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The functions in this package that talk to the LM Studio REST API raise four condition classes of their own. One of them, rlmstudio_model_mismatch, is also an rlmstudio_bad_response, and the "Reply from another model" section describes it. Each one is raised through cli::cli_abort(), so each one is an R error that you can catch by class with base::tryCatch(). The chat functions on the OpenAI route also give one warning class of their own, described in the "Cut-off reply" section.

Server not running

Functions that call the LM Studio REST API open a TCP connection to the hostname and port named in host before they send the request. A function that checks its own arguments does that first, so a bad model, job_id, input, inputs, messages, schema, ttl, previous_response_id, or batch_size, a bad type of list_models() or list_instances(), a bad TRUE or FALSE argument such as simplify, logprobs, quiet, force, or store, a store on the "openai" route of lms_chat() or lms_chat_batch(), a stream in the ... of a chat function, a logprobs in the ... of lms_chat_batch() or lms_chat_native(), a value in the ... of lms_chat_batch() that lms_chat() reads as an argument already given, an instructions or messages in the ... of lms_chat() or lms_chat_batch() on the route where lms_chat() sets it, or a name, id, or type string that is not valid in its encoding or is marked as bytes, aborts with an argument message and no condition class even when the server is down. A condition of class rlmstudio_no_server is raised when that connection cannot be opened. A refused connection raises it. So do an address the package cannot parse and a hostname that does not resolve. An address that neither accepts nor refuses the connection also raises it. That case waits for the operating system to give up, which can take a minute. Start the server with lms_server_start(), or give host the address that your server listens on.

The check reads the port and nothing else. Any process holding that port accepts the connection, so the condition is not raised even though no LM Studio server is there. The call then does not raise rlmstudio_no_server, and what it does depends on what answers. On a status-200 body that does not parse as JSON, the chat functions, lms_embed(), list_models(), list_instances(), lms_load(), lms_download(), lms_download_status(), and lms_unload_all() raise rlmstudio_bad_response. lms_unload() does not read the body, so it can report success. A body that parses as JSON but has another shape can come back unchanged with simplify = FALSE. With simplify = TRUE, the chat functions and lms_embed() raise rlmstudio_bad_response for it. list_models() and list_instances() raise it for a model list with another shape, and so do lms_unload_all() and lms_load() without force = TRUE, which read that list. lms_chat_openai() and lms_chat_openresponses() raise it for such a model list too, with either setting of simplify, through the model lookup that a reply from another model starts. lms_chat() raises it through them. lms_load(), lms_download(), and lms_download_status() raise it for a reply of their own with another shape, such as {}. A process that does not answer in HTTP gives an httr2_failure error. Use lms_server_ready() for the stronger test: it asks the host for a model list and reports TRUE only for a model list that list_models() can read.

lms_chat_batch() checks the server once before its first input, and lms_chat() checks it again for each input. If that check finds the server gone during the batch, the batch aborts with rlmstudio_no_server, and no request goes out after that. The condition then carries a results field, a list as long as inputs. Its elements before the lost input hold the values that format = "list" returns for those inputs. The element of the lost input and every element after it are NULL. The check before the first input adds no results field. A connection that fails after the check passes, such as a server that stops during a request, raises an httr2_failure error instead. That error aborts the batch and carries no results field.

lms_embed() checks the server before each request, and a request carries at most batch_size inputs. If a check after the first request finds the server gone, the call aborts with rlmstudio_no_server. Once a request has succeeded, the condition carries a results field. With simplify = TRUE, results is a matrix with NA in each row whose embedding did not arrive. With simplify = FALSE, it is a list with one element per batch, with NULL in the element of the request that ended the call and in every element after it.

API failure

A condition of class rlmstudio_api_error is raised when a REST call returns a response that the wrapper treats as a failure. The condition carries a status field, which holds the HTTP response status as an integer. It also carries a code field. The field holds the string at error.code of the response body, such as "model_not_found". It is NULL when the body does not parse, when error is not a JSON object, or when its code is not one string.

lms_chat_batch() aborts on it when its status is 401, 403, or 404, and when its status is 400 and its code is "model_not_found". No request goes out after that input. The condition then carries a results field that follows the rule for a lost server in the "Server not running" section: its elements before the failed input hold the values that format = "list" returns for those inputs, and the element of the failed input and every element after it are NULL. For any other status, the element of the failed input holds the condition, or NA where the result is text, and the batch warns once and goes on. See the details of lms_chat_batch().

lms_embed() follows the same rule for each request. A 401, 403, or 404 aborts the call, and once a request has succeeded the condition carries a results field, a matrix or a list as the "Server not running" section describes. Any other status fails the inputs of that request alone, and the call warns once and goes on. If every request fails, the call aborts with the first condition. See the details of lms_embed().

