Last updated on Aug 27, 2026

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Configuration

Configure the SDK through parameters passed to create_openbox_graph_handler(). In production, load secrets from environment variables or a secret manager and pass them into the handler.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`OPENBOX_URL`	Recommended	—	OpenBox Core API URL to pass as `api_url`
`OPENBOX_API_KEY`	Recommended	—	API key to pass as `api_key` (`obx_live_` or `obx_test_`)
`OPENBOX_AGENT_DID`	Yes, unless disabled	—	DID assigned to this OpenBox agent; used automatically when `agent_did` is omitted
`OPENBOX_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY`	Yes, unless disabled	—	Base64 raw Ed25519 seed; used automatically when `agent_private_key` is omitted
`OPENBOX_DEBUG`	No	`false`	Enable verbose SDK logging

Handler Parameters

api_url and api_key are required handler parameters. agent_did and agent_private_key are optional parameters because the SDK falls back to OPENBOX_AGENT_DID and OPENBOX_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY.

Connection

api_url

OpenBox Core API URL. HTTPS required for non-localhost.

api_url="https://core.openbox.ai"          # Production

api_key

Your API key (obx_live_* or obx_test_*). Always use environment variables in production:

api_key=os.getenv("OPENBOX_API_KEY")

agent_did

The DID assigned to the registered OpenBox agent. The SDK falls back to OPENBOX_AGENT_DID when this parameter is omitted.

agent_did=os.getenv("OPENBOX_AGENT_DID")

agent_private_key

Base64 raw Ed25519 seed returned by OpenBox during identity provision or rotation. The SDK falls back to OPENBOX_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY when this parameter is omitted.

agent_private_key=os.getenv("OPENBOX_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY")

agent_name

Human-readable name shown in the dashboard. Defaults to the graph class name if omitted.

agent_name="CustomerSupportAgent"

Governance Behavior

on_api_error

What happens when the OpenBox API is unreachable or times out:

Value	Behavior
`"fail_open"`	Allow operation to proceed (log warning) — default
`"fail_closed"`	Block operation

on_api_error="fail_open"   # Default - prioritize availability
on_api_error="fail_closed" # For high-security environments

governance_timeout

Maximum seconds to wait for a governance evaluation response. The factory function accepts seconds as a float and converts internally.

governance_timeout=30.0  # Default
governance_timeout=60.0  # For slower networks
governance_timeout=10.0  # For low-latency requirements

If timeout is exceeded, behavior follows on_api_error.

Human-in-the-Loop

hitl.enabled

Configure Human-in-the-Loop approval polling. When OpenBox returns REQUIRE_APPROVAL at a HITL-capable boundary, the SDK waits for a human decision in the dashboard.

hitl={"enabled": True, "poll_interval_ms": 5000}

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`hitl.enabled`	`bool`	`True`	HITL flow setting; leave enabled for normal approval handling
`hitl.poll_interval_ms`	`int`	`5000`	Milliseconds between approval status polls

Use policy to decide which actions require approval. poll_interval_ms controls how often the SDK checks OpenBox for the human decision.

Event Filtering

Control which events the SDK sends to OpenBox. All default to True.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`send_chain_start_event`	`bool`	`True`	Send graph invocation started event
`send_chain_end_event`	`bool`	`True`	Send graph invocation completed event
`send_tool_start_event`	`bool`	`True`	Send tool execution started event
`send_tool_end_event`	`bool`	`True`	Send tool execution completed event
`send_llm_start_event`	`bool`	`True`	Send LLM call started event
`send_llm_end_event`	`bool`	`True`	Accepted for configuration parity; LLM completion closes an existing LLM-start row

skip_chain_types

Chain (node) types to exclude from governance. These nodes run without interception.

skip_chain_types={"HealthCheckChain", "LoggingChain"}

skip_tool_types

Tool types to exclude from governance evaluation.

skip_tool_types={"internal_lookup", "cache_read"}

tool_type_map

Map tool names to semantic types for richer policy targeting. Values are used in OPA policy rules.

tool_type_map={
    "send_email": "communication",
    "query_database": "data_access",
    "call_api": "external_request",
}

Instrumentation

sqlalchemy_engine

Pass a pre-created SQLAlchemy engine to enable database operation governance. The SDK hooks into the engine's event system to capture SQL queries.

