json
). You can also provide a system_prompt
to the chat
method:
llm = Raif.llm(:open_ai_gpt_4o)
= [
{ role: "user", content: "Hello" },
{ role: "assistant", content: "Hello! How can I assist you today?" },
{ role: "user", content: "Can you you tell me a joke?" },
]
system_prompt = "You are a helpful assistant who specializes in telling jokes. Your response should be a properly formatted JSON object containing a single `joke` key. Do not include any other text in your response outside the JSON object."
model_completion = llm.chat(messages: , response_format: :json, system_prompt: system_prompt)
puts model_completion.raw_response
# => ```json
# => {
# => "joke": "Why don't skeletons fight each other? They don't have the guts."
# => }
# => ```
puts model_completion.parsed_response # will strip backticks, parse the JSON, and give you a Ruby hash
# => {"joke" => "Why don't skeletons fight each other? They don't have the guts."}
Key Raif Concepts
Tasks
If you have a single-shot task that you want an LLM to do in your application, you should create a Raif::Task
subclass, where you’ll define the prompt and response format for the task and call via Raif::Task.run
. For example, say you have a Document
model in your app and want to have a summarization task for the LLM:
rails generate raif:task DocumentSummarization --response-format html
This will create a new task in app/models/raif/tasks/document_summarization.rb
:
class Raif::Tasks::DocumentSummarization < Raif::ApplicationTask
llm_response_format :html # options are :html, :text, :json
llm_temperature 0.8 # optional, defaults to 0.7
llm_response_allowed_tags %w[p b i div strong] # optional, defaults to Rails::HTML5::SafeListSanitizer.allowed_tags
llm_response_allowed_attributes %w[style] # optional, defaults to Rails::HTML5::SafeListSanitizer.allowed_attributes
# Any attr_accessor you define can be included as an argument when calling `run`.
# E.g. Raif::Tasks::DocumentSummarization.run(document: document, creator: user)
attr_accessor :document
def build_system_prompt
sp = "You are an assistant with expertise in summarizing detailed articles into clear and concise language."
sp += system_prompt_language_preference if requested_language_key.present?
sp
end
def build_prompt
<<~PROMPT
Consider the following information:
Title: #{document.title}
Text:
#{document.content}
```
Your task is to read the provided article and associated information, and summarize the article concisely and clearly in approximately 1 paragraph. Your summary should include all of the key points, views, and arguments of the text, and should only include facts referenced in the text directly. Do not add any inferences, speculations, or analysis of your own, and do not exaggerate or overstate facts. If you quote directly from the article, include quotation marks.
Format your response using basic HTML tags.
If the text does not appear to represent the title, please return the text "#{summarization_failure_text}" and nothing else.
PROMPT
end
end
And then run the task (typically via a background job):
document = Document.first # assumes your app defines a Document model user = User.first # assumes your app defines a User model task = Raif::Tasks::DocumentSummarization.run(document: document, creator: user) summary = task.parsed_response
### JSON Response Format Tasks
If you want to use a JSON response format for your task, you can do so by setting the `llm_response_format` to `:json` in your task subclass. If you're using OpenAI, this will set the response to use [JSON mode](https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/structured-outputs?api-mode=chat#json-mode). You can also define a JSON schema, which will then trigger utilization of OpenAI's [structured outputs](https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/structured-outputs?api-mode=chat#structured-outputs) feature. If you're using Claude, it will create a tool for Claude to use to generate a JSON response.
bash rails generate raif:task WebSearchQueryGeneration –response-format json
This will create a new task in `app/models/raif/tasks/web_search_query_generation.rb`:
ruby module Raif module Tasks class WebSearchQueryGeneration < Raif::ApplicationTask llm_response_format :json
attr_accessor :topic
json_response_schema do
array :queries do
items type: "string"
end
end
def build_prompt
<<~PROMPT
Generate a list of 3 search queries that I can use to find information about the following topic:
#{topic}
Format your response as JSON.
