Is LangChainJS possible without NodeJS?

[jerryaoverton]

Is it possible to run LangChainJS in the browser using nothing but client-side JavaScript? Is there a way to run the LangChain library in the browser without also running Node?

[dosubot[bot]]

🤖

Hey @jerryaoverton, great to see you diving into another interesting question! Hope you're doing well.

Based on the information available in the repository, LangChainJS does have dependencies that are specific to NodeJS. The "engines" field in the package.json file specifies that the framework requires NodeJS version 18 or higher. Furthermore, the "scripts" field contains several scripts that are run using NodeJS, such as "build:watch" and "build:scripts". These scripts use NodeJS-specific commands and modules, such as "node" and "NODE_OPTIONS".

In addition, the "dependencies" and "devDependencies" fields list several packages that are commonly used in NodeJS environments, such as "commander", "glob", "rollup", "ts-morph", and "typescript" among others. These packages are typically used for command-line interfaces, file system operations, module bundling, and TypeScript support, which are all features commonly associated with NodeJS development. You can find more details in the libs/langchain-scripts/package.json file.

However, LangChainJS does provide a built version that can be used directly in the browser. This is indicated by the presence of the "build" script in the package.json file, which compiles the source code into a distributable format. The output of this build process is placed in the "dist/" directory, as specified by the "--outDir dist/" option in the "build:esm" script. The "dist/" directory is also included in the "files" array, which specifies the array of files and directories that are included when this package is installed as a dependency. This means that the built version of the LangChainJS framework is included when you install this package, and can be used directly in the browser.

Please note that while the built version can be used in the browser, it may still require a server environment to function correctly, depending on the specific features of LangChainJS that you are using. If you are looking to use LangChainJS entirely client-side, you may need to consider these dependencies and how they will function in a browser environment.

As for the question of whether LangChainJS provides a browser-compatible version that can be included via a script tag, I wasn't able to find an answer within the repository. It's possible that this information is available elsewhere or I may have missed it. If you have more specific information about this, it would be helpful in providing a more accurate answer.

Sources

• libs/langchain-scripts/package.json

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[jacoblee93]

Yes, this is possible! For example:

https://github.com/jacoblee93/fully-local-pdf-chatbot

[oehm-smith]

I'm confused. Can't you use Langchain to access OpenAI API (for example)? All in-browser.

eg. https://js.langchain.com/v0.1/docs/get_started/quickstart/

I see the OP mentioned nodejs but it doesn't mean he was thinking as deep as I think your answer suggests.

And in https://js.langchain.com/v0.1/docs/get_started/installation/ it cites browser as a place where langchain can be used in.