dify-llm-platform

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to work with Dify, including:

• Building LLM-powered applications with visual workflows
• Creating AI chatbots and conversational agents
• Implementing RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) systems
• Developing AI agents with tool calling capabilities
• Deploying production-ready LLM applications
• Managing knowledge bases and document processing
• Integrating LLMs with existing tools and data sources
• Monitoring and optimizing LLM application performance

Overview

Dify (Do It For You) is an open-source platform for building agentic workflows and LLM applications. It provides a visual interface for designing complex AI processes without extensive coding, supporting integration with hundreds of LLM models and existing tools.

Key Resources:

• https://github.com/langgenius/dify
• https://docs.dify.ai/
• https://cloud.dify.ai (Cloud version with 200 free GPT-4 calls)
• Discord: https://discord.gg/dify

Platform Name: Do It For You - reflecting its purpose of simplifying LLM application development.

Core Capabilities

1. Visual Workflow Engine

• Node-based interface for building AI workflows
• Drag-and-drop components for rapid development
• Real-time preview and testing
• Version control for workflow iterations

2. Model Support

• Hundreds of LLMs: Integration with proprietary and open-source models
• Dozens of providers: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, local models, etc.
• Model comparison: Side-by-side testing in Prompt IDE
• Flexible switching: Easy model provider changes

3. RAG Pipeline

• Document processing: PDF, PPT, TXT, Markdown support
• Knowledge bases: Create and manage multiple knowledge sources
• Chunking strategies: Configurable text segmentation
• Retrieval methods: Vector search, keyword search, hybrid retrieval
• Embedding models: Multiple embedding provider support

4. Agent Capabilities

• Function calling: ReAct-based agent architecture
• 50+ built-in tools: Pre-configured integrations
• Custom tools: Add your own API and function tools
• Multi-step reasoning: Complex task decomposition

5. LLMOps

• Application monitoring: Track usage and performance
• Analytics dashboard: User interactions and metrics
• Debugging tools: Step-by-step execution inspection
• Variable tracking: Monitor data flow through workflows

6. Backend-as-a-Service

• REST APIs: Programmatic access to applications
• Web applications: Deploy as standalone web apps
• Embedded components: Integrate into existing applications
• API documentation: Auto-generated API specs

Installation

Prerequisites

System Requirements:

• CPU: ≥2 cores
• RAM: ≥4 GB
• Docker and Docker Compose installed

Option 1: Docker Compose (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/langgenius/dify.git
cd dify

# Navigate to docker directory
cd docker

# Copy environment example
cp .env.example .env

# Edit .env with your configuration
vim .env

# Start Dify
docker compose up -d

# Access the dashboard
open http://localhost/install

Option 2: Dify Cloud

# Sign up at https://cloud.dify.ai
# Get 200 free GPT-4 calls
# No installation required

Option 3: Deploy to Cloud Platforms

Kubernetes:

helm repo add dify https://langgenius.github.io/dify-helm
helm install dify dify/dify

AWS:

# Using AWS CDK
cdk deploy DifyStack

Azure/Google Cloud/Alibaba Cloud: See deployment guides in official documentation.

Environment Configuration

Key environment variables in .env:

# API Service
API_URL=http://localhost:5001

# Web Service
WEB_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Database
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=your_password
DB_HOST=db
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=dify

# Redis
REDIS_HOST=redis
REDIS_PORT=6379
REDIS_PASSWORD=your_redis_password

# Storage (S3, Azure Blob, or local)
STORAGE_TYPE=local
STORAGE_LOCAL_PATH=storage

# Vector Database
VECTOR_STORE=weaviate  # or pgvector, qdrant, milvus

# API Keys for LLM Providers
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key

Quick Start

1. Create Your First Application

# After installation, access http://localhost/install
# Complete initial setup wizard
# Create your first workspace

Application Types:

1. Chatbot - Conversational AI with memory
2. Text Generator - Single-turn text generation
3. Agent - Task-oriented AI with tools
4. Workflow - Custom multi-step processes

2. Build a Simple Chatbot

Via Web Interface:

1. Click "Create Application"
2. Select "Chatbot"
3. Choose your LLM model (e.g., GPT-4, Claude)
4. Configure system prompt
5. Test in playground
6. Publish as API or web app

Example System Prompt:

You are a helpful customer service assistant for TechCorp.
You can help users with:
- Product information
- Order tracking
- Technical support
- Account management

Be friendly, professional, and concise.