Malformed response

A condition of class rlmstudio_bad_response is raised when the server answers with a status the wrapper accepts and a body the wrapper cannot read. It is raised where a wrapper checks the body before it reshapes it, rather than indexing straight into whatever arrived. Eleven functions raise it for a body they cannot read: lms_embed(), lms_chat(), lms_chat_native(), lms_chat_openresponses(), lms_chat_openai(), list_models(), list_instances(), lms_load(), lms_download(), lms_download_status(), and lms_unload_all(). lms_chat() raises it through the chat function it calls. lms_unload_all() raises it through list_models(), and so does lms_load() unless force = TRUE. lms_chat_batch() raises it only as rlmstudio_model_mismatch, which the "Reply from another model" section of lms_chat_openai() describes.

All eleven raise it for a status-200 body that does not parse as JSON, such as an HTML page from a proxy, JSON text that stops part way, or an empty body. In the functions that take simplify, the body is parsed before simplify is read, so the condition is raised whatever simplify is. The body is parsed by its content and not by its Content-Type header, so valid JSON under text/plain is read as JSON. The body is read as JSON text and nothing else. A body whose text is a URL or the path of a file does not parse, and the package does not fetch the URL or read the file. The message says that the body did not parse as JSON and that something other than LM Studio may be answering on the host. It does not hold the body text.

The condition carries a status field, which holds the HTTP response status as an integer. Today the status is always 200: each of these functions reads the body only after a 200, and reports every other status as an rlmstudio_api_error instead.

Malformed model list

list_models() also raises it for a status-200 model list with the wrong shape. lms_unload_all() and lms_load() without force = TRUE raise it through list_models(). lms_chat_openai() and lms_chat_openresponses() apply these rules to the model list of their model lookup, as the "Reply from another model" section of lms_chat_openai() describes. A model list must follow four rules. Each field is read by its exact name, so a field named keyX does not stand in for key.

  1. The body is a JSON object whose models field is an array. The array can be empty.

  2. Each entry of models is a JSON object. Its type and key are strings, and its loaded_instances is an array.

  3. The size_bytes of an entry is a number, or absent, or null. So is its max_context_length.

  4. Each entry of loaded_instances is a JSON object whose id is a string with a character that is not whitespace.

The rules are checked before the type and loaded filters, so an entry that the filters drop can still raise the condition. The message names the field or entry that broke a rule. lms_server_ready() applies the same rules and returns FALSE for a body that breaks one.

list_instances() applies the four rules too, and two more. They cover only an entry whose type is in its type argument and that has at least one loaded instance. The display_name of such an entry is a string, or absent, or null. The config of each of its instances is a JSON object, or absent, or null. list_models() and lms_server_ready() do not apply these two rules.

Malformed load or download reply

lms_load(), lms_download(), and lms_download_status() also raise it for a status-200 reply of their own with the wrong shape. Each reply must follow the rule of its function. Each field is read by its exact name. The rules check the type of a field and not its value, with four exceptions. The status of a load reply must be "loaded". A download reply whose status is "already_downloaded" needs no job_id. A download reply whose status is "failed" always aborts. The job_id of any other download reply must hold a character that is not whitespace.

  1. A reply of lms_load() is a JSON object whose status is the string "loaded". With echo_load_config = TRUE, its load_config is also a JSON object.

  2. A reply of lms_download() is a JSON object whose status is a string other than "failed". If the status is not "already_downloaded", its job_id is a string with a character that is not whitespace. For a "failed" status, the message says that LM Studio reports that the download failed. It names the reply's job_id if that is a string with a character that is not whitespace.

  3. A reply of lms_download_status() is a JSON object whose job_id and status are strings. Its total_size_bytes, downloaded_bytes, and bytes_per_second are each a number, or absent, or null.

For the other faults, the message names the field that broke the rule, or it says that the body is not a JSON object. It also says that something other than LM Studio may be answering on the host.

