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Flask API endpoint that retrieves and returns a list of available data collections from the chat engine instance.

Purpose

This endpoint provides a REST API interface to query available data collections that can be used for RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) operations. It safely accesses the chat_engine's available_collections attribute and returns it as JSON, with error handling for cases where the chat engine is unavailable or the operation fails.

Source Code

def api_collections():
    """Get available data collections"""
    try:
        collections = getattr(chat_engine, 'available_collections', []) if chat_engine else []
        return jsonify({'collections': collections})
    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(f"Collections API error: {e}")
        return jsonify({'error': 'Failed to retrieve collections'}), 500

Return Value

Returns a Flask JSON response. On success: {'collections': [list of collection names]} with HTTP 200. On error: {'error': 'Failed to retrieve collections'} with HTTP 500. The collections list may be empty if no collections are available or if chat_engine is None.

Dependencies

• flask
• logging

Required Imports

from flask import jsonify
import logging

Usage Example

# Assuming Flask app setup with authentication
# GET request to /api/collections

import requests

# Client-side usage
response = requests.get('http://localhost:5000/api/collections', 
                       headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer <token>'})

if response.status_code == 200:
    data = response.json()
    collections = data.get('collections', [])
    print(f"Available collections: {collections}")
else:
    error = response.json().get('error')
    print(f"Error: {error}")

# Server-side context (within Flask app):
# The function expects:
# - chat_engine: global variable with available_collections attribute
# - logger: configured logging instance
# - require_auth: decorator for authentication

Best Practices

• Ensure chat_engine is properly initialized before the Flask app starts accepting requests
• The function uses getattr with a default empty list to safely handle missing attributes
• Always check for None on chat_engine to prevent AttributeError
• Error logging is implemented for debugging failed collection retrievals
• Returns appropriate HTTP status codes (200 for success, 500 for server errors)
• The require_auth decorator should be implemented to protect this endpoint from unauthorized access
• Consider implementing caching if collections list is large or frequently accessed
• The available_collections attribute should be maintained and updated by the chat_engine instance

Tags

Related Versions

Other versions of this component:

• api_collections_v1

  From: /tf/active/vicechatdev/vice_ai/app.py | Maturity: N/A

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