Langflow components overview
A component is a single building block within a flow with inputs, outputs, functions, and parameters that define its functionality. A single component is like a class within a larger application.
To add a component to a flow, drag it from the Component menu to the Workspace.
Learn more about components and how they work on this page.
Component menu
Each component is unique, but all have a menu bar at the top that looks something like the following:
Use the component controls to do the following:
- Code — Modify the component's Python code and save your changes.
- Controls — Adjust all component parameters.
- Freeze Path — After a component runs, lock its previous output state to prevent it from re-running.
Click All to see additional options for a component.
To view a component’s output and logs, click the Visibility icon.
To run a single component, click Play.
A Checkmark indicates that the component ran successfully.
Running a single component with the Play button is different from running the entire flow. In a single component run, the build_vertex function is called, which builds and runs only the single component with direct inputs provided through the UI (the inputs_dict parameter). The VertexBuildResult data is passed to the build_and_run method, which calls the component's build method and runs it. Unlike running the full flow, running a single component does not automatically execute its upstream dependencies.
Component ports
Handles () on the side of a component indicate the types of inputs and outputs that can be connected at that port. Hover over a handle to see connection details.
Component port data type colors
The following table lists the handle colors and their corresponding data types:
| Data type | Handle color | Hex code |
|---|---|---|
| BaseLanguageModel | Fuchsia | #c026d3 |
| Data | Red | #dc2626 |
| Document | Lime | #65a30d |
| Embeddings | Emerald | #10b981 |
| LanguageModel | Fuchsia | #c026d3 |
| Message | Indigo | #4f46e5 |
| Prompt | Violet | #7c3aed |
| str | Indigo | #4F46E5 |
| Text | Indigo | #4F46E5 |
| unknown | Gray | #9CA3AF |
Component code
A component inherits from a base Component class that defines its interface and behavior.
For example, the Recursive character text splitter is a child of the LCTextSplitterComponent class.
_58from typing import Any_58_58from langchain_text_splitters import RecursiveCharacterTextSplitter, TextSplitter_58_58from langflow.base.textsplitters.model import LCTextSplitterComponent_58from langflow.inputs.inputs import DataInput, IntInput, MessageTextInput_58from langflow.utils.util import unescape_string_58_58class RecursiveCharacterTextSplitterComponent(LCTextSplitterComponent):_58 display_name: str = "Recursive Character Text Splitter"_58 description: str = "Split text trying to keep all related text together."_58 documentation: str = "https://docs.langflow.org/components-processing"_58 name = "RecursiveCharacterTextSplitter"_58 icon = "LangChain"_58_58 inputs = [_58 IntInput(_58 name="chunk_size",_58 display_name="Chunk Size",_58 info="The maximum length of each chunk.",_58 value=1000,_58 ),_58 IntInput(_58 name="chunk_overlap",_58 display_name="Chunk Overlap",_58 info="The amount of overlap between chunks.",_58 value=200,_58 ),_58 DataInput(_58 name="data_input",_58 display_name="Input",_58 info="The texts to split.",_58 input_types=["Document", "Data"],_58 ),_58 MessageTextInput(_58 name="separators",_58 display_name="Separators",_58 info='The characters to split on.\nIf left empty defaults to ["\\n\\n", "\\n", " ", ""].',_58 is_list=True,_58 ),_58 ]_58_58 def get_data_input(self) -> Any:_58 return self.data_input_58_58 def build_text_splitter(self) -> TextSplitter:_58 if not self.separators:_58 separators: list[str] | None = None_58 else:_58 # check if the separators list has escaped characters_58 # if there are escaped characters, unescape them_58 separators = [unescape_string(x) for x in self.separators]_58_58 return RecursiveCharacterTextSplitter(_58 separators=separators,_58 chunk_size=self.chunk_size,_58 chunk_overlap=self.chunk_overlap,_58 )
Components include definitions for inputs and outputs, which are represented in the UI with color-coded ports.
Input Definition: Each input (like IntInput or DataInput) specifies an input's type, name, and display properties, which appear as configurable fields in the component's UI panel.
Methods: Components have methods or functions that handle their functionality. This component has two methods.
get_data_input retrieves the text data to be split from the component's input. This makes the data available to the class.
build_text_splitter creates a RecursiveCharacterTextSplitter object by calling its parent class's build method. The text is split with the created splitter and passed to the next component.