3. Add Knowledge Base (RAG)

Create Knowledge Base:

1. Go to "Knowledge" section
2. Click "Create Knowledge Base"
3. Upload documents (PDF, TXT, Markdown)
4. Configure chunking settings:
   • Chunk size: 500 tokens (recommended)
   • Overlap: 50 tokens
5. Select embedding model
6. Process documents

Connect to Application:

1. Open your chatbot
2. Add "Knowledge Retrieval" node
3. Select your knowledge base
4. Configure retrieval settings:
   • Top K: 3-5 results
   • Score threshold: 0.7
   • Reranking: Enable for better results

4. Using the API

Python Example:

import requests

API_KEY = "your_dify_api_key"
API_URL = "http://localhost/v1"

# Send a chat message
response = requests.post(
    f"{API_URL}/chat-messages",
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    json={
        "inputs": {},
        "query": "What are your business hours?",
        "response_mode": "streaming",
        "conversation_id": "",
        "user": "user-123"
    }
)

for line in response.iter_lines():
    if line:
        print(line.decode('utf-8'))

Node.js Example:

const fetch = require('node-fetch');

const API_KEY = 'your_dify_api_key';
const API_URL = 'http://localhost/v1';

async function sendMessage(query) {
  const response = await fetch(`${API_URL}/chat-messages`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      inputs: {},
      query: query,
      response_mode: 'blocking',
      user: 'user-123'
    })
  });

  return await response.json();
}

sendMessage('Hello!').then(console.log);

Workflow Development

Visual Workflow Builder

Core Nodes:

1. LLM Node - Call language models
2. Knowledge Retrieval - Query knowledge bases
3. Tool Node - Execute functions and APIs
4. Code Node - Run custom Python/JavaScript
5. Conditional - Branch based on logic
6. Variable Aggregator - Combine data
7. HTTP Request - Call external APIs
8. Template Transform - Format text

Example: Customer Support Workflow

Workflow Steps:
1. Start → User Message
2. Knowledge Retrieval → Search documentation
3. Conditional Branch:
   - If relevant docs found → Use context
   - If not found → Use general knowledge
4. LLM Node → Generate response
5. Tool Node → Create ticket (if needed)
6. End → Return response

Implementation:

1. Drag "LLM" node to canvas
2. Connect to "Knowledge Retrieval" node
3. Add "Conditional" node with logic:

   {{retrieval.score}} > 0.7
   

4. Configure LLM prompt:

   Context: {{retrieval.context}}
   User question: {{user.query}}
   
   Provide a helpful answer based on the context.
   If the context doesn't contain the answer, say so politely.
   

Code Node Examples

Python Code Node:

def main(data: dict) -> dict:
    # Access workflow variables
    user_query = data.get('query', '')

    # Custom processing
    processed = user_query.upper()

    # Return results
    return {
        'result': processed,
        'length': len(user_query)
    }

JavaScript Code Node:

function main(data) {
  const query = data.query || '';

  // Process data
  const words = query.split(' ');

  return {
    word_count: words.length,
    first_word: words[0]
  };
}

Agent Development

Building an Agent with Tools

Built-in Tools:

• Google Search
• Wikipedia
• Weather APIs
• Calculator
• Web Scraper
• Database queries
• File operations
• Email sending

Example: Research Agent

Agent Configuration:
  Model: gpt-4
  Reasoning Mode: ReAct
  Tools:
    - Google Search
    - Wikipedia
    - Web Scraper
  System Prompt: |
    You are a research assistant that helps users find
    accurate information from reliable sources.