Malformed embeddings

lms_embed() raises it on an embeddings block it cannot trust. The vectors it returns are placed by the index that the response reports, so a block with a missing, repeated, or out-of-range index would otherwise pair a vector with the wrong text and give back a matrix that is silently wrong.

lms_embed() reads each request on its own. A bad body, of either kind that the "Malformed response" section and this section describe, fails the inputs of that request alone, and the call warns once and goes on. The call aborts with the condition only if every request fails, and then with the condition of the first. With simplify = TRUE, it also aborts with rlmstudio_bad_response for a request whose embeddings have another number of dimensions than those of an earlier request. That condition carries a results field, a matrix as the "Server not running" section describes. See the details of lms_embed().

The messages of lms_embed() name simplify = FALSE, which returns the body unchanged, with one exception. A body that did not parse as JSON is checked before that argument is read, so its message points at the host instead.

Malformed chat reply

lms_chat_native() and lms_chat_openresponses() raise it with simplify = TRUE when the reply holds no readable answer text. Both read the answer from the items of type "message" in the output array. They raise it when output is missing, empty, or not an array, or when an item in it is not a JSON object. They also raise it when no item has the type "message", as in a reply that holds only reasoning or a tool call. The text of a message must be one string. For lms_chat_native() that is the content of the item. For lms_chat_openresponses() it is the text of each part of type "output_text". For lms_chat_openresponses() only, the content of each message must be an array of JSON objects, and the messages together must hold at least one "output_text" part.

Apart from a body that does not parse as JSON, lms_chat_openai() raises it in four cases, all only with simplify = TRUE. The first case is a response whose choices field is missing, empty, or not an array, or whose first element is not a JSON object with a message object in it, so there is no reply to read. This case is raised with or without a schema, and with logprobs = TRUE as well. The second case is a reply that does not parse. A schema was given, logprobs = FALSE, and the reply content is not one string of valid JSON. The third case is reply content that is not one string, such as null, a missing content field, a number, or an array. A reply that holds only a tool call has null content. This case is raised without a schema, and with logprobs = TRUE with or without one. The fourth case is a cut-off reply. A schema was given, logprobs = FALSE, and the server reports the finish reason "length". This case is raised also when the reply content parses, because a reply that stops part way can parse to a wrong value, such as the first digit of a longer number. In the second, third, and fourth cases, if the server reports the finish reason "length", a length limit ended the reply. The limit is max_tokens or the context length of the model. The message then says so and names both.

With simplify = TRUE, lms_chat_native(), lms_chat_openresponses(), and lms_chat_openai() also raise it for a body that is a bare JSON value, such as 5, "s", or true. The message says that the response body is not a JSON object. A body of null gets the message about its missing output or choices field instead. lms_chat() can raise the condition through all three chat functions.

lms_chat_batch() does not abort on it, except on the subclass rlmstudio_model_mismatch, as the "Reply from another model" section of lms_chat_openai() says. The element of the failed input holds the condition, or NA where the result is text, and the batch warns once and goes on. See the details of lms_chat_batch().

A condition from lms_chat_openai() about its reply also carries two more fields. A condition from the model-list lookup does not, as the "Reply from another model" section of lms_chat_openai() says. The content field holds the reply content of the first choice, and the finish_reason field holds the finish reason of the first choice. Both are NULL for a response with no choices. In the third case, content holds the value that was read, which is NULL for null or missing content. For the second, third, and fourth cases, the message names the content field, so you can read what the model wrote without a second request. The other messages of the chat functions about the reply name simplify = FALSE, which returns the body unchanged, with one exception. A body that did not parse as JSON is checked before that argument is read, so its message points at the host instead. For such a body, the content and finish_reason fields of a condition from lms_chat_openai() are NULL. The messages of rlmstudio_model_mismatch and of the model-list lookup do not name simplify = FALSE, because the check runs with either setting of simplify.

Malformed logprobs

With simplify = TRUE and logprobs = TRUE, lms_chat_openresponses() also raises it for a logprobs value that breaks one of these rules. The logprobs value of each "output_text" part is checked. A logprobs value, token, logprob, or top_logprobs that is null or absent passes its rule. A null step or candidate breaks rule 2 or rule 6.

  1. The value is an array.

  2. Each step in the array is a JSON object.

  3. The token of a step is a string.

  4. The logprob of a step is a number.

  5. The top_logprobs of a step is an array.

  6. Each candidate in top_logprobs is a JSON object.

  7. The token and logprob of each candidate follow rules 3 and 4.

The parts are checked in order, then the steps of a part, then the candidates of a step, one at a time. Within a step, rules 3, 4, and 5 come before the candidates. The message names the first broken rule that this order reaches. These checks run only after the text of every "output_text" part is read, so a reply that also has a bad text in any part gets the text message. Parts of other types, such as a refusal, are not checked, and with logprobs = FALSE no part is checked. Fields are read by their exact names, so a field whose name only starts with the one asked for, such as tokenX, reads as absent and gives NA in the data frame.

