Batchata

Unified Python API for AI Batch requests with cost tracking, Pydantic responses, citation mapping and parallel execution.

This library is currently in beta - so there will be breaking changes

Why AI-batching?

AI providers offer batch APIs that process requests asynchronously at 50% reduced cost compared to real-time APIs. This is ideal for offline or batch processing tasks. However, managing batch jobs across providers, tracking costs, handling failures, and mapping citations back to source documents quickly becomes complex - that's where Batchata comes in.

Batchata Features

• Native batch processing (50% cost savings via provider APIs)
• Set max_cost_usd limits for batch requests
• Dry run mode for cost estimation and job planning
• Time limit control with .add_time_limit(seconds=, minutes=, hours=)
• State persistence in case of network interruption
• Structured output .json format with Pydantic models
• Citation support and field mapping (Anthropic only)
• Multiple provider support (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini)

Installation

pip

pip install batchata

uv

uv add batchata

Quick Start

from batchata import Batch

# Simple batch processing
batch = Batch(results_dir="./output")
    .set_default_params(model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514")  # or "gpt-4.1-2025-04-14" or "gemini-2.5-flash"
    .add_cost_limit(usd=5.0)

for file in files:
    batch.add_job(file=file, prompt="Summarize")

run = batch.run()

results = run.results()  # {"completed": [JobResult], "failed": [JobResult], "cancelled": [JobResult]}

# Or preview costs first with dry run
run = batch.run(dry_run=True)  # Shows cost estimates without executing

Complete Example

from batchata import Batch
from pydantic import BaseModel
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()  # Load API keys from .env

# Define structured output
class InvoiceAnalysis(BaseModel):
    invoice_number: str
    total_amount: float
    vendor: str
    payment_status: str

# Create batch configuration
batch = Batch(
        results_dir="./invoice_results",
        max_parallel_batches=1,
        items_per_batch=3
    )
    .set_state(file="./invoice_state.json", reuse_state=False)
    .set_default_params(model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514", temperature=0.0)
    .add_cost_limit(usd=5.0)
    .add_time_limit(minutes=10)  # Time limit of 10 minutes
    .set_verbosity("warn") 

# Add jobs with structured output and citations
invoice_files = ["path/to/invoice1.pdf", "path/to/invoice2.pdf", "path/to/invoice3.pdf"]
for invoice_file in invoice_files:
    batch.add_job(
        file=invoice_file,
        prompt="Extract the invoice number, total amount, vendor name, and payment status.",
        response_model=InvoiceAnalysis,
        enable_citations=True
    )

# Execute with rich progress display
print("Starting batch processing...")
run = batch.run(print_status=True)

# Or use custom progress callback
run = batch.run(print_status=True)

# Get results
results = run.results()

# Process successful results
for result in results["completed"]:
    analysis = result.parsed_response
    citations = result.citation_mappings
    print(f"\nInvoice: {analysis.invoice_number} (page: {citations.get("invoice_number").page})")
    print(f"  Vendor: {analysis.vendor} (page: {citations.get("vendor").page})")
    print(f"  Total: ${analysis.total_amount:.2f} (page: {citations.get("total_amount").page})")
    print(f"  Status: {analysis.payment_status} (page: {citations.get("payment_status").page})")
    
    # Save each result to JSON file
    result.save_to_json(f"./invoice_results/{result.job_id}.json")

# Process failed/cancelled results  
for result in results["failed"]:
    print(f"\nJob {result.job_id} failed: {result.error}")

for result in results["cancelled"]:
    print(f"\nJob {result.job_id} was cancelled: {result.error}")

Interactive Progress Display

Batchata provides an interactive real-time progress display when using print_status=True:

run = batch.run(print_status=True)

The interactive display shows:

• Job Progress: Completed/total jobs with progress bar
• Batch Status: Provider batch completion status
• Real-time Cost: Current spend vs limit (if set)
• Elapsed Time: Time since batch started
• Live Updates: Refreshes automatically as jobs complete

File Structure

./results/
├── job-abc123.json
├── job-def456.json
├── job-ghi789.json
└── raw_files/
    └── responses/
        ├── job-abc123_raw.json
        ├── job-def456_raw.json
        └── job-ghi789_raw.json

./batch_state.json  # Batch state

Supported Providers

Feature	Anthropic	OpenAI	Google Gemini
Models	All Claude models	All GPT models	Gemini models
Batch Discount	50%	50%	50%
Polling Interval	1s	5s	2s
Citations	✅	❌	❌
Structured Output	✅	✅	✅
File Types	PDF, TXT, DOCX, Images	PDF, Images	PDF, TXT, Images

Configuration

Set your API keys as environment variables:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-key"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-key"
export GOOGLE_API_KEY="your-key"  # For Gemini models

You can also use a .env file in your project root (requires python-dotenv):

from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()

from batchata import Batch
# Your API keys will now be loaded from .env

Limitations

• Field/citation mapping is heuristic, which means it isn't perfect.
• Citation mapping only works with flat Pydantic models (no nested BaseModel fields).
• Cost tracking is not precise as the actual usage is only known after the batch is complete, try setting items_per_batch to a lower value for more accurate cost tracking.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.