Vercel AI SDK (Python)
For optional help from your coding agent, use Set it up for me. It preserves your model connection and verifies a real trace after setup
Send Vercel AI SDK (Python) traces to LiteLLM Lens using the runnable examples in this repository.
Prerequisites
You need Lens installed alongside LiteLLM, a key with model access, and a configured model alias. The swarm example needs a model that supports tool calls. In Lens > Traces > Set up tracing, click Generate tracing key and copy the Traces endpoint under Connection details. Ask your administrator for these if you cannot create a tracing key.
Install uv. It uses the checked-in Python version and resolves each example’s dependencies from its uv workspace.
Configuration
For a fresh checkout:
git clone https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm-lens-example.git
cd litellm-lens-example/vercel-ai-sdk-py
cp .env.example .env
If you already cloned the repository, run the remaining commands from vercel-ai-sdk-py/. Copy .env.example to .env if it does not exist, then set:
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
LITELLM_GATEWAY_URL | Your gateway’s base URL without a trailing slash or /v1, for example http://localhost:4002 |
LITELLM_API_KEY | Your LiteLLM model key |
LENS_URL | Copy Traces endpoint from Lens tracing setup and remove the final /v1/traces. Keep /lens-ingest if present. For example, http://localhost:4318 or https://gateway.example/lens-ingest |
LENS_TRACING_KEY | The dedicated tracing key from Lens tracing setup |
LITELLM_MODEL | A model alias configured on your gateway |
The checked-in values target a local development gateway. Replace them for your deployment. Keep the exporter settings from .env.example; the examples configure their trace exporters in code. They send traces to LENS_URL/v1/traces with the tracing key as a bearer token.
Leave MOCK_LITELLM_GATEWAY_URL unset unless you intend to send an additional trace copy to the local recorder.
Run an example
Simple agent
A research_agent answers one question using the Python ai package.
uv run --env-file .env --package lens-vercel-ai-sdk-py-simple simple/main.py
See simple/main.py for the implementation.
Agent swarm
A coordinator delegates through tools that run search_agent and writer_agent.
uv run --env-file .env --package lens-vercel-ai-sdk-py-swarm swarm/main.py
See swarm/main.py for the implementation.
Verify the trace
After the example prints its answer, open Lens > Traces on your gateway and select the new run. Look for the run associated with research_agent. Inspect the input, output, and model spans. For the swarm, inspect the specialist activity described above; its exact span layout depends on the framework.
How tracing works
The Python ai package’s experimental telemetry adapter exports agent, tool, and model spans. A local adapter keeps model spans in the active context so the shared gateway transport can nest request-attempt spans beneath them.
See the shared gateway transport for request-attempt and spend-correlation details.
Troubleshooting
If model calls fail, check the gateway URL, key, and model alias. If an answer appears but the trace is missing, check the terminal for exporter errors and confirm the Lens ingestion service is reachable with your tracing key. A model call succeeding does not confirm that its trace export succeeded.
This example uses the Python ai package and its experimental telemetry API. Its dependencies and setup differ from the TypeScript example.
