DSPy: Declarative Language Model Programming

Quick Start

import dspy

# 1. Configure
dspy.settings.configure(lm=dspy.OpenAI(model='gpt-4o-mini'))

# 2. Define Module
qa = dspy.ChainOfThought("question -> answer")

# 3. Run
response = qa(question="What is the capital of France?")
print(response.answer)

Learning Path (DAG)

Foundation Layer (Start Here)

1. Configuring Language Models
   • Prerequisites: None
   • Next: Signatures, Modules, Datasets
2. Designing Signatures
   • Prerequisites: LM Configuration
   • Next: Modules, Optimization
3. Building Modules
   • Prerequisites: Signatures
   • Next: Optimization, Applications
4. Creating Datasets
   • Prerequisites: None
   • Next: Optimization

Optimization Layer

1. Few-Shot Learning
   • Prerequisites: Modules, Datasets
   • Techniques: LabeledFewShot, BootstrapFewShot, KNNFewShot
   • Next: Applications
2. Instruction Optimization
   • Prerequisites: Modules, Datasets
   • Techniques: COPRO, MIPROv2, GEPA
   • Next: Applications
3. Finetuning Models
   • Prerequisites: Modules, Datasets
   • Techniques: BootstrapFinetune
   • Next: Applications
4. Ensemble Strategies
   • Prerequisites: Multiple trained modules
   • Next: Applications

Application Layer

1. Building RAG Pipelines
   • Prerequisites: Modules, Optimization (recommended)
2. Evaluating Programs
   • Prerequisites: Modules, Datasets
3. Integrating Haystack
   • Prerequisites: Modules, Haystack knowledge

Advanced Features (Cross-Cutting)

1. Assertions & Validation
   • Prerequisites: Modules
2. Typed Outputs
   • Prerequisites: Signatures
3. Multi-Chain Comparison
   • Prerequisites: ChainOfThought module

Reference Documentation

• Modules Reference - Complete module catalog
• Optimizers Reference - All optimization techniques
• Examples Reference - Real-world implementations

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Basic QA System

1. Configure LM → Design Signature → Build Module
2. Path:

   configuring-language-models.md

   →

   designing-signatures.md

   →

   building-modules.md

Workflow 2: Optimized RAG System

1. Configure LM → Build RAG Module → Optimize with Few-Shot → Evaluate
2. Path:

   configuring-language-models.md

   →

   building-rag-pipelines.md

   →

   few-shot-learning.md

   →

   evaluating-programs.md

Workflow 3: Production Agent

1. Configure LM → Design Signature → Build ReAct Module → Add Assertions → Optimize Instructions → Evaluate
2. Path:

   configuring-language-models.md

   →

   designing-signatures.md

   →

   building-modules.md

   →

   assertions-validation.md

   →

   instruction-optimization.md

   →

   evaluating-programs.md

Installation

pip install dspy
# Or with specific providers
pip install dspy[anthropic]  # Claude
pip install dspy[openai]     # GPT
pip install dspy[all]        # All providers

Additional Resources

• Official Docs: dspy.ai
• GitHub: github.com/stanfordnlp/dspy