PROMPT
end
end
end end
### Task Language Preference
You can also pass in a `requested_language_key` to the `run` method. When this is provided, Raif will add a line to the system prompt requesting that the LLM respond in the specified language:
task = Raif::Tasks::DocumentSummarization.run(document: document, creator: user, requested_language_key: “es”)
Would produce a system prompt that looks like this:
You are an assistant with expertise in summarizing detailed articles into clear and concise language. You’re collaborating with teammate who speaks Spanish. Please respond in Spanish.
The current list of valid language keys can be found [here](https://github.com/CultivateLabs/raif/blob/main/lib/raif/languages.rb).
## Conversations
Raif provides `Raif::Conversation` and `Raif::ConversationEntry` models that you can use to provide an LLM-powered chat interface. It also provides controllers and views for the conversation interface.
This feature utilizes Turbo Streams, Stimulus controllers, and ActiveJob, so your application must have those set up first.
To use it in your application, first set up the css and javascript in your application. In the `<head>` section of your layout file:
erb <%= stylesheet_link_tag “raif” %>
In an app using import maps, add the following to your `application.js` file:
js import “raif”
In a controller serving the conversation view:
ruby class ExampleConversationController < ApplicationController def show @conversation = Raif::Conversation.where(creator: current_user).order(created_at: :desc).first
if @conversation.nil?
@conversation = Raif::Conversation.new(creator: current_user)
@conversation.save!
end
end end
And then in the view where you'd like to display the conversation interface:
erb <%= raif_conversation(@conversation) %>
If your app already includes Bootstrap styles, this will render a conversation interface that looks something like:

If your app does not include Bootstrap, you can [override the views](#views) to update styles.
### Conversation Types
If your application has a specific type of conversation that you use frequently, you can create a custom conversation type by running the generator. For example, say you are implementing a customer support chatbot in your application and want to have a custom conversation type for doing this with the LLM:
bash rails generate raif:conversation CustomerSupport
This will create a new conversation type in `app/models/raif/conversations/customer_support.rb`.
You can then customize the system prompt, initial message, and available [model tools](#model-tools) for that conversation type:
ruby class Raif::Conversations::CustomerSupport < Raif::Conversation before_create -> { self.available_model_tools = [ “Raif::ModelTools::SearchKnowledgeBase”, “Raif::ModelTools::FileSupportTicket” ] }
def system_prompt_intro <<~PROMPT You are a helpful assistant who specializes in customer support. You’re working with a customer who is experiencing an issue with your product. PROMPT end
def initial_chat_message I18n.t(“#”.“).initial_chat_message”) end end
## Agents
Raif also provides `Raif::Agents::ReActAgent`, which implements a ReAct-style agent loop using [tool calls](#model-tools):
ruby
Create a new agent
agent = Raif::Agents::ReActAgent.new( task: “Research the history of the Eiffel Tower”, available_model_tools: [Raif::ModelTools::WikipediaSearch, Raif::ModelTools::FetchUrl], creator: current_user )
Run the agent and get the final answer
final_answer = agent.run!
Or run the agent and monitor its progress
agent.run! do |conversation_history_entry| Turbo::StreamsChannel.broadcast_append_to( :my_agent_channel, target: “agent-progress”, partial: “my_partial_displaying_agent_progress”, locals: { agent: agent, conversation_history_entry: conversation_history_entry } ) end
On each step of the agent loop, an entry will be added to the `Raif::Agent#conversation_history` and, if you pass a block to the `run!` method, the block will be called with the `conversation_history_entry` as an argument. You can use this to monitor and display the agent's progress in real-time.
