pocketflow/cookbook/pocketflow-fastapi-background

PocketFlow FastAPI Background Job

A minimal example of running PocketFlow workflows as background jobs with real-time progress updates via Server-Sent Events (SSE).

Features

• Start article generation jobs via REST API
• Real-time granular progress updates via SSE (shows progress for each section)
• Background processing with FastAPI
• Simple three-step workflow: Outline → Content → Style
• Web interface for easy job submission and monitoring

Getting Started

1. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Set your OpenAI API key:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

3. Run the server:

python main.py

Usage

Web Interface (Recommended)

1. Open your browser and go to http://localhost:8000
2. Enter an article topic (e.g., "AI Safety", "Climate Change")
3. Click "Generate Article"
4. You'll be redirected to a progress page showing real-time updates
5. The final article will appear when generation is complete

API Usage

Start a Job

curl -X POST "http://localhost:8000/start-job" -d "topic=AI Safety" -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded"

Response:

{"job_id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000", "topic": "AI Safety", "status": "started"}

Monitor Progress

curl "http://localhost:8000/progress/123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"

SSE Stream:

data: {"step": "outline", "progress": 33, "data": {"sections": ["Introduction", "Challenges", "Solutions"]}}
data: {"step": "content", "progress": 44, "data": {"section": "Introduction", "completed_sections": 1, "total_sections": 3}}
data: {"step": "content", "progress": 55, "data": {"section": "Challenges", "completed_sections": 2, "total_sections": 3}}
data: {"step": "content", "progress": 66, "data": {"section": "Solutions", "completed_sections": 3, "total_sections": 3}}
data: {"step": "content", "progress": 66, "data": {"draft_length": 1234, "status": "complete"}}
data: {"step": "complete", "progress": 100, "data": {"final_article": "..."}}

Files

• main.py - FastAPI app with background jobs and SSE
• flow.py - PocketFlow workflow definition
• nodes.py - Workflow nodes (Outline, Content, Style)
• utils/call_llm.py - LLM utility function
• static/index.html - Main page for starting jobs
• static/progress.html - Progress monitoring page with real-time updates