    Always:
    1. Search for current information
    2. Cite your sources
    3. Verify facts from multiple sources

Custom Tool Definition:

# Define custom tool for Dify
{
  "name": "check_inventory",
  "description": "Check product inventory levels",
  "parameters": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "product_id": {
        "type": "string",
        "description": "Product identifier"
      }
    },
    "required": ["product_id"]
  }
}

Knowledge Base Management

Document Processing

Supported Formats:

• PDF
• Microsoft Word (.docx)
• PowerPoint (.pptx)
• Text files (.txt)
• Markdown (.md)
• HTML
• CSV

Chunking Strategies

1. Fixed Size Chunking:

Strategy: fixed_size
Chunk Size: 500 tokens
Overlap: 50 tokens
Use Case: General documents, articles

2. Paragraph Chunking:

Strategy: paragraph
Min Size: 100 tokens
Max Size: 800 tokens
Use Case: Well-formatted documents

3. Semantic Chunking:

Strategy: semantic
Model: text-embedding-ada-002
Similarity Threshold: 0.8
Use Case: Complex technical documents

Retrieval Configuration

Vector Search:

Type: vector
Top K: 5
Score Threshold: 0.7
Embedding Model: text-embedding-3-large

Hybrid Retrieval:

Type: hybrid
Vector Weight: 0.7
Keyword Weight: 0.3
Reranking: enabled
Reranking Model: cross-encoder/ms-marco-MiniLM-L-12-v2

API Integration

REST API Endpoints

Chat Messages:

POST /v1/chat-messages
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {api_key}

{
  "inputs": {},
  "query": "Your question here",
  "response_mode": "streaming",
  "user": "user-identifier"
}

Completion Messages:

POST /v1/completion-messages
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {api_key}

{
  "inputs": {
    "name": "John",
    "topic": "AI"
  },
  "response_mode": "blocking",
  "user": "user-123"
}

Feedback:

POST /v1/messages/{message_id}/feedbacks
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {api_key}

{
  "rating": "like",
  "user": "user-123"
}

SDK Usage

Python SDK:

from dify_client import DifyClient

client = DifyClient(api_key="your_api_key")

# Chat completion
response = client.chat(
    query="What is Dify?",
    user="user-123",
    conversation_id=None
)

print(response.answer)

Streaming Response:

for chunk in client.chat_stream(
    query="Explain quantum computing",
    user="user-123"
):
    print(chunk.delta, end="", flush=True)

Best Practices

Development

1. Start Simple: Begin with basic chatbots before complex workflows
2. Test Incrementally: Validate each node before connecting
3. Use Variables: Properly scope and name workflow variables
4. Version Control: Save workflow versions before major changes
5. Monitor Costs: Track token usage and API costs

Production

1. Security:

   • Use environment variables for API keys
   • Implement rate limiting
   • Enable authentication on public endpoints
   • Regular security updates

2. Performance:

   • Cache frequent queries
   • Optimize knowledge base chunking
   • Use streaming for long responses
   • Implement connection pooling

3. Monitoring:

   Metrics to Track:
     - Response latency
     - Token usage
     - Error rates
     - User satisfaction scores
     - Knowledge retrieval accuracy
   

4. Scalability:

   • Use load balancers
   • Scale workers horizontally
   • Separate databases for different services
   • Implement queue systems for async tasks

Knowledge Base Optimization

1. Document Quality:

   • Clean and format documents before upload
   • Remove duplicates and outdated content
   • Use consistent terminology

2. Chunking:

   • Start with 500-token chunks
   • Adjust based on document structure
   • Use overlap for context preservation

3. Retrieval Tuning:

   • Monitor retrieval accuracy
   • Adjust score thresholds
   • Use reranking for critical applications
   • A/B test retrieval configurations

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue 1: Docker Containers Won't Start

Symptoms:

• docker compose up fails
• Services crash on startup

Solutions:

# Check logs
docker compose logs

# Verify environment variables
cat .env

# Ensure ports are available
lsof -i :3000
lsof -i :5001

# Reset and restart
docker compose down -v
docker compose up -d

Issue 2: Knowledge Retrieval Returns No Results

Symptoms:

• Queries return empty results
• Low relevance scores

Solutions:

1. Check document processing status
2. Verify embedding model configuration
3. Lower score threshold temporarily
4. Test with exact document text
5. Rebuild knowledge base index

# Via API - trigger reindex
POST /v1/datasets/{dataset_id}/documents/{document_id}/processing

Issue 3: High Latency on API Calls

Symptoms:

