Langfuse Install & Auth

Overview

Install the Langfuse SDK and configure authentication for LLM observability. Covers both the legacy langfuse package (v3) and the modern modular SDK (v4+/v5) built on OpenTelemetry.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ or Python 3.9+
• Package manager (npm, pnpm, or pip)
• Langfuse account (cloud at https://cloud.langfuse.com or self-hosted)
• Public Key (pk-lf-...) and Secret Key (sk-lf-...) from project settings

Instructions

Step 1: Install SDK

TypeScript/JavaScript (v4+ modular SDK -- recommended):

bash
set -euo pipefail
# Core client for prompt management, datasets, scores
npm install @langfuse/client

# Tracing (observe, startActiveObservation)
npm install @langfuse/tracing @langfuse/otel @opentelemetry/sdk-node

# OpenAI integration (drop-in wrapper)
npm install @langfuse/openai

# LangChain integration
npm install @langfuse/langchain

TypeScript/JavaScript (v3 legacy -- single package):

bash
npm install langfuse

Python:

bash
pip install langfuse

Step 2: Get API Keys

1. Open Langfuse dashboard (https://cloud.langfuse.com or your self-hosted URL)
2. Go to Settings > API Keys
3. Click Create new API key pair
4. Copy both keys:

• Public Key: pk-lf-... (identifies your project)
• Secret Key: sk-lf-... (grants write access -- keep secret)

1. Note the host URL (cloud default: https://cloud.langfuse.com)

Step 3: Configure Environment Variables

bash
# Set environment variables
export LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY="pk-lf-..."
export LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY="sk-lf-..."
export LANGFUSE_BASE_URL="https://cloud.langfuse.com"

# Or create .env file
cat >> .env << 'EOF'
LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY=pk-lf-your-public-key
LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY=sk-lf-your-secret-key
LANGFUSE_BASE_URL=https://cloud.langfuse.com
EOF

> Note: v4+ uses LANGFUSE_BASE_URL. Legacy v3 uses LANGFUSE_HOST or LANGFUSE_BASEURL.

Step 4: Initialize and Verify (v4+ Modular SDK)

typescript
// src/lib/langfuse.ts
import { LangfuseClient } from "@langfuse/client";
import { startActiveObservation } from "@langfuse/tracing";
import { LangfuseSpanProcessor } from "@langfuse/otel";
import { NodeSDK } from "@opentelemetry/sdk-node";

// 1. Register the OpenTelemetry span processor (once at app startup)
const sdk = new NodeSDK({
  spanProcessors: [new LangfuseSpanProcessor()],
});
sdk.start();

// 2. Create the Langfuse client for prompt/dataset/score operations
export const langfuse = new LangfuseClient({
  publicKey: process.env.LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY,
  secretKey: process.env.LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY,
  baseUrl: process.env.LANGFUSE_BASE_URL,
});

// 3. Verify connection
async function verify() {
  await startActiveObservation("connection-test", async (span) => {
    span.update({ input: { test: true } });
    span.update({ output: { status: "connected" } });
  });
  console.log("Langfuse connection verified. Check dashboard for trace.");
}

verify();

Step 5: Initialize and Verify (v3 Legacy SDK)

typescript
import { Langfuse } from "langfuse";

const langfuse = new Langfuse({
  publicKey: process.env.LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY,
  secretKey: process.env.LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY,
  baseUrl: process.env.LANGFUSE_HOST,
});

// Verify with a test trace
const trace = langfuse.trace({
  name: "connection-test",
  metadata: { test: true },
});

await langfuse.flushAsync();
console.log("Connected. Trace URL:", trace.getTraceUrl());

// Clean shutdown
process.on("beforeExit", async () => {
  await langfuse.shutdownAsync();
});

Step 6: Python Verification

python
from langfuse import Langfuse
import os

langfuse = Langfuse(
    public_key=os.environ["LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY"],
    secret_key=os.environ["LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY"],
    host=os.environ.get("LANGFUSE_HOST", "https://cloud.langfuse.com"),
)

# Test trace
trace = langfuse.trace(name="connection-test", metadata={"test": True})
langfuse.flush()
print(f"Connected. Trace: {trace.get_trace_url()}")

SDK Version Comparison

| Feature | v3 (langfuse) | v4+ (@langfuse/*) | |---------|-----------------|---------------------| | Package | Single langfuse | Modular: @langfuse/client, @langfuse/tracing, @langfuse/otel | | Base URL env var | LANGFUSE_HOST | LANGFUSE_BASE_URL | | Tracing | langfuse.trace() | startActiveObservation() / observe() | | Client class | Langfuse | LangfuseClient | | OpenAI wrapper | observeOpenAI() from langfuse | observeOpenAI() from @langfuse/openai | | Foundation | Custom | OpenTelemetry |

Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Solution | |-------|-------|----------| | 401 Unauthorized | Invalid or expired API key | Re-check keys in Langfuse dashboard Settings > API Keys | | ECONNREFUSED | Wrong host URL or server down | Verify LANGFUSE_BASE_URL / LANGFUSE_HOST | | Missing required configuration | Env vars not loaded | Ensure dotenv/config imported at entry point | | Module not found | Package not installed | Run npm install or pip install again | | Using pk- key as secret | Keys swapped | Public key starts pk-lf-, secret starts sk-lf- |

Resources

• TypeScript SDK Setup
• Python SDK Setup
• v3 to v4 Migration Guide
• Self-Hosting Configuration

Next Steps

After auth is working, proceed to langfuse-hello-world for your first traced LLM call.