from sqlalchemy import create_engine

engine = create_engine("postgresql://user:pass@localhost/db")

governed = create_openbox_graph_handler(
    graph=app,
    api_url=os.getenv("OPENBOX_URL"),
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENBOX_API_KEY"),
    sqlalchemy_engine=engine,
)

resolve_subagent_name

A callable that inspects a tool call and returns a subagent name if it represents a call to another agent, or None otherwise. Used to build the agent call graph in the dashboard.

from openbox_langgraph.types import LangGraphStreamEvent

def my_resolver(event: LangGraphStreamEvent) -> str | None:
    if event.name == "invoke_research_agent":
        return "ResearchAgent"
    return None

governed = create_openbox_graph_handler(
    graph=app,
    api_url=os.getenv("OPENBOX_URL"),
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENBOX_API_KEY"),
    resolve_subagent_name=my_resolver,
)

Configuration Resolution

api_url and api_key must be passed to create_openbox_graph_handler().
agent_did and agent_private_key use explicit parameters first, then fall back to OPENBOX_AGENT_DID and OPENBOX_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY.
Optional handler settings use explicit parameters first, then SDK defaults.

Example: Full Configuration

import os
from sqlalchemy import create_engine
from openbox_langgraph import create_openbox_graph_handler

engine = create_engine(os.getenv("DATABASE_URL"))

governed = create_openbox_graph_handler(
    graph=app,

    # Connection
    api_url=os.getenv("OPENBOX_URL"),
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENBOX_API_KEY"),
    agent_did=os.getenv("OPENBOX_AGENT_DID"),
    agent_private_key=os.getenv("OPENBOX_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY"),
    agent_name="ProductionAgent",

    # Governance behavior
    on_api_error="fail_closed",  # High security
    governance_timeout=45.0,

    # Human-in-the-loop
    hitl={"enabled": True, "poll_interval_ms": 3000},

    # Event filtering
    send_chain_start_event=True,
    send_chain_end_event=True,
    send_tool_start_event=True,
    send_tool_end_event=True,
    send_llm_start_event=True,
    send_llm_end_event=True,

    # Exclude internal nodes and tools
    skip_chain_types={"HealthCheck", "Metrics"},
    skip_tool_types={"log_event"},
    tool_type_map={
        "send_email": "communication",
        "query_db": "data_access",
    },

    # Database instrumentation
    sqlalchemy_engine=engine,
)

Important Behavioral Notes

Agent DID Identity

Newly created OpenBox agents require cryptographic DID signing by default. When Require signing is enabled for the registered agent, the LangGraph SDK signs validation, governance evaluation, and approval requests with the agent's DID identity.

Set both values together:

.env
OPENBOX_AGENT_DID=did:aip:550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
OPENBOX_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY=base64_raw_ed25519_seed

Rules:

OPENBOX_AGENT_DID must use the did:aip:<uuid> format.
OPENBOX_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY must be the base64 raw 32-byte Ed25519 seed returned by OpenBox.
Setting only one of the two values fails SDK configuration parsing.
The SDK never logs the private key.

The private key is returned only when the agent identity is provisioned or rotated. Store it as a per-agent secret and rotate it from OpenBox if it is exposed.

If Require signing is disabled for the agent, omit both DID values and authenticate with OPENBOX_API_KEY only.

Validation

Startup validation checks:

API key format
OpenBox URL format
DID identity pair consistency when DID signing values are present
live API key validation unless validate=False

Use validate=False only for tests, local mocks, or fixture servers.

Next Steps

Error Handling — Handle governance decisions in your code
Event Model — Understand the LangGraph event shapes captured by the SDK
Approvals and Guardrails — Review runtime enforcement behavior

Environment Variables​

Handler Parameters​

Connection​

api_url​

api_key​

agent_did​

agent_private_key​

agent_name​

Governance Behavior​

on_api_error​

governance_timeout​

Human-in-the-Loop​

hitl.enabled​

Event Filtering​

skip_chain_types​

skip_tool_types​

tool_type_map​

Instrumentation​

sqlalchemy_engine​

resolve_subagent_name​

Configuration Resolution​

Example: Full Configuration​

Important Behavioral Notes​

Agent DID Identity​

Validation​

Next Steps​