The conversation_history_entry will be a hash with "role" and "content" keys:
ruby { “role” => “assistant”, “content” => “a message here” }
### Creating Custom Agents
You can create custom agents using the generator:
bash rails generate raif:agent WikipediaResearchAgent
This will create a new agent in `app/models/raif/agents/wikipedia_research_agent.rb`:
ruby module Raif module Agents class WikipediaResearchAgent < Raif::Agent # If you want to always include a certain set of model tools with this agent type, # uncomment this callback to populate the available_model_tools attribute with your desired model tools. # before_create -> { # self.available_model_tools ||= [ # Raif::ModelTools::WikipediaSearchTool, # Raif::ModelTools::FetchUrlTool # ] # }
# Enter your agent's system prompt here. Alternatively, you can change your agent's superclass
# to an existing agent types (like Raif::Agents::ReActAgent) to utilize an existing system prompt.
def build_system_prompt
# TODO: Implement your system prompt here
end
# Each iteration of the agent loop will generate a new Raif::ModelCompletion record and
# then call this method with it as an argument.
def process_iteration_model_completion(model_completion)
# TODO: Implement your iteration processing here
end
end
end end
## Model Tools
Raif provides a `Raif::ModelTool` base class that you can use to create custom tools for your agents and conversations. [`Raif::ModelTools::WikipediaSearch`](https://github.com/CultivateLabs/raif/blob/main/app/models/raif/model_tools/wikipedia_search.rb) and [`Raif::ModelTools::FetchUrl`](https://github.com/CultivateLabs/raif/blob/main/app/models/raif/model_tools/fetch_url.rb) tools are included as examples.
You can create your own model tools to provide to the LLM using the generator:
bash rails generate raif:model_tool GoogleSearch
This will create a new model tool in `app/models/raif/model_tools/google_search.rb`:
ruby class Raif::ModelTools::GoogleSearch < Raif::ModelTool # For example tool implementations, see: # Wikipedia Search Tool: github.com/CultivateLabs/raif/blob/main/app/models/raif/model_tools/wikipedia_search.rb # Fetch URL Tool: github.com/CultivateLabs/raif/blob/main/app/models/raif/model_tools/fetch_url.rb
# Define the schema for the arguments that the LLM should use when invoking your tool. # It should be a valid JSON schema. When the model invokes your tool, # the arguments it provides will be validated against this schema using JSON::Validator from the json-schema gem. # # All attributes will be required and additionalProperties will be set to false. # # This schema would expect the model to invoke your tool with an arguments JSON object like: # { “query” : “some query here” } tool_arguments_schema do string :query, description: “The query to search for” end
# An example of how the LLM should invoke your tool. This should return a hash with name and arguments keys. # to_json
will be called on it and provided to the LLM as an example of how to invoke your tool. example_model_invocation do { “name”: tool_name, “arguments”: { “query”: “example query here” } } end
tool_description do “Description of your tool that will be provided to the LLM so it knows when to invoke it” end
# When your tool is invoked by the LLM in a Raif::Agent loop, # the results of the tool invocation are provided back to the LLM as an observation. # This method should return whatever you want provided to the LLM. # For example, if you were implementing a GoogleSearch tool, this might return a JSON # object containing search results for the query. def self.observation_for_invocation(tool_invocation) return “No results found” unless tool_invocation.result.present?
JSON.pretty_generate(tool_invocation.result)
end
# When the LLM invokes your tool, this method will be called with a Raif::ModelToolInvocation
record as an argument. # It should handle the actual execution of the tool. # For example, if you are implementing a GoogleSearch tool, this method should run the actual search # and store the results in the tool_invocation’s result JSON column. def self.process_invocation(tool_invocation) # Extract arguments from tool_invocation.tool_arguments # query = tool_invocation.tool_arguments # # Process the invocation and perform the desired action # … # # Store the results in the tool_invocation # tool_invocation.update!( # result: { # # Your result data structure # } # ) # # Return the result # tool_invocation.result end
end
## Images/Files/PDF's
Raif supports images, files, and PDF's in the messages sent to the LLM.
To include an image, file/PDF in a message, you can use the `Raif::ModelImageInput` and `Raif::ModelFileInput`.