• Slow response times
• Timeout errors

Solutions:

1. Enable caching:

   cache:
     enabled: true
     ttl: 3600
   

2. Use streaming mode:

   response_mode: "streaming"
   

3. Optimize LLM settings:

   max_tokens: 500  # Reduce if possible
   temperature: 0.7
   top_p: 0.9
   

4. Check database performance:

   # Monitor PostgreSQL
   docker exec -it dify-db psql -U postgres -c "\
     SELECT pid, query, state, wait_event_type \
     FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE state != 'idle';"
   

Issue 4: Model API Errors

Symptoms:

• "Invalid API key" errors
• Rate limit exceeded

Solutions:

# Verify API keys in .env
cat .env | grep API_KEY

# Check provider status
curl https://status.openai.com/api/v2/status.json

# Implement retry logic
max_retries: 3
retry_delay: 1000  # milliseconds

Debugging Tips

1. Use Workflow Debugger:

   • Step through each node
   • Inspect variable values
   • Check node execution time

2. Enable Detailed Logging:

   # In .env
   LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
   

3. Test Components Individually:

   • Test LLM calls separately
   • Verify knowledge retrieval standalone
   • Test tools in isolation

4. Monitor System Resources:

   docker stats
   

Advanced Topics

Custom Model Providers

Add custom LLM providers:

# model_providers/custom_provider.py
from dify.core.model_runtime import ModelProvider

class CustomProvider(ModelProvider):
    def get_models(self):
        return [
            {
                'model': 'custom-gpt',
                'label': 'Custom GPT Model',
                'model_type': 'llm'
            }
        ]

    def invoke(self, model, credentials, prompt, **kwargs):
        # Custom API call logic
        response = your_api_call(prompt)
        return response

Workflow Optimization

Parallel Execution:

Workflow:
  - Node1: LLM Call
  - Parallel:
      - Node2a: Knowledge Retrieval
      - Node2b: External API Call
  - Node3: Combine Results

Conditional Caching:

# Cache expensive operations
if cache.exists(query_hash):
    return cache.get(query_hash)
else:
    result = expensive_operation()
    cache.set(query_hash, result, ttl=3600)
    return result

Enterprise Deployment

High Availability Setup:

Services:
  API:
    replicas: 3
    load_balancer: nginx
  Worker:
    replicas: 5
    queue: redis
  Database:
    primary: postgres-main
    replicas: 2
    backup: daily

Monitoring Stack:

Monitoring:
  - Prometheus: Metrics collection
  - Grafana: Visualization
  - Loki: Log aggregation
  - Alertmanager: Alerts

Resources

Official Documentation

• Main Docs: https://docs.dify.ai/
• GitHub: https://github.com/langgenius/dify
• API Reference: https://docs.dify.ai/api-reference
• Cloud Platform: https://cloud.dify.ai

Community

• Discord: https://discord.gg/dify
• GitHub Discussions: https://github.com/langgenius/dify/discussions
• Issue Tracker: https://github.com/langgenius/dify/issues

Deployment Guides

• Kubernetes: https://github.com/langgenius/dify-helm
• AWS: https://github.com/langgenius/dify-aws
• Azure: https://github.com/langgenius/dify-azure
• Google Cloud: https://github.com/langgenius/dify-gcp

Related Tools

• LangChain: Alternative framework for LLM apps
• LlamaIndex: Data framework for LLMs
• Flowise: Visual LLM workflow builder
• LangFlow: Drag-and-drop LLM pipeline builder

Contributing

Dify is an active open-source project with 8,220+ commits.

Ways to Contribute:

1. Report bugs via GitHub Issues
2. Submit pull requests for features
3. Improve documentation
4. Share use cases and examples
5. Help with translations

Development Setup:

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/langgenius/dify.git
cd dify

# See deployment guide
# https://docs.dify.ai/development/deploy-from-source

Security Issues: Email: security@dify.ai

Version Information

Last Updated: 2025-12-15 Skill Version: 1.0.0 Dify GitHub: 8,220+ commits, actively maintained

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Note: Dify is rapidly evolving. Always check the official documentation for the latest features and best practices. This skill is based on official documentation and repository information as of December 2025.