Cut-off reply

A warning of class rlmstudio_reply_cut_off is given when a length limit ended a reply that lms_chat_openai() returns as text. The server reports this with the finish reason "length". The limit is max_tokens or the context length of the model, and the reply does not say which one. The message names both. The warning is given with simplify = TRUE for reply content that is one string, in three settings: no schema, logprobs = TRUE, and a schema with logprobs = TRUE. The call returns what the same reply returns without the cut-off. A schema reply with logprobs = FALSE raises rlmstudio_bad_response instead, as the "Malformed chat reply" section says. The warning and that abort read the finish reason of the first choice, which is the choice that the call reads. No other element of choices is read. With simplify = FALSE, the call returns the body with every choice and no warning.

lms_chat() gives the warning through lms_chat_openai() with api_type = "openai". lms_chat_batch() gives one warning of this class for the whole batch in place of one for each input. It names the count and the positions of the cut-off inputs, and each of those elements keeps its reply. It comes after the warning about failed inputs. A batch that aborts with a results field gives this warning before the abort. It names the cut-off inputs whose replies the results field of the abort holds. The native and OpenResponses routes give no such warning.

The warning shows whatever quiet and the rlmstudio.quiet option say, because it is the only sign that an answer is not complete.

Reply from another model

lms_chat_openai() and lms_chat_openresponses() read the model field of each status-200 reply, with either setting of simplify. On LM Studio 0.4.25+1 with one chat model loaded, both routes answered a model name that the server could not find with status 200 and a reply from the loaded model. With two chat models loaded, they answered with status 400 and the code "model_not_found", as the "API failure" section describes. The model field names the loaded instance that answered. Its id can differ from the key that the call asked for.

If the model field equals the name that the call sent, the reply is accepted. If it differs, the call sends one request for the model list to api/v1/models on the same host, with the token of the call, and prints no message. The reply is accepted if a model whose key equals the asked name in any letter case has a loaded instance whose id is the model field. Otherwise the call aborts with a condition of class rlmstudio_model_mismatch. That condition is also an rlmstudio_bad_response, and its status is 200. Its model field holds the asked name, and its reply_model field holds the model field of the reply. The message names both. A condition from lms_chat_openai() also carries the content and finish_reason fields, both NULL.

The check runs before the reply is read, so it also runs with logprobs = TRUE, with a schema on lms_chat_openai(), and for a reply with no answer text. A reply is not checked if its body is not a JSON object, if it has no model field, or if its model is not one string or holds only whitespace. A body that is not a JSON object is returned with simplify = FALSE, and with simplify = TRUE it raises the error that the "Malformed chat reply" section describes. If the instance that answered is unloaded before the model-list request, the call aborts, also when that instance belongs to the asked model.

If the model-list request fails, the call raises the condition of that failure. The message opens with the label of the chat function, followed by "because the model-list lookup failed". A status other than 200 raises rlmstudio_api_error. A body that does not parse as JSON, or that breaks a rule of a model list in the "Malformed model list" section, raises rlmstudio_bad_response. A server that the port check before the request cannot reach raises rlmstudio_no_server. A condition from the lookup does not carry the content and finish_reason fields, also when lms_chat_openai() raises it.

lms_chat() runs the check through lms_chat_openai() and lms_chat_openresponses(). lms_chat_native() does not check the reply. On LM Studio 0.4.25+1, /api/v1/chat answered a name that it could not find with status 404, which raises rlmstudio_api_error.

lms_chat_batch() aborts at the first input that raises rlmstudio_model_mismatch, on the "openai" and "openresponses" routes. It also aborts at an rlmstudio_api_error with status 400 whose code is "model_not_found". No request goes out after that input. In both cases, the condition carries a results field that follows the rule for a lost server in the "Server not running" section.

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
tryCatch(
  list_models(host = "http://localhost:9999"),
  rlmstudio_no_server = function(cnd) {
    message("The server is not running: ", conditionMessage(cnd))
  },
  rlmstudio_api_error = function(cnd) {
    message("The API call failed with status ", cnd$status)
  },
  rlmstudio_bad_response = function(cnd) {
    message("The response body could not be read: ", conditionMessage(cnd))
  }
)
} # }