To include an image:
ruby
From a local file
image = Raif::ModelImageInput.new(input: “path/to/image.png”)
From a URL
image = Raif::ModelImageInput.new(url: “”)
From an ActiveStorage attachment (assumes you have a User model with an avatar attachment)
image = Raif::ModelImageInput.new(input: user.avatar)
Then chat with the LLM
llm = Raif.llm(:open_ai_gpt_4o) model_completion = llm.chat(messages: [ { role: “user”, content: [“What’s in this image?”, image]} ])
To include a file/PDF:
ruby
From a local file
file = Raif::ModelFileInput.new(input: “path/to/file.pdf”)
From a URL
file = Raif::ModelFileInput.new(url: “example.com/file.pdf”)
From an ActiveStorage attachment (assumes you have a Document model with a pdf attachment)
file = Raif::ModelFileInput.new(input: document.pdf)
Then chat with the LLM
llm = Raif.llm(:open_ai_gpt_4o) model_completion = llm.chat(messages: [ { role: “user”, content: [“What’s in this file?”, file]} ])
### Images/Files/PDF's in Tasks
You can include images and files/PDF's when running a `Raif::Task`:
To include a file/PDF:
ruby file = Raif::ModelFileInput.new(input: “path/to/file.pdf”)
Assumes you’ve created a PdfContentExtraction task
task = Raif::Tasks::PdfContentExtraction.run( creator: current_user, files: [file] )
To include an image:
ruby image = Raif::ModelImageInput.new(input: “path/to/image.png”)
Assumes you’ve created a ImageDescriptionGeneration task
task = Raif::Tasks::ImageDescriptionGeneration.run( creator: current_user, images: [image] )
# Embedding Models
Raif supports generation of vector embeddings. You can enable and configure embedding models in your Raif configuration:
ruby Raif.configure do |config| config.open_ai_embedding_models_enabled = true config.aws_bedrock_titan_embedding_models_enabled = true
config.default_embedding_model_key = “open_ai_text_embedding_3_small” end
## Supported Embedding Models
Raif currently supports the following embedding models:
### OpenAI
- `open_ai_text_embedding_3_small`
- `open_ai_text_embed ding_3_large`
- `open_ai_text_embedding_ada_002`
### AWS Bedrock
- `bedrock_titan_embed_text_v2`
## Creating Embeddings
By default, Raif will used `Raif.config.default_embedding_model_key` to create embeddings. To create an embedding for a piece of text:
ruby
Generate an embedding for a piece of text
embedding = Raif.generate_embedding!(“Your text here”)
Generate an embedding for a piece of text with a specific number of dimensions
embedding = Raif.generate_embedding!(“Your text here”, dimensions: 1024)
If you’re using an OpenAI embedding model, you can pass an array of strings to embed multiple texts at once
embeddings = Raif.generate_embedding!([ “Your text here”, “Your other text here” ])
Or to generate embeddings for a piece of text with a specific model:
ruby model = Raif.embedding_model(:open_ai_text_embedding_3_small) embedding = model.generate_embedding!(“Your text here”)
# Web Admin
Raif includes a web admin interface for viewing all interactions with the LLM. Assuming you have the engine mounted at `/raif`, you can access the admin interface at `/raif/admin`.
The admin interface contains sections for:
- Model Completions
- Tasks
- Conversations
- Agents
- Model Tool Invocations
- Stats
### Model Completions


### Tasks

### Conversations


### Agents


### Model Tool Invocations


### Stats

# Customization
## Controllers
You can override Raif's controllers by creating your own that inherit from Raif's base controllers:
ruby class ConversationsController < Raif::ConversationsController # Your customizations here end
class ConversationEntriesController < Raif::ConversationEntriesController # Your customizations here end
Then update the configuration:
ruby Raif.configure do |config| config.conversations_controller = “ConversationsController” config.conversation_entries_controller = “ConversationEntriesController” end
## Models
By default, Raif models inherit from `ApplicationRecord`. You can change this:
ruby Raif.configure do |config| config.model_superclass = “CustomRecord” end
## Views
You can customize Raif's views by copying them to your application and modifying them. To copy the conversation-related views, run:
bash rails generate raif:views
This will copy all conversation and conversation entry views to your application in:
- `app/views/raif/conversations/`
- `app/views/raif/conversation_entries/`
These views will automatically override Raif's default views. You can customize them to match your application's look and feel while maintaining the same functionality.