When used in a flow, this component:
- Displays its configuration options in the UI.
- Validates user inputs based on the input types.
- Processes data using the configured parameters.
- Passes results to the next component.
Freeze path
After a component runs, Freeze Path locks the component's previous output state to prevent it from re-running.
If you’re expecting consistent output from a component and don’t need to re-run it, click Freeze Path.
Enabling Freeze Path freezes all components upstream of the selected component.
If you only want to freeze a single component, select Freeze instead.
A icon appears on all frozen components.
Additional component options
Click All to see additional options for a component.
To modify a component's name or description, double-click in the Name or Description fields. Component descriptions accept Markdown syntax.
Component shortcuts
The following keyboard shortcuts are available when a component is selected.
| Menu item | Windows shortcut | Mac shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code | Space | Space | Opens the code editor for the component. |
| Advanced Settings | Ctrl + Shift + A | ⌘ + Shift + A | Opens advanced settings for the component. |
| Save Changes | Ctrl + S | ⌘ + S | Saves changes to the current flow. |
| Save Component | Ctrl + Alt + S | ⌘ + Alt + S | Saves the current component to Saved components. |
| Duplicate | Ctrl + D | ⌘ + D | Creates a duplicate of the component. |
| Copy | Ctrl + C | ⌘ + C | Copies the selected component. |
| Cut | Ctrl + X | ⌘ + X | Cuts the selected component. |
| Paste | Ctrl + V | ⌘ + V | Pastes the copied/cut component. |
| Docs | Ctrl + Shift + D | ⌘ + Shift + D | Opens related documentation. |
| Minimize | Ctrl + . | ⌘ + . | Minimizes the current component. |
| Freeze | Ctrl + F | ⌘ + F | Freezes the current component state. |
| Freeze Path | Ctrl + Shift + F | ⌘ + Shift + F | Freezes component state and upstream components. |
| Download | Ctrl + J | ⌘ + J | Downloads the component as JSON. |
| Delete | Backspace | Backspace | Deletes the component. |
| Group | Ctrl + G | ⌘ + G | Groups selected components. |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | ⌘ + Z | Undoes the last action. |
| Redo | Ctrl + Y | ⌘ + Y | Redoes the last undone action. |
| Redo (alternative) | Ctrl + Shift + Z | ⌘ + Shift + Z | Alternative shortcut for redo. |
| Share Component | Ctrl + Shift + S | ⌘ + Shift + S | Shares the component. |
| Share Flow | Ctrl + Shift + B | ⌘ + Shift + B | Shares the entire flow. |
| Toggle Sidebar | Ctrl + B | ⌘ + B | Shows/hides the sidebar. |
| Search Components | / | / | Focuses the component search bar. |
| Tool Mode | Ctrl + Shift + M | ⌘ + Shift + M | Toggles tool mode. |
| Update | Ctrl + U | ⌘ + U | Updates the component. |
| Open Playground | Ctrl + K | ⌘ + K | Opens the playground. |
| Output Inspection | O | O | Opens output inspection. |
| Play | P | P | Plays/executes the flow. |
| API | R | R | Opens the API view. |
Group components in the workspace
Multiple components can be grouped into a single component for reuse. This is useful when combining large flows into single components, for example RAG with a vector database, and saving space.
- Hold Shift and drag to select components.
- Select Group. The components merge into a single component.
- Double-click the name and description to change them.
- Save your grouped component to the sidebar for later use.
Component version
A component's initial state is stored in a database. As soon as you drag a component from the sidebar to the workspace, the two components are no longer in parity.
A component keeps the version number it is initialized to the workspace with. If a component is at version 1.0 when it is dragged to the workspace, it will stay at version 1.0 until you update it.
Langflow notifies you when a component's workspace version is behind the database version and an update is available.
Click the Update Component icon to update the component to the latest version. This will change the code of the component in place so you can validate that the component was updated by checking its Python code before and after updating it.
Components sidebar
Components are listed in the sidebar by component type.
Component bundles are components grouped by provider. For example, Langchain modules like RunnableExecutor and CharacterTextSplitter are grouped under the Langchain bundle.
The sidebar includes a component Search bar, and includes flags for showing or hiding Beta and Legacy components.
Beta components are still being tested and are not suitable for production workloads.
Legacy components are available to use but no longer supported.