## System Prompts
If you don't want to override the system prompt entirely in your task/conversation subclasses, you can customize the intro portion of the system prompts for conversations and tasks:
ruby Raif.configure do |config| config.conversation_system_prompt_intro = “You are a helpful assistant who specializes in customer support.” config.task_system_prompt_intro = “You are a helpful assistant who specializes in data analysis.” # or with a lambda config.task_system_prompt_intro = ->(task) { “You are a helpful assistant who specializes in #tasktask.name.” } config.conversation_system_prompt_intro = ->(conversation) { “You are a helpful assistant talking to #conversationconversation.creatorconversation.creator.email. Today’s date is #%d, %Y’).” } end
## Adding LLM Models
You can easily add new LLM models to Raif:
ruby
Register the model in Raif’s LLM registry
Raif.register_llm(Raif::Llms::OpenRouter, { key: :open_router_gemini_flash_1_5_8b, # a unique key for the model api_name: “google/gemini-flash-1.5-8b”, # name of the model to be used in API calls - needs to match the provider’s API name input_token_cost: 0.038 / 1_000_000, # the cost per input token output_token_cost: 0.15 / 1_000_000, # the cost per output token })
Then use the model
llm = Raif.llm(:open_router_gemini_flash_1_5_8b) llm.chat(message: “Hello, world!”)
Or set it as the default LLM model in your initializer
Raif.configure do |config| config.default_llm_model_key = “open_router_gemini_flash_1_5_8b” end
# Testing
Raif includes RSpec helpers and FactoryBot factories to help with testing in your application.
To use the helpers, add the following to your `rails_helper.rb`:
ruby require “raif/rspec”
RSpec.configure do |config| config.include Raif::RspecHelpers end
You can then use the helpers to stub LLM calls:
ruby it “stubs a document summarization task” do # the messages argument is the array of messages sent to the LLM. It will look something like: # [{“role” => “user”, “content” => “The prompt from the Raif::Tasks::DocumentSummarization task” }] # The model_completion argument is the Raif::ModelCompletion record that was created for this task. stub_raif_task(Raif::Tasks::DocumentSummarization) do |messages, model_completion| “Stub out the response from the LLM” end
user = FactoryBot.create(:user) # assumes you have a User model & factory document = FactoryBot.create(:document) # assumes you have a Document model & factory task = Raif::Tasks::DocumentSummarization.run(document: document, creator: user)
expect(task.raw_response).to eq(“Stub out the response from the LLM”) end
it “stubs a conversation” do user = FactoryBot.create(:user) # assumes you have a User model & factory conversation = FactoryBot.create(:raif_test_conversation, creator: user) conversation_entry = FactoryBot.create(:raif_conversation_entry, raif_conversation: conversation, creator: user)
stub_raif_conversation(conversation) do |messages, model_completion| “Hello” end
conversation_entry.process_entry! expect(conversation_entry.reload).to be_completed expect(conversation_entry.model_response_message).to eq(“Hello”) end
it “stubs an agent” do i = 0 stub_raif_agent(agent) do |messages, model_completion| i += 1 if i == 1 “<thought>I need to search.</thought>n<action>"wikipedia_search", "arguments": {"query": "capital of France"}</action>” else “<thought>Now I know.</thought>n<answer>Paris</answer>” end end end
Raif also provides FactoryBot factories for its models. You can use them to create Raif models for testing. If you're using `factory_bot_rails`, they will be added automatically to `config.factory_bot.definition_file_paths`. The available factories can be found [here](https://github.com/CultivateLabs/raif/tree/main/spec/factories/shared).
# Demo App
Raif includes a [demo app](https://github.com/CultivateLabs/raif_demo) that you can use to see the engine in action. Assuming you have Ruby 3.4.2 and Postgres installed, you can run the demo app with:
bash git clone git@github.com:CultivateLabs/raif_demo.git cd raif_demo bundle install bin/rails db:create db:prepare OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key-here bin/rails s
“‘
You can then access the app at localhost:3000.